Immersion

I am a huge believer in the power of the "hook" to get my students fully engaged in class.  Recently we were studying the Roaring 20s, so I decided to turn my room into a speakeasy!

One trip to Wal Mart to buy a huge black tarp, some grape juice, sparkling water and the dollar store for black tablecloths and voila! I covered my window with the black tarp so it was totally dark in my room ( I only have one window thankfully!) I covered the front of my door and made a little flap on the inside for my bouncers to check passwords. Final touch were some red dice lights on sale at the party store!
I had some flameless candles to add to the tables for a final touch.
Needless to say - the students were so excited the days leading up to this that some of them dressed up even though it wasn't even mentioned!

We went about our daily routine in this set up and during official Social Studies time, we entered the speakeasy time.  All students had to have the password before entering which was Prohibition.  I had 2 bouncers at the door to check to make sure no one was trying to sneak in, especially authority!

We made "mixed drinks" with the juice and sparkling water and then - a pounding on the door!!!! Oh no!!! It was the fuzz!!!! I had secretly arranged a parent who is a police office to arrive and bust us up - it was classic. All the kids ran to my desk and pointed the finger to me! It was funny to see them all throw me under the bus like that. He talked to them a little about the consequences for bootleggers, why alcohol was bad and went on his way. We carried on about our day - just in a different setting! 

Changing your room just a little to shake things up is a guaranteed way to engage your students.  I know my students will always remember our speakeasy day and we got so much accomplished in terms of work because they were so focused in this new setting! 

Having 2 teachers dress like a flapper and a gangster didn't hurt either. =)