The Celebrity Challenge!

Greetings~

I want to share a technique I stumbled upon that I call the Celebrity Challenge! Though it can be used for any subject really~ I use it to motivate my fifth-gradestudents during math instruction.

I hang up a poster of a popular celebrity~ the more controversial the better. Then~ I tell the students that I will tear a small piece of poster up everytime they collectively score a 90 percent or better on a test (the CPS remote system I use provides me with a quick class average).

I sometimes tell the students that every time they get three difficult problems correct~ I'll take a little piece down. Then~ you can add more excitement by drawing a mustache on the staror glasses with tape~ etc.

It's a simple idea~ really~ but works to excite the kids and tie in something that is current and relevant in their lives.

Best of Luck~

Steve