No Worksheet Week April 7 - 11

Last week, I read Matthew Weld's Teacher Challenge: No Worksheet Week and was instantly on board. This is an opportunity for teachers to push their pedagogy forward and meet the need of the students coming to our classrooms every day.  Here a brief synopsis of the challenge, but read @mattheweld 's blog post for the whole story.

There are only two rules:

1. No pre-copied sheets of paper where students fill in answers on the sheet of paper.
2. Take the same number of grades/assignments in that week in each subject or class as you normally would.  

The three levels of achievement you can earn during the week are:

• Gold - full week of no worksheets in any class
• Silver - full week of no worksheets in all subjects except math (elementary) or at least 2 class periods (junior high/high school)
• Bronze - full week of no worksheets in one subject (elementary) or in one class period (junior high/high school)

If you reach any of the achievement levels you can earn a badge that you can proudly display on your website, blog or in your email signature. In my district, some teachers are getting together next week to discuss how to participate in this challenge and earn your badge. I will post more information on this soon.

No Worksheet Week provides an opportunity to have students collaborate, create, think critically and communicate at higher levels. Cybraryman's website has some excellent resources on going paperless, but remember, a worksheet is still a worksheet even if it is digital.  Consider other activities to meet learning goals including project based learning, reflective discourse in mathematics, and 21st century skills.