I have them working on a project. This requires construction paper, pictures to cut out, markers, colored pencils and whole shebang. If the printers in my school could have been used as needed by students, we might have done this as an Excel project instead, but construction paper is available and reliable. Yesterday, I played their music, somewhat loudly, as they worked.

I had students volunteering to help with all sorts of things. I gave them all a piece of candy and received so many thank-yous. They were happy.

Eduhonesty: You can’t always blast the music. Sometimes you have to buckle down to multistep equations. But students also need a chance to operate in their comfort zone. They understand this cutting and pasting thing. They have confidence that they can produce good work, a product worth putting in the window or taking home. We need to make sure that the testing mania does not take away too many opportunities to create that project they can show off to their friends.