I’m not sure if it’s all students across the country, or if it is just my little corner of the world, but I have noticed that my middle schoolers struggle to think on their own.

As soon as we start an assignment, hands go up across the classroom, and each student seems to want a personal explanation of what to do and how to do it.

It seems as if they have a hard time trusting themselves to think through steps on their own. 

In order to teach my students how to think independently, I came up with something called The Pop Challenge!

What it is:

Students are put in small groups and given an assignment.

This should be an assignment that they can manage independently, but could require some struggle to complete.

Groups are given three simple rules:

1. Your group will work together to complete the assignment.

2. You can use whatever resources you have available, but YOU CAN NOT ASK ME ANYTHING!

3. Your task must be completed within the assigned amount of time.

A timeframe is provided and students get to work as soon as you start the timer.

How to host your own pop challenge:

Come up with an activity that can be completed in one class period.

Put students in groups of 2-4.

For each group, make an envelope with the Pop Challenge instructions on the outside. I added some color to each of the envelopes to differentiate between the groups.  

Put an assignment instruction sheet and any materials needed on the inside of the envelope.

I use these envelopes and cold laminate them using this so they last year after year. I have used the same envelopes for five years! 

When students walk in, announce they are going to be doing a Pop Challenge! You can have it posted on the board and on your daily agenda. If you’re a cool 90s kid like me, you can play “It’s Time for the Percolator” and change the words to “It’s Time for a Pop Challenge” as you dance around the room with your envelopes.

Put students in their groups, pass out the envelopes, explain the three rules, set your timer, and watch them become independent learners! 

You can walk around and encourage groups, make a big deal out of groups that are working together, and facilitate deeper thinking. However, you need to avoid answering questions! They will try to get you to bend the rules!

When they ask, point to expectation #2, maybe to a resource they could use to help them, and walk away.

They will be frustrated at first, but will learn how to figure things out without you spoon feeding them! 

If needed, go over the assignment at the end. Talk to your students about what they liked, didn’t like, and what they struggled with the most. 

I have found that students love Pop Challenge days and I plan at least one every quarter. 

If you would like to do your own Pop Challenge day, feel free to download this PDF! You can print as many as you need and glue it to the front of each envelope (use hot glue if you're laminating your envelopes).

For ELA Unlimited members, this resource is available in the Classroom Resources section under Projects and Activities. If you are following the weekly plans, this resource will be used for the Figurative Language Pop Challenge activity in week 7. 

If you’re interested in having unlimited access to creative and engaging resources like this one, check out ELA Unlimited. It’s THE hub for middle school language arts resources!