Better Than BingoActivity slides
Better Than Bingo · Classroom Edition
Our Class Recipe
Turn students’ ideas about a great classroom into a playful recipe the class can actually use.
25–35 min8–35 peopleTable groups
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Teacher prep · Do not project yet
Set the room up for success.
Materials
- Chart paper or whiteboard
- Markers
- Optional sticky notes
Before you begin
- Draw a simple recipe card with spaces for ingredients, directions, and a recipe name
- Prepare a few concrete examples such as curiosity, patience, quiet time, laughter, and asking for help
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Teacher language · Do not project yet
What to say
“We are going to invent a recipe for a classroom where people can learn and feel like they belong. There is no single correct recipe, and you may suggest an idea without explaining anything personal.”
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Teacher notes · Do not project yet
Keep it comfortable and useful.
Make room for everyone
- Accept drawing, dictation, selecting from prepared words, or original writing.
- Read all suggested ingredients aloud and pair icons with key words.
- Do not ask students to disclose fears, diagnoses, family information, or difficult experiences.
Watch out for
- Do not promise that every suggestion will become a class rule; explain what is flexible and what is not.
- Translate vague words like respect into actions students can recognize.
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For students
Here’s what to do.
- 1
Ask students to quietly think of one thing that helps a classroom feel safe, useful, or welcoming.
- 2
In groups of three or four, have students choose four to six ingredients for their classroom recipe.
- 3
Ask groups to decide how much of each ingredient is needed: a scoop, a sprinkle, a steady supply, or another playful amount.
- 4
Have each group add two directions that describe what the class would actually do.
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For students
Keep going.
- 5
Groups share one ingredient and one direction; students may appoint a reader or let the teacher read for them.
- 6
Combine repeated ideas into one class recipe and ask for a quick thumbs-sideways check before displaying it.
- 7
Revisit the recipe after the first week and adjust one ingredient together.
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Prompt 01
What helps people feel ready to learn?
Take a moment to think. Passing or writing instead is always okay.
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Prompt 02
What should we add generously?
Take a moment to think. Passing or writing instead is always okay.
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Prompt 03
What can ruin the recipe if we use too much?
Take a moment to think. Passing or writing instead is always okay.
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Prompt 04
What would this ingredient look or sound like during a real school day?
Take a moment to think. Passing or writing instead is always okay.
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Wrap it up
One last thought.
- Which ingredient will be easiest for us to notice?
- How can we remind one another about the recipe without embarrassing anyone?
- What might we need to change after we try it?