Face Off: How It's Going

Back in August, I introduced a new idea I had for this year: Face Off.  It is basically a way for students to vote on which book they liked the best.  It integrates reading, graphing, questioning, and stating an opinion.  It is an activity that can take a few seconds or you can dig deeper.

I had decided to put this activity in the hallway because our kiddos move classes.  I thought it might be something they could vote on while they wait for their next class.

But I have to be honest...I did not really think this was going to work well.  Once the year gets started, I often have trouble keeping up with little things like this.  For example, I used to have a timeline in this same spot.  I wanted to post all the books and activities that we did in a timeline format.

Nope! 
That did not work out.  I could not keep up with it.

I really thought the same was going to happen with the Face Off idea.  It didn't matter what I thought, I was still going to try it.

And surprisingly, it has been so easy.  After two books are read, I just throw them up on the curtain rod.  That is literally all I do!  The voting tape is hanging there at all times.

The year started off with our votes looking like this:

Then we taught them how to make a bar graph:

We have also used dye cuts to form a pictograph:

If you want to try it out at your school, it is as easy I stated above.  If you want to dig even deeper with your class into the reading, math, and even writing components of this activity, I have created some graphic organizers and graphs that can accompany the voting.

I do have to tell you.  My favorite weeks are when the kids say "Ahhh, why are you making this so hard?  How am I suppose to pick between those books?"  That is the best feeling!