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Let's see what the magic bag thinks

We've all been there

Sometimes in class we want to choose one child to do something and often this can be difficult because the kids get annoyed if they aren't chosen. What criteria do you use to choose which child is going to do whatever it is, or go first? I was just watching a video in which the teacher was surrounded by kids desperate to have a go of something, it reminded me how stressful this can be, particularly when you're having a bad teacher day.

I recommend a simple technique that I learnt a couple of years ago. Incidentally, it was while observing a teacher who really didn't want to be observed, but had to be to comply with school procedures. In the end, I was able to help her feel more positive about the experience as I told her some things that I was going to take away and use in my own classroom, which she was really chuffed about.

The main idea I took away was having all the children's names on small cards in a bag. At the start of the course I asked them to write their names on the card, using nice colours and making it personal, then they are put into a 'magic' bag. During each subsequent lesson when I need to choose one student, out comes the bag and I take one name out of the bag, this child is 'the chosen one'! After that, the previous child will take the next name out of the bag.

I generally have classes of up to 12 students and this has worked well for me with my classes of primary children. The kids often still huff and puff and get annoyed, but the choice is pure chance and is more objective, so I feel less under pressure to be 'fair'. The kids tend to call it 'the lottery' and through doing it they also learn lexis such as: lucky, unlucky, bad luck, hard luck, good luck and even 'keep your fingers crossed' which they like to do while waiting for the name to be read out.

I know that some teachers like to choose based on behaviour and I have tried this, but I always felt under a lot of pressure and I like to reward the kids in other ways. Behavioural reward requires such consistency that I don't think that it's a good idea to put too much importance on behaviour in teacher decision making, it can lead to frustration on the part of some students who end up feeling hard done to. I prefer to work on developing a group dynamic and not over-praise individuals. Also, I often feel that the teacher's perception of which child is the best behaved is not always the right one. I have rewarded kids at times but have been shouted at by other kids because they have seen this child doing things that I hadn't noticed, I don't know about anyone else, but contrary to the popular saying I know that I don't have eyes in the back of my head.

What is 'well-behaved' anyway? Always shouting the answer is annoying, but if it's always in English, is that bad? Likewise, quiet is often considered good, but does a child who never speaks out in class deserve the reward just because of this? What messages are being given out to the students? I think it's important to think about the way we react to situations and I don't feel bad about saying that I find this very difficult. I want all the children to be happy and I don't want the reason they aren't to be me. I'll be a really soft dad one day I'm sure! ; )

As a result, I like to work with chance, I think it's objective and fair (mostly) although I must also admit to 'rigging it' occasionally if I think one child's luck has been particularly bad. Also, if someone has been badly behaved, their name is removed from the bag.

Things I use this for involve the opportunity to write on the board, to go first in a game, to hand out scissors, paper, glue or other equipment. An activity it worked very well for was ordering turns to play an IWB game, such as those from classtools.net or the British Council Learn English Kids site, ('Monkey Alphabet!') games that they got so excited about but had to wait their turn. In this context it also fits in with the idea that the kids shouldn't know the order in advance, such as when choosing students to answer questions, because they'll switch off until their turn. using the bag after each turn brings the students' concentration back as they focus on who will be next. Having said that, it's always a good idea, in my opinion, to have them all involved in doing something after their turn, whether it's shouting help, counting down a timer or writing down scores, something to keep them occupied in a useful task.

Ok, that's that. This all just sprung to mind after watching a video of a teacher being swarmed by a gang of young 'uns, it brought back the feeling of being back n the classroom, surrounded by excitable children. It made me miss teaching, but it also made me think about what I would be doing to overcome that situation, which is one that I find uncomfortable, especially when accompanied by high-decibel shouts of 'me', 'me', 'me'!

First? You?! Let's see what the magic bag thinks, eh?

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