Marshmallow Challenge

Okay, so this post is WAY over due. With this being my first year as a 1:1 classroom I have focused so much time and energy on integrating the devices to the best of my ability. Therefore, this blog has been at the bottom of my to do list. Hopefully I can post more consistently in the future.

That being said... this post takes me WAAAAY back to the first week of school. Like so many educators, I spend the beginning of school year building a classroom community. This year I led my students in the Marshmallow Challenge. This was my first time doing this, and it was a HUGE success!

The students worked together in teams for this activity. It was all about teamwork, communication, and having fun!

Materials needed for each group:

• 20 sticks of uncooked spaghetti
• 1 yard of sting
• 1 yard of tape
• 1 marshmallow (regular size)

The objective is for the each group to work together to build the tallest, freestanding tower using these items. The marshmallow needs to be at the top. I gave the groups 20 minutes. I displayed the timer on the screen so that the students could manage their time.

Before we began I explained the challenge to them and we also talked about using positive words and working together.

Then they were off! They were so excited and the conversations they had were amazing!

The tallest tower!

I was so pleased with how well this activity went and I will definitely do this again in the future. It was a wonderful experience for the class. I would definitely recommend trying it with your students!