Do you ever get the urge to do something that no one sees coming?
This morning, I got to school early, snuck into the bathroom, and applied a layer of paint to my eyes to create a mask. Why? Well, it was Batman day in my math class. It garnered me some looks and laughs from coworkers. Students weren't quite sure what to make of it, but it came together beautifully.
I began by setting the tone. The face paint mixed with the theme from Batman Begins, lights out, and a board that said, "Riddle me this, when does eight 8's add up to 1,000?" all did the trick. Sadly, I only had one student who pushed hard to come up with the answer. Most of the students were stumped by the riddle.
From there I did our normal whole brain intro, going over the rules, procedures, and objectives...while doing my best Batman the Animated Series Joker impression. The kids caught on really fast and particularly seemed to like when I dropped into a lower register of my voice for my call to attention. One child remarked out loud, "I knew he was going to do that, so cool."
To transition into the main activity I showed the title sequence of Batman the Animated Series, then flipped back to the flipchart to present the students with the problem at hand. "I, the Riddler, have planted one of Mr. Freeze's old freeze bombs in one of these rooms. Your job is to follow my clues and try to disarm it in the next 50 or so minutes (I adjusted for each class based on time). The hotel only has 100 rooms. So if you work out a clue I have given you and find the answer to be more than 100, it means you received a red herring. Go back to your previous problem and find your mistake. Don't forget your P. E. MD. AS." I revealed the first clue and started the timer.
Students worked with a partner and had to approach me together and in agreement. They presented me with their answers, and I handed them a new problem. If their previous work was correct, they moved closer to the finish of the activity. If not, I gave them one of two red herring problems. As I did this I would tell them a story about them entering the room to find another clue. I love differentiation, so I had a regular list and a more challenging list, which I used for my honors class.
As time ticked away I would prod them with lines like, "Tick Tock, Batsy." and "Look at that, another minute closer to Gotham's demise."
Ultimately, students would complete 8 or 9 problems, depending on which list I used for their class. If they managed to complete the activity in the time allotted, they earned a pencil for themselves and a point for their class on the scoreboard. By the end of the day, I only had 3 pairs that did not finish or at least make it to the last problem, my students were all over this activity from bell to bell.
If/when I do something like this again, I will prep cards or strips of paper with the next expressions, ready to go. Writing their next expressions was not a major issue in my two smaller classes or my co-taught class. However, my last block is my largest and it was tough to keep up with that group.
At the end of the day, however, that didn't matter too much. Between the awesome feeling of seeing a few boys that brought their own capes with them, just for my class, and the girl who thanked me for doing something "much cooler than a worksheet." it was all worth it. Great day, couldn't recommend taking chances like that enough. Now get out there and be awesome.
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