Are You Smarter Than an NFL Football Player? (#WonderlicTest Part II)

Take Sample Test [here]

This will be the second year that I’ve decided to have a little fun with my Language Arts/Writing classes. I know you’re thinking, how does taking a test equal fun? Last year, I was reading an article, How Smart Are you? Take the Wonderlic Test and Find Out on the Bleacher Report, and I thought I’d take it. I wanted to say I aced the 15 sample questions, but I didn’t. I received an embarrassing score of 8 out of 15 last year – this year I scored a 10 out of 15 😉 I know what you’re thinking, you only improved 2pts and knew the questions! I’ve never been a good test taker. Give me a written exam, and I will make magic happen;] I digress, for those that are scratching their heads wondering what exactly a Wonderlic Test is, it’s basically a cognitive test that NFL football players are given to gauge their intelligence. In more specific terms, “Players are presented 50 questions to be completed in 12 minutes. The questions are designed to test a person’s capacity to learn and ability to problem-solve, although the correlation between a high Wonderlic score and NFL success is debatable.” If you would like to take the sample test and see how you measure up, go [here].

KVOA Channel 4 News Comes to Class #JonathanMartin

Earlier in the week, my class participated in a view and respond about Jonathan Martin and his bad experience with bullying while playing for the Miami Dolphins. In an effort to let Mr. Martin know he has about 60 kids in his corner from Tucson, I figured I would send an email to a couple of news outlets in hopes the letters would get some attention. KVOA News was happy to oblige. The students really enjoyed the news coming out this morning. They are finding their voices at this age, and this was a good way to reinforce that their voices are being heard. They are also thrilled that they will be on the 6 o’clock news!

A Friendly Letter to Jonathan Martin (Miami Dolphins)

Friendly Letter to Jonathan Martin…

Earlier in the week, my class participated in a view and respond about Jonathan Martin and his bad experience with bullying while playing for the Miami Dolphins. We decided to write a friendly letter to Jonathan Martin in hopes that it would reach him. The class is working on a unit called Express Yourself  where students will learn how to properly format as well as write poetry, letters, and essays. This particular activity fit perfectly because students are currently working on their letter writing skills with an emphasis on Production & Distribution of Writing – 7.W.4 Common Core Standard…

It was also my hope that students would relate to his particular situation. We had a good discussion about this situation as well as other bullying type of situations that the students have experienced themselves. I had several goals for this letter. One was to get students to work on their writing as well as grammar skills (we are a work in progress), and the other goal was to get students to understand that we all go through tough situations like this no matter how big or strong we are.

Jonathan Martin of the Miami Dolphins – Bullying in the NFL (View & Respond)

Bullying in the NFL – Jonathan Martin of the Miami Dolphins (View & Respond)

On November 6th, the class will work on (7.SL.1) & (7.SL.5) common core speaking/listening standards with this view & respond about Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin of the Miami Dolphins. Students will began class with a bell work prompt about any bullying, and how does it make them feel. I will be passing out a news story via ESPN. Along with that news story, students will have questions to answer before we begin classroom discussion. That handout can be viewed [here]. The class will then move to the viewing portion by watching this video [here]. Students will be prompted to actively watch by using the 5W’s (who, what, where, when, and why)… Students will be given about 5 to 7 minutes to answer the questions from the previously mentioned handout. Once students have completed the handout, I will open up the floor for discussion.

As added bonus, I will give the students a chance to write a letter to Jonathan Martin. Our writing class is currently working on letter writing (Production & Distribution of Writing – 7.W.4 Common Core Standard), so this will be a perfect opportunity to display those skills in a real world setting. Luckily, the Dolphins mailing address is very accessible (here). Students will complete letter for homework and submit the following day.

Are You Smarter Than an NFL Football Player? (Wonderlic Test)

Wonderlic Activity…

I’ve decided to have a little fun with my Language Arts/Writing classes. I know you’re thinking, how does taking a test equal fun? I will bring that point home in a short amount of time. I was reading an article, How Smart Are you? Take the Wonderlic Test and Find Out on the Bleacher Report, and I thought I’d take it. I want to say I aced the 15 sample questions, but I didn’t. I received an embarrassing score of 8 out of 15. I gave myself about 5 minutes to take it and perhaps I should have cut the television off. That being said, I’ve always been honest and upfront about my test taking abilities and overall intelligence with my students [i.e., Are You Smarter Than a 7th Grader?]. I’ve never been a good test taker. Give me a written exam, and I will make magic happen;] I digress, for those that are scratching their heads wondering what exactly a Wonderlic Test is, it’s basically a cognitive test that NFL football players are given to gauge their intelligence. In more specific terms, “Players are presented 50 questions to be completed in 12 minutes. The questions are designed to test a person’s capacity to learn and ability to problem-solve, although the correlation between a high Wonderlic score and NFL success is debatable.” If you would like to take the sample test and see how you measure up, go [here].