When your Little Darlings are tired or grumpy or lethargic or lame, this here is my Plan B. When your lesson crashes and burns, or it’s a full moon with Friday the 13th vibes, or they are crawling out of their skins and cannot focus on anything, time for Plan B. It requires no prep and is perfect for a hard pivot when nothing is going the way we hoped. This, without fail, gets them out of their funk, gets input into their little brains and makes us all laugh hard…and isn’t laughter just the balm we all need on a tough day? We have 4 weeks left at my school and this was exactly what we needed on Friday:

All you need is a story in your head or a few vocab structures to target and you’re ready.

Step one: It stars out pretty tame: Everyone gets a whiteboard, marker and eraser. They listen to a short segment of a story, then they uncap their markers and illustrate. I retell that segment a few times, while marveling at their delightful illustrations, showcasing a few particularly creative or hilarious ones to the whole class, in slow and comprehensible Spanish. I count down cinco-cuatro-tres-dos-uno to signal it’s time to finish up their masterpieces, then everyone caps their markers and reveals their boards. I tell the story segment once more, out of order this time, while they point to their drawing that depicts that part. I pick one board to display up front and then we “level up”. (I don’t have any pictures of this part because this wasn’t the funny part…you just wait😂)

Step two: Same thing, but with a twist: Draw with your non dominate hand. Of course I demonstrate while explaining the twist in Comprehensible Spanish: Normalmente dibujo y escribo con la mano derecha. Ahora dibuja con tu OTRA mano. Wow, es mucho más difícil (as I draw a wonky stick figure on the board). We do exactly the same thing,I tell the next segment of previous story, while they listen with their markers capped, then they start drawing (with their non dominate hand). I retell and retell and they start giggling because their pictures are pretty goofy. I include lots of dialogue into this step because I’m evil like that! Then count down, reveal, and I tell it out of order as they point out the details. Pick another board to display upfront and it’s time to level up, again.

Step three: Continuous Line! They listen carefully to the latest installment of the story, then must illustrate the new segment by not lifting up their marker from the board. These remind me of my Etch a Sketch glory days. Rinse and Repeat. Even the toughest and tiredest cookies crack a smile at this point.

Step 4: With your feet! Ahora vamos a dibujar otra ves, pero no vamos a dibujar con las manos….vamos a dibujar con los pies (with a ridiculous demonstration). And as they are trying their hardest, I go around praising their efforts and cracking up. It’s just so silly!! This one is really hard so keep this story segment short. Long enough to get lots of laughs but short enough to not get too frustrated- mine was only “the boy walks down the street”. And then they proudly display their works of art while I retell and they point it out…and at this point it’s really hard to make out their illustrations so just laugh with them. I make a big deal out of squinting and contemplating their drawings and really hamming it up.

This Precious One figured out an clever work around: Rather than moving her feet, she held the pen with her feet and moved the board with her hands. Of course I needed to highlight to the class her ingenuity then six others wanted to try it. At this point we can barely hold it together, we’re laughing so hard.😂😂😂

Step 5: On top of their heads. This one is especially awesome because they can’t see what they are drawing but they can see each other’s drawings. To wrap up the story, I am sure to include a few location changes so their illustrations are disastrous by the time they reveal them. I don’t let them peek at their whiteboard until they finish. Then they show their partner after the big reveal. More laughter.

Man, if you’ve got a group that is still stone faced and glaring at you, I’m so very sorry. They are lame. It’s not you, it’s them. Time to break up.

There’s something about setting them up to be ridiculous and creative and playing together and laughing together that is really special and all too rare in classrooms today. Teaching is hard work, especially in May, so foster and cherish those magic moments! The finish line is in sight!

Wishing you a great end of the school year!😎💕