"Road Runner Challenge" - Promoting Critical, Divergent Thinking and Curricular Connections

Students begin each class period with a 5-minute activity connected to the daily lesson and MCS curriculum. Wednesday's "Road Runner Challenge" produced some creative results and ignited healthy discourse on repeating patterns in music, architecture, and nature.

Gwendolyn, grade 8

Today's new vocabulary term was ostinato (a repeating musical pattern). To introduce the concept, students were asked to illustrate simple repeating patterns using their choice of symbols, designs, or characters. Next, students were asked to "identify one thing they have observed or heard that included repeating patterns." Students listened to Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" (softly playing in the background) as we completed the challenge. Many students identified the repeating guitar phrase, drum pattern, and Adele's melodic vocal lines, particularly in the song's refrain, "we could've had it all." Other students identified the Kente cloth pattern on the drum shells in our classroom, the pattern in the carpet, on a purse, and in bulletin board paper. Below are a few images created by the students during today's Road Runner challenge.

Kamara, grade 8 

Marcus, grade 8

Mikayla, grade 6

Daila, grade 6