The humble brown grocery bag is more than just a container for food. For the enterprising teacher it can be a handy teaching tool. Below are some ideas :

1.     Mystery Bag.  We all want to get students interested in our topic of the day. One way is to treat it as a “mystery.” Into the bag you can place various objects, pictures, etc. that connect to the topic of the day. Put a large ? mark on the outside of the bag and tell students that you are going to show them items in the bag, one by one, and they are to try to guess how they are connected. Draw them out one by one and invite speculation about the connection between the item and the class – for example, if you are introducing triangles in math, each item or picture you show should illustrate  a type of triangle. As you draw out each item, ask students to see if they can see relationships among the items. Record some guesses on the board but do not reveal if any of them are correct until all items are shown. Then ask students to make a deduction based on previous guesses and the items they see. This activity develops higher thinking skills as well as create interest in your topic.

2.     Character Bag. Use 1 or more bags for this. Each bag may have a separate type of prop or costume piece, or each bag may have a variety of such pieces. Into the bags put various types of hats (Goodwill and yard sales are great places to find cheap ones), props of different types –old phones, canes, plastic dishes etc. , and remnants of cloth of various colors (large enough to serve as scarves, capes, shawls, etc. ) . Activity: Divide class into groups and give each group a bag. They are to create a : play script, poem, song, character sketch, etc. that incorporates each item .  You could also ask students to create a character bag themselves for a character in a literary piece being studied. For example – what items would a character bag for Beowulf include: model sword & shield, Viking ship, drawing of a dragon, pictures of Viking artifacts, warriors, and maybe even some sample of student-created kennings and alliterative verse.

3.     Book covers:  brown paper bags make great book covers  - better than the commercial ones because they are cheap, sturdy, and invite decoration. Lead students through the process of creating the book cover and then have them decorate the cover with words, pictures, etc. related to the subject of the text.

4.     Research reports: Call it “Report in a Bag”. Students are to gather items, pictures, artifacts, etc. connected to a research report. For example, in science if students are researching  pollution, the bag might include photos of local areas where pollution occurs, water samples in sealed bottles of local streams that are polluted, and other items that directly or symbolically relate to the topic. Have them present to the class and use each item in the bag (and the bag itself) as a prop to help them organize and present their points.

5.     Biography in a Bag: Students research the life of a famous person(or this could be autobiographical) and put in the bag items, photos and artifacts that illustrate elements of that person’s life. Again, they use the props for aids in an oral presentation.

6.     Scrapbook: this project only requires 2 lunch size bag brown bags. Take each bag and fold the flap on the bottom back on itself, forming a sturdy edge. Now fold the top of the bag in half over the bottom. Hole punch 3-4 holes in the end about 1 inch apart. Do the same for the second bag, being sure to line up the holes with the first bag. Place the two bags together and use twine, ribbon, or yarn to tie the bags into a small ‘book’. Cut the two bags on the outer fold so that you now have 4 “pages” with pockets in between. Each page and pocket can be used for decorating. The scrapbook can be used for recording types of rocks, insects, or plantlife for a science class; types of geometric figures for math; character and plot info for a novel, or any other purpose you can think of. 

Ever have one of those classes where the lesson you thought would fill the time was over early and there was too much time to fill at the end of class? Or the lesson you wanted to do has to be postponed because class was disrupted by a fire drill, class meeting, class pictures, or other unexpected event? Suddenly you are facing an entire class with nothing to fill the time. We all have those times and here is a solution. I used to keep a small 3x5 or 4x6 file box on my desk with file cards in it. Each card described a short activity or lesson that could be taught at any time with limited materials needed. Eventually I had enough cards that I could organize and classify them by type or topic. When I used one I noted on the back of the card the date and class I had used that activity with. Anytime I found an idea on a website or in a magazine or thought up an idea, I wrote it down on a new file card and put it in the box. Never again did I have more time than lesson or find myself without something interesting to keep students involved. This was also a valuable resource for my substitute teachers who might need additional activities beyond my lesson plan. Most activities would take anywhere from 5-15 minutes to complete. 

In the recent issue of ASCD's magazine, Education Today, an article referred to a technique that sounded very intriguing and has been found to be effective when dealing with a challenging student. It was called the Two-Ten technique. The idea is to have 2 minutes of positive interaction with the difficult student , each day for 10 days. The interaction should be personal and genuine - taking an interest in things that interest the student, asking questions to get to know the student, etc. The use of this technique has been found very effective in helping the student develop a positive attitude toward the teacher and thus to the class and his role in the class. I can verify that this kind of interaction does have a powerful and positive effect on students. I've often found former students of mine will remember a kindness or a thoughtful comment or inquiry long after they have forgotten other lessons we did in class. It's not that they didn't learn something in the class, but the human connection we made is what made the biggest impression.  Try this Two-Ten technique with a student who seems to be giving you trouble. If it works for you it will be worth the time you take to do it.

There are a number of effective ways to make sure that you are involving all your students fairly and consistently in class discussions, responses, and activities. 

1. For each class create a set of popsicle sticks with each student's name on a stick. Color code the sticks for each class set by swiping some color at one end. Keep the sticks in individual cups and then when you want to call on someone to answer or respond, draw a stick from the cup. If the student you called on can't answer or wishes to pass, put the stick back in the cup. If the student responds appropriately, set the stick aside until all sticks have been used or the class ends. At the end of class it is easy to track which students you need to give credit to for responding. You can start fresh each day or bundle the responders sticks with a rubber band and start with students who have not had a chance to respond. 

2. When students enter the room, give each of them a number on a file card. Randomly mix the cards. When you want a response, call out a number and that person can write the answer on the back of the file card, initial it and then read it aloud to the class. Then he/she can call out the next number for a responder and so on. Collect the cards at the end of class and again you will have a painless way of keeping track of who is involved and who is not. 

3. For small group responses: as students enter a classroom hand each one a colored piece of construction paper (2x2 inch square for example) and have students sit in groups by color of paper. When you need an answer or response, call on group by color : Green group, for example. Give them a few seconds to discuss their answer and then report to the class. This is a variation on the "numbered heads together" cooperative learning tech.Another way to organize groups is to hand each student a playing card - hearts, club, spades, diamonds, and have them sit together will others of the same "suit." Then you can call on members of each group based on the value of their card. Kings would go first, queens second, and so on down to the lowest card of the suit in the group. 

If you have additional ideas to share, email me and I'll post them.