Announcing the Winners of the Think or Swim Contest<\/b><\/p>\n
To celebrate the launch of our new classroom game Think or Swim, we had a contest! Educators were asked to share how they use this game in their classrooms. Dozens of educators across the country entered, and our team picked 3 grand prize winners. They received Progress Learning swag and <\/span>a pizza party for their classroom! We also picked 10 additional honorable mentions who won Progress Learning swag for their students.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What Is Think or Swim?<\/b><\/p>\n Before we announce our winners, we wanted to give a quick summary of our new classroom game<\/a>. <\/span>Think or Swim is a quiz-show-style game for all grade levels that is played on the projector. Students split into teams and take turns selecting a shell to reveal a question. Then, they write their answers on their whiteboards and hold them up when the host calls time. The team or teams with the most correct answers win! Think or Swim is a great way to add some variety to students\u2019 normal routines, review standards, and enhance collaboration and engagement in the classroom<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Congrats to Our 3 Grand Prize Winners!\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n These 3 educators are making a splash with Think or Swim, using it in fun and creative ways to engage their students. Let\u2019s dive in and see how they use it!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Brooke Neal \u2014 8th Grade Science, Orange Beach Middle School, Alabama<\/b><\/p>\n Brooke uses Think or Swim in her 8th grade science class to review various standards before tests. She structures the game like Family Feud or Jeopardy. Each student has a whiteboard to write their answers, and if everyone on the team answers correctly, that team gets the point and they get to choose the next question. Brooke and her students really get into it \u2014 she even dresses up as Steve Harvey!<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to setting up the game, Brooke enjoys how easy it is to generate questions from the Progress Learning question bank and mix and match standards from different units. She also loves that she can save the game for later or duplicate it for her classes.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In addition, Brooke appreciates the quality and rigor of the questions and how they prepare her students for Alabama state testing. \u201cIt impacts my students’ learning because they see higher DOK level questioning and can see the style of questioning they will see on their Progress Learning test and ACAP state testing,\u201d says Brooke.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Naomi Ramsey \u2014 3rd Grade ELA\/Social Studies, Hollywood Academy of Arts and Science, Florida<\/b><\/p>\n Naomi uses Think or Swim to cover literary devices with her 3rd grade class. Her students play in teams and write their answers on whiteboards, \u201cswimming\u201d closer to victory with each correct response.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What does Naomi love about the game? \u201cWhat I loved most about the game was how it made learning literary devices engaging and interactive. The students were highly motivated to participate and demonstrated a strong understanding of metaphors, hyperbole, and personification by the end of the game. It was wonderful to see their excitement and enthusiasm as they competed and learned.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loreto Canales \u2014 3rd Grade, Hebbronville Elementary School, Texas<\/b><\/p>\n Loreto uses the game to cover math TEKS with his 3rd graders. He enjoys the collaborative nature of the game, which encourages his students to work together to solve math problems.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s how he played the game most recently: \u201cThe class was split into two teams covering the 3rd grade math TEKS and discussed the problem as a group. I asked the team captains what they thought of the game and liked how working as a team is very effective.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Honorable Mentions<\/b><\/p>\n We also want to recognize these 10 amazing educators who use the game in creative and impactful ways with their students.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tina Wolfe \u2014 11th and 12th Grade, Picayune Memorial High School, Mississippi<\/b><\/p>\n Tina uses Think or Swim to cover standards with her high schoolers. She says that the game boosts morale and makes them more willing to learn. \u201cIt helped motivate each student to try harder and to learn the material in a new, fun way,\u201d she shares.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Jocelyn Videtto \u2014 5th Grade, Imagine Schools South Lake, Florida<\/b><\/p>\n Jocelyn uses the game to review 4th grade ELA standards with her 5th grade class. This helps her students review standards from the previous year and prepare for the FAST. \u201cI like how each question is similar to a question they would see on the FAST test. Both format and rigor meet the requirements I would like to see them use for practice.