Needing Hands-on Activities

As we approached the one-year anniversary of the day we went into distance learning, I noticed something about my students, about my classes, and about me. We all needed to get excited again. We were facing screen fatigue, app fatigue, and “same-old” fatigue.

I needed to create an opportunity for my students to use their hands and look away from their screens. They needed to manipulate things and touch things. They needed to learn with more than just sight and sound. I came to this realization before I began a read-aloud of The Cay by Theodore Taylor.

I was able to get hard copies of this book into my students’ hands back in the fall. We had been unable to read it until March. As I read the story to my students, they read along with me, turning actual pages and looking away from their screens. Those who were live in my classroom didn’t even need a device during our read-aloud time. I wished to do some things I had done at least eight years ago with this book. My classes used to recreate the cay in our classroom. We actually turned the classroom into the tiny island, complete with palm trees, vines, a hut, a water catchment, and a coral reef fishing hole stocked with fish. I couldn’t make this activity work, because not all of my students are in the classroom in person. Working closely together to make things and place them around the room violates our necessary Covid protocol. So, this activity will need to wait for another time.

But! There was another activity I had done in the past that caused my students to truly engage with what we were reading. I knew it would take a bit of work, but I felt it would be worth it.

Phillip, the protagonist of the book, becomes blind after sustaining a head injury. He and Timothy find themselves on an old wooden raft in the Caribbean, and eventually make their way to a tiny, uncharted cay. They need to create some things to survive. Timothy asks Phillip to weave palm frond sleeping mats for them, but it is frustratingly difficult for Phillip to do while blind. I wanted my students to understand and feel his frustration. So, I found a template for weaving paper mats. I put this template into Schoology, our LMS and made it available to my students more than a day ahead of time. I made paper copies of the template for my in-person students. I asked my students at home to print or create the template ahead of our weaving day, so that we could all participate together. Then, I crossed my fingers, hoping that my at-home students would prepare and join in our activity.

In the meantime, I asked the students in my Colt Time (advisory) if they had any good ideas for blindfolds for my in-person students. When I used to do this activity, I was able to use a large bin of bandanas that our counselors had for SEL activities. I knew that would not work for our purposes this year. One of my students explained to me that the masks they wear all day can simply be inched upward, covering their eyes. She showed me that she was easily able to cover her eyes, nose, and mouth with the same mask. Problem solved! My students at home could use a mask or any other face covering to blindfold themselves.

On the day of weaving, we cut the necessary strips using scissors before putting on the blindfolds. It seemed wise to wait! Then, with blindfolds on, my students in the classroom and on Zoom maneuvered strips of paper to make woven mats. I watched. It was fascinating. It was very hands-on. It was somewhat frustrating. It worked! And the response from more than one student was, “That was a fun activity,” “I get why Phillip was so upset,” and “Class is already over? That was fast!” This activity was exactly what we needed.