Survivor Rules!

Home

Chat

Blogs

Collection

Directory

Home : 2004 : June : 3

Survivor Rules!
By Leah

I also teach fourth grade and I have been using this theme in my room for the last two years. You have some great things planned. A couple of things I can add are....I have my students sitting in groups. These are my tribes.
At the end of each subject block we have a survivor challenge. I ask a few questions based on the information just learned. I add this to the group points that they recieve for good behavior etc. I also take advantage of this theme to teach coordinates on a map. Since I do a rainforest unit later in the year I pick places like Brazil and Madagascar that have a rainforest. The

tribes are named after a location within that country and the tribes use the actual flag of that country as part of their logo. My door uses the survivor creed " Outwit, Outplay, Outlast". Instead of students being voted off by each other, that is my perogative. Instead we have a posters we make that say " All Stars" " Voted off". Here we write the names of characters in books we read throughout the year. Students also create portraits of these characters and write a little bio of them. Tribal council is held every Friday and this is where we talk about problems the tribe is having and brainstorm solutions. At the dollar store I buy bandanas- weird colors, prints and stripes. Each tribe wears this "buff" wrapped around their wrist during outdoor challenges. For these I pick activities that require cooperation- passing a hula hoop around a circle without using hands etc. The tribe that wins gets an idol ( really ugly bust I found at the dollar store) to keep at their table. This tribe gets to go first to lunch etc. My students LOVE this theme and even watch the show. The show is actually a great conversation starter about honesty, good moral character, etc. At the end of the year party we vote for best survivor moments. Oh, by the way, use the Pirates of the Carribean CD for your theme. It is a great CD and the first piece is also the new survivor theme. I guarantee you will love this. May the best survivor win!