Yes. I’ve Made a Mistake

Yes. I’ve Made a Mistake

The aim is for students to learn to welcome and celebrate mistakes.

1. The students pair up with someone with the same hair length as them and stand opposite each other.

2. The teacher informs them that they will clap each other’s hands in 3 different ways:

     a) With both hands x 2

     b) Left hand to left hand

     c) Right hand to right hand.

3. The teacher tells them which type of clapping they must perform - a, b or c.   This should be done repetitively to reinforce the connection between the type of clapping and the letter.

4. If the students make a mistake they must, as a pair, celebrate their mistakes by saying, “Yes, I’ve made a mistake!”  They are encouraged to smile whilst doing a celebratory gesture which should be done every time they make a mistake.

5. When the teacher assesses that the students understand the game, the teacher changes the order of the letters e.g.  b, b, b, a, c, b, a, and c.

6. If the students master this, the teacher will ask them to close their eyes and will continue shouting out random letters.   If the students make mistakes, they should continue to celebrate.

7. The teacher discusses the activity with the students and stress why they must learn to make mistakes.
 

This activity enables students to celebrate making mistakes to develop a creative process. Making mistakes is a core element of creating something new. This skill is part of the suite of ‘innovative competencies’.