January 29, 2009
Ants in Your Pants and Jumping Jacks
I arrived at my classroom this morning and told my students to put away everything except for a pen. I told them we were having a quiz and that they had 10 minutes to complete it. I told them "do your best" and passed them out.
This was the quiz:
Getting to Know You Quiz
Directions: Read the entire quiz first. Follow the directions given. You have 10 minutes to complete this quiz.
- Write your age _____.
- Write your shoe size __________.
- Write the name of the President of the US _____________.
- Call the name of a friend in class, wave to them, and say hello.
- Stand up and shake someone's hand.
- Get two others to tell you their favorite color. Write the colors here:
- Walk to the front of the room and touch the board.
- Stand up and pretend you have ants in your pants
- Put your head on the desk and take a 10 second nap. Great job! You're almost half way there!
- Give a high five to two people you haven't talked to yet.
- Say your middle name out loud.
- Add 237, 4992, and 531. Answer: ______
- After you write the answer to #12, say "Yes! I'm so smart!"
- Sit down and stand up 10 times as fast as you can. Record your time here:
- Print the name of the planet you live on:
- Write the name of your favorite food here:
- Say "yummy, yummy in my tummy" out loud.
- Look at the person beside you and tell them something nice.
- Stand up and do 10 jumping jacks. Encourage others to join you.
- Don't follow any of these instructions. Just watch everyone else make a fool out of themselves and sit quietly until time is up.
Would you like to guess how many people had ants in their pants? Would you like to guess how many people yelled out, "Yes I'm so smart"? Oh people, if I had only been able to videotape it without them knowing something was up, I would have because it was quite amusing.
I figured I would start getting questions early in the quiz, but I was wrong. You wouldn't believe how many of my students eagerly went about each task, without a thought as to why I would have them do such a thing.
The first question I had was from one of the many students returning to their seat after touching the the board. His question was, "How am I supposed to do 'ants in my pants'?" I responded with, "Well, if you had bugs in your pants, it would probably be itchy." He nodded and wiggled his butt back to his seat. One of my freshman girls who read the entire quiz first, as instructed, had to hold her mouth shut while she shook and tried not to laugh out loud.
My next question came at question 15. "Do you want a serious answer to number 15?" he asked. "Be as serious as you need to be," I responded with a straight face.
Five of my students got it right from the beginning and found it quite amusing that there were students high-fiving them, calling their names out loud and asking them their favorite colors. I should note here that I told Mr. BBM this morning that I would have four follow directions and I had chosen my four well. The fifth one was an oversight on my part. I should have known. The ones who followed the instructions kept straight faces, all except for the girl who could barely hold it in, and one boy who sat in the back row grinning from ear to ear as he watched his classmates wiggle, high-five, and do jumping jacks.
I figured it was going to go one of two ways. They, those that were busy making fools of themselves, were either going to get mad or they would take it in a light-hearted way. Either way, they received the message loud and clear. Follow DIRECTIONS already!!!
About half of the kids stopped about half way through; yelling out their middle names was a bit much for some of them and they caught on. Others plugged through without a care in the world. Two who made it all the way through cracked up laughing at themselves as they finished. One kid laughed so hard he snorted.
I asked them if they were finished, grinned mischievously and explained why we had done this little exercise. This silly quiz drove the point home loud and clear.
After class, I had several students stay to ask for some help and make sure they were on the right track. I'm not saying I won't get another late assignment. The three kids who blew off class today obviously have missed this important lesson. But I like to think that me and the 17 who were there today, now have a mutual understanding. I want them to learn, and I want them to have fun while doing so, but I'm no push-over and I won't tolerate late assignments.
By the end of class today, I think it was pretty clear that at least those in attendance have been brought to my side. It's a good feeling. We'll see if I can make it last.
How would you have done on my silly quiz? Be honest!
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Glad to hear it worked out and they took it well.
I SSOOOOO wish you had been able to tape it.
My dad actually had to do a more serious version of this quiz for a prof development at his job many years ago. So, i would have done well because I know about these. AND, I have done this many times with my little 9th graders. It does work well. And is very amusing. My anal retentive students get soooo ticked off.