\u201d Her students are fans of the game, too. \u201cThe students always love playing this game. They love the fun team names and that every team gets an opportunity to gain points for every round,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Julie Guidry, Christy Byerly, and Kirstey Fraychineaud \u2014 5th Grade RLA, Helena Park Elementary, Nederland ISD, Texas<\/b><\/p>\n Julie, Christy, and Kirstey are a joint 4th grade RLA team. They use Think or Swim to do a six-week review before their benchmark test. After their most recent game, they asked their students if they felt prepared for their benchmark test. The students said that it was \u201cjust a really fun way to remember what we’ve learned!\u201d The students also loved the fun team names. \u201cThey really got a kick out of the aquatic team names.\u201d Their students love the game so much that they decided to play again for their 2nd six-week review.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ashley Root \u2014 3rd Grade ELA\/Social Studies, Longhorn Elementary, Texas<\/b><\/p>\n Ashley uses the game in her 3rd grade class as a daily warm-up. \u201cMy classes love playing this game! I love how it gets them excited about learning\u2026 I try to incorporate this game as much as possible simply because it gets my students excited!\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Viviana Garcia \u2014 5th Grade, Fox Trail Elementary School, Broward County Public Schools, Florida<\/b><\/p>\n Viviana says that her 5th graders \u201chave a blast\u201d playing Think or Swim. They use the game to review science standards. She says that it fosters a friendly sense of competition. \u201cThe students really enjoyed competing against each other and loved that every team that answered correctly got points, instead of only the first team to answer.\u201d Her students also enjoy Reef Recess, which are short brain breaks during the game where students perform actions to earn additional points. They \u201cprovided a lot of chuckles.\u201d Her students are excited to play again in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jakara Carter \u2014 4th Grade, Renaissance Charter School at West Palm Beach, Florida<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cOMG!!!\u201d exclaims Jakara. \u201cThis is such a cool, interactive way to reinforce skills, review for a test, or simply give students some additional practice!\u201d She uses Think or Swim to review math standards with her class. Her students have 45 seconds to solve math problems with their team. \u201cThe students enjoyed it and did not want to stop playing!\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Patricia Armendariz \u2014 1st Grade, Eagle Point Elementary, Broward County Public Schools, Florida<\/b><\/p>\n As Patricia points out, Think or Swim is a great tool for dual language classes since questions are available in Spanish. Patricia shares that she \u201cwas able to play it in Spanish for my dual language class\u201d and that her students \u201chad a blast playing this game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Brandi Bass \u2014 4th Grade Math, Willow Wood Elementary, Melissa ISD, Texas<\/b><\/p>\n Brandi uses the game in her 4th grade class to review profit and adding\/subtracting with whole numbers and decimals. Her students look forward to playing every time. \u201cMy students look forward to what team they are on and enjoy the competition.\u201d As for Brandi, she \u201cloves how it selects the teams that will be chosen and that it is so easy to set up and play.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Mayra Dimas Silva \u2014 3rd Grade Bilingual Teacher, Decker Elementary, Manor ISD, Texas<\/b><\/p>\n Mayra uses the game to review before their unit assessments. As a bilingual teacher, she loves that the questions are available in Spanish. \u201cThe best part was that the questions were also available in Spanish, making it ideal for our dual language classroom. My students really enjoyed the game!\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Brandy Mitchell \u2014 3rd Grade, Strickland Elementary, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Texas<\/b><\/p>\n Brandy uses the game to review for math and science end-of-unit assessments. \u201cThey had a great time playing!\u201d she says. The last time they played, they actually ran out of time to make it through all the questions. But Brandy isn\u2019t worried. \u201cI think as we become more accustomed to the platform that we will make it farther along. I really look forward to this new way to review and appreciate the STAAR-like questions to practice with!\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Thank you to all the educators who entered our Think or Swim contest, and congrats again to our winners and honorable mentions! We love seeing how you\u2019re using Think or Swim, and we can\u2019t wait to see how you use the game in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n