Weekly Top Ten

Here's an idea from Maria at Teaching in the 21st Century. She explains that she came up with the idea to combat the following conversation all students have with their parents.

Parent: What did you do at school today?
Student: Nuthin'.
Parent: [Sigh]

Every Friday her class decides on the Top 10 events of the week. These lists are then published in her room on chart paper. More information can be found in her post.

How about expanding the activity? Monday's morning meeting could be a Top 10 things the class is anticipating for the week. This list could then be compared to Friday's Top 10 events of the past week. Does the list that looks forward match the list that looks backward? What events lived up to expectations? What events were disappointing? Why?

These lists could be published in a class newsletter or on a class blog. More adventurous teachers could Tweet the list one item at a time. There are numerous high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech ways these lists could be shared with parents and families.