I would have been with that girl trying to hold in her giggles. I hope this makes them pay more attention to directions. If not, they are in for a long semester.
That’s hilarious! I probably would have read to the end because I’m such a nerdy little gooberhead I would have had to follow instructions to the letter.
I had to stop by your blog and tell you, because I know you’ll understand how proud I am: Sadie is starting karate on Monday! She’s finally five, we ordered her double 0 size gi, and she can’t wait. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I would have read it, probably answered 1, 2 and 3, but I wouldn’t have done anything else. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for this!!
That’s very clever. I wonder how I would have done.
Ha, ha, I think you would have figured it out.
BBM
Since I’m the type who flips to the end to read who did it, I probably would have read the last one first. God, I hope I would have done it right!
I don’t know how I would have done. I’m still adding up the numbers in #12 and shaking ants out of my pants.
Not much could make me laugh more than my student wiggling back to his seat today, but your comment, yep, did it.
BBM
I actually took this same quiz (or at least one very much like it) in middle school. I fell for it, but haven’t forgotten about that quiz all this time! It sends a good message, and allowed all of us crazy middle schoolers to act up in class.
I would have been busting a gut laughing – i always read all the questions first then go and answer the easy ones. -usually doing it backwards
I’ve always done quizzes like that.
We did this when I was in 4th grade and I’m 44 now. It is a lesson I remember to this day, all these years later. Good way to drive the point home!
Back in my ‘yoot’ I was given this quiz… it may have been 6th grade, I am not sure.
Like many of your students, I started into the public displays. At around question 5 I realized I was missing something, and then tried to make it sound like I was *purposely* doing those things… (no one bought it).
Well done!
Yeah, well it allowed my crazy college kids to act up to for a bit. I do hope they got the message and will remember it.
BBM
You would have been shaking with my freshman girl who totally got it.
BBM
Thanks! Most people seem to remember these little exercises. I hope mine remember it at least as long as the semester lasts.
BBM
Ha ha, I didn’t have anyone try that. They were quite good at laughing at themselves which is a good thing!
BBM
If this were high school, I would’ve been one of the kids who blew your class off. Nothing personal… in high school, I blew off everyone’s class. 😀
As for the quiz, this was something a teacher did to us in grade school, so I knew within the first few lines what you were up to. It’s a good lesson and one I’m sure your students won’t soon forget. Funny stuff.
Oh Steve, why does that not surprise me? You definitely strike me as an ornary one.
Doug: Thank YOU for the wonderful idea. I owe you one!
RG: I’m lucky that no one got ticked. They were all really good at laughing at themselves.
Stacey: Yes, they have no idea how long it can be. . .
Lydia: Yeah! That’s so exciting! I am anxiously awaiting the day I can start my little one. Soon!!!
One of my teachers did that once. I caught on, mostly because the things she wanted us to do were so bizarre she HAD to be kidding. I laughed inside. Who am I to ruin a good joke?
Hmmm…in high school/junior high, I would have read the whole thing and gotten it, but only because I was so horribly, painfully shy that the very thought of actually *doing* any of those things would have sent me into a shaking bout of anxiety- not because I was good at following directions.
The first time I went to college, I would have gone with the crowd before I finished it, because I would have been afraid that I was doing it wrong, despite the strict ‘read the whole quiz first’ instructions.
When I went back to college, I would have read the entire quiz, sat back, and made eye contact with the teacher with a twinkle in my eye and a grin.
In a similar story- my Dad told me a story about a college prof he had who would give a quiz on the *first day of class* on the first chapter in the book, so I religiously read that first chapter every semester. Whether or not I read the rest of the book is a different story, LOL!
I got here by way of Second Hand T. And I am reading this and LMAO. I would be the one to do all of these things and not be able to contain how fun to have a teacher like you. I read it to the end, first. (I was a freak-out person when it came to tests at that age, but knowing what I know now…)
Still, I would have completed all the tasks simply because I would have learned more about my classmates even at 44! That was great! I bet I can use this with my Brownies!