Mystery Bags Engaging Secondary Lesson for Identifying and Applying Main Idea and Cause and Effect

 Hey guys! Here is a lesson I used last semester that seemed to be pretty engaging and really successful! I admit ChatGPT came up with the concept. I taught the lesson on a day I got a surprise observation, and the students did such an amazing job with it. While this was created for a high school ESOL classroom to review how to identify a main idea as well as causes and effects, you could tailor it for any secondary classroom and really use any terms. 

Here's how it works: The cause and effect bags each had a few objects. Students worked in teams and at each station discussed, then wrote on sticky notes what they interpreted a possible cause might be and might be be an effect. This was in preparation for ACCESS testing. For example, a bag with candy erasers and a sick face might be that somebody ate too much candy and sugar (cause), so they felt sick (effect). Or that they felt sick from not eating (cause) so they ate candy they found (effect) (they could get creative with these). 

The main idea bags all had objects tied by a topic, and students had to figure out what they all had in common and might all be used for. 

I had a total of 12-25 bags (I forget how many), and students worked in groups of 2s or 3s. I may have set a timer for the whole activity, but I think I let them go bag to bag at their own pace. 

Another activity we did prior to this was practicing using very vivid, descriptive vocabulary. In larger teams, they had to feel a mystery object inside of paper bag full of related objects (I think we used the same main idea bags). They each closed their eyes, felt an object and described it using sensory language. After everyone described something in the bag, they had to come up with what the topic of the bag might be by guessing what the objects were and how they were related. I think I gave them about 8 minutes to write their answer on a whiteboard and complete this activity. 

I hope you find this handy! Thank you for visiting! 

-Lauryn 

"Bowls & Besties" Mini Party

Hello, today I also have a mini event to share. Disclaimer: I did not come up with this theme, a student mentioned a school that did a "Bowls and Besties" event featuring ramen noodles, and I thought that would be really fun to try out. This was actually set up very spontaneously on a day I did not plan to, using anything I could find that looked tropical or summer-ish. I did this as a mini, almost blanket fort mixed with a picnic sort of set-up, so it was very informal and simple. If you like ramen, I recommend trying it out as something fun to throw together with what you have! 

I hope you find this theme as useful and fun of an idea as I did! Have a great night!

-Lauryn 

Riley's "Peachy at the Beach(y)" 13th Birthday Party

 

Hi, I hope everyone is having a fantastic and blessed summer! This year my cousin gave me very simple criteria for her birthday theme: she liked a peach/coral pink color, and she wanted a beach theme. The trouble was that I have done a lot of beach themes, and wanted to do one in a very different/new way. The result: peaches & beaches, or an "It's peachy at the beachy" party. 

The favors were peach and dye-free parrot gummies from Walmart. I painted the backdrops, banner, and peaches on posters and poster board. The bows and striped tissue on the table came from Michaels (together they were $1). The other dishes and decor were miscellaneous things I had on hand. My grandparents happen to own some tropical looking plants, so they happened to match the theme perfectly. I got some of the branches from their backyard and combined them with artificial plants I had. 

Thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoyed!

-Lauryn 

Sunflowers & Skates Mother's Day Party

 

Hey guys, one (?) more post for today! For this past Mother's Day, after much brainstorming and struggling to come up with a theme, I decided to combine my mother's favorite flower (sunflowers) with a favorite hobby of hers (ice skating, which I wanted to be part of the gift). I call the theme "Sunflowers & Skates", as the title says. 

On the poster I painted, I wrote "Happy Mother's Day to the coolest mom!" I used Dollar Tree sunflowers in the balloon arch. The dishes, vines, large vase of flowers, and such were things I had on hand. I got the mini teacher notebooks and cookies were from Walmart. The sunflower seeds and balloon came from Dollar Tree. I designed labels on Canva for the sunflower seeds that read "I couldn't have been raised by a better mother! Thank you for rooting for me and helping me grow!" (But I accidentally printed them too big and the sunflowers on them got cut off). The felt was from Walmart. To make the banner, I printed ice skate and sunflower graphics from Canva, cut them out, and hot glued them to felt triangles on yarn. 

Thank you for visiting! 

-Lauryn