Day 3: Let 5M Show You the WAYWatch Real Students Demonstrate the WAY Game
Updated: 15 hours ago
Welcome back to SWAY Canada — A SMART WAY to Learn, Earn, and Play!
In Lesson 1, we explored WAY Cards and how they can help teachers learn students' names, organize participation, and introduce fairness.
In Lesson 2, we looked at relationships and the importance of recognizing every student's strengths.
Now it's time to see what happens when these ideas come together.
This time, I'm going to let my students do the teaching.
A Promise I Made to My Students
It was June 2015, near the end of my 33-year teaching career.
My Grade 5 students asked whether I would put instructions for the WAY Game online so other students could learn to play. I agreed. At the time, I had no idea how much work that promise would involve. But I kept it.
Before retiring, I recorded our final WAY Game. The four videos in this lesson feature students from my Grade 5M class demonstrating how the game worked in our classroom.
The activities were unscripted, although I edited the recordings to highlight important teaching moments. What you're about to see isn't a polished commercial or a carefully staged performance. It's a glimpse into a classroom in action.
Why Watch the WAY Game?
You can read instructions about classroom management, student engagement, and cooperative learning. But sometimes, seeing students in action is more useful.
As you watch, notice how students:
Organize themselves into teams.
Take on classroom responsibilities.
Create and use Game Cards.
Participate in different learning games.
Make decisions and respond to challenges.
Practise following rules and resolving disagreements.
You'll also notice that things don't always go perfectly.
That's teaching.
The goal isn't to create a perfect classroom. It's to create a classroom where students learn to take increasing responsibility for their learning and behaviour.
Your Focus Question
Can watching other students play the WAY Game motivate your class to try it?
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Identify several tools and student roles used in the WAY Game.
Explain how the game encourages participation, teamwork, and responsibility.
Identify possible benefits and challenges.
Decide whether to try one WAY Game activity in your classroom or family.
You don't have to adopt the entire system.
Watch first. Discuss. Then decide what you'd like to try.
Four Videos — One Classroom
Video 1: Getting Organized
Running time: 3:13
Watch for:
How students form teams.
How WAY Cards are used.
The responsibilities of the three student judges.
What students say and do while organizing themselves.
Think about: Which classroom responsibilities could your students begin managing?
[Keep existing WAY Game Part 1 video here.]
Video 2: Preparing to Play
Running time: 6:28
Watch for:
CAP Notes and lesson summaries.
Student-created Game Cards.
The role of team captains.
Place Cards and judges.
SMART Board tools.
Examples of the seven WAY Games.
How judging works.
Think about: How could students turn something they learned today into a question or activity for their classmates?
[Keep existing WAY Game Part 2 video here.]
Video 3: Students Take Responsibility
Running time: 5:16
Watch for:
Learning technologies and classroom tools.
Pathfinder.
Student choice and strategy.
Questioning techniques.
The Answer It game.
The Captain's Challenge.
Students responding to expectations and responsibilities.
Think about: What responsibilities are students managing, and what responsibilities does the teacher retain?
[Keep existing WAY Game Part 3 video here.]
Video 4: Celebrating Learning
Running time: 4:40
Watch for:
The Captain's Challenge.
The Mystery Kid.
Student of the Day.
Prizes and recognition.
Rubrics and evaluation.
How the game concludes.
Think about: How can recognition encourage effort, kindness, improvement, and teamwork without making students feel excluded?
[Keep existing WAY Game Part 4 video here.]
What Did You Notice?
After watching, discuss these questions with your students, colleagues, or family.
Engagement: Did students appear interested and involved? Did everyone have an opportunity to contribute?
Discipline: How were rules established and disagreements handled? What would you do differently?
Learning: What evidence did you see of students remembering, explaining, questioning, or applying information?
Leadership: What classroom responsibilities were managed by students?
Teacher workload: Which activities required teacher preparation, and which could students eventually manage themselves?
Inclusion: How could you adapt the game for students with different learning, communication, or participation needs?
You don't need to agree with everything you see. In fact, I hope you'll question some of it.
Good teachers observe, evaluate, adapt, and improve.
Start with One Small Experiment
If your students are interested in trying the WAY Game, don't feel you need to introduce everything at once.
Here's one way to begin:
Step 1 — Use WAY Cards. Review the cards introduced in Lesson 1. Use them to organize a simple participation activity.
Step 2 — Choose one game. Select a game for which you have clear instructions and suitable classroom materials.
Step 3 — Use familiar content. Choose questions based on something students have already learned.
Step 4 — Establish House Rules. Discuss respectful participation, teamwork, fair judging, and how disagreements will be resolved.
Step 5 — Play briefly. Try a short activity rather than an entire game session.
Step 6 — Reflect. Ask students what worked, what didn't, and what should change.
Step 7 — Decide what comes next. Repeat, adapt, or try another tool when you're ready.
That's how I encourage teachers to approach SWAY Canada.
Small steps. Real experiences. Continuous improvement.
How Can Parents Help?
One of the things I valued about my classroom was the involvement of parents. During my final years of teaching, parents had opportunities to visit, observe, and sometimes participate in the WAY Game.
I also tried to make classroom learning visible through CAP Notes, Game Cards, Pathfinder, and lesson planning. I wanted parents to understand what their children were learning and how they were learning it.
Today, parent volunteers may be able to help prepare materials, print and cut Game Cards, organize supplies, or support approved classroom activities. But volunteers aren't a requirement for getting started. Teachers should follow their school's policies for volunteering, privacy, supervision, and student participation.
Start with what you have. Invite others to help when it's appropriate.
The Ripple Effects
When students become more engaged in their learning, other things may begin to change.
They may ask more questions, practise explaining their thinking, cooperate more effectively, or become more responsible for classroom routines.
Student-created CAP Notes and Game Cards may also provide teachers with additional evidence of understanding. Over time, these practices could contribute to stronger learning, improved classroom relationships, more informative reporting, and a more manageable workload. Those are worthwhile goals. But don't simply take my word for it.
Observe your students. Collect evidence. Ask for feedback. Adjust your approach.
The value of a teaching technique is found in what students actually learn and experience.
A Word from Your Guest Teacher
When I retired, I made a promise to share the WAY Game with others.
That promise became SWAY Canada. I'm not asking you to teach exactly as I did.
I'm inviting you to learn from my experiences, borrow what works, improve what doesn't, and develop your own approach. You know your students and your curriculum.
I can share tools and techniques that may help you along the way.
You decide what to teach. SWAY Canada helps you explore how students can learn it.
Your Challenge
Show your students one or more of the four videos.
Ask them:
"Would you like to try something like this in our classroom?"
Listen to their ideas.
If they're interested, choose one small activity and give it a try.
Then reflect together. That's how a classroom community begins taking ownership of its learning.
What's Next?
Day 4: Pathfinder — Getting to Know the Learner Behind the Student
We'll explore how students, parents, and teachers can use Pathfinder to better understand individual strengths, interests, goals, and learning needs.
Brian McCarthy
Retired Teacher and Founder, SWAY Canada
Learn to Play — Play to Learn.
Enjoy our Videos
Are students motivated and engaged? We filmed 5M unscripted and improvised from beginning to end. Video editing helped get to the teaching moments.
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