Hey folks! John here.
A few years ago, I tweeted a short video of a teacher training activity where we used plastic eggs to transform any old worksheet into a high energy review. To my total surprise, THE VIDEO WENT VIRAL, picking up 65K+ views in less than 3 days time! And teachers everywhere couldn’t wait to join in the fun. Flash forward all these years later, and this simple twist on a traditional worksheet review took on a life of its own — spawning the success of my first book, inspiring a worldwide hashtag, giving rise to hundreds of additional resources inside the very site that you’re now seeing here in all their gamified glory, and inviting teachers and students everywhere to come join in the fun!
Got a bunch of plastic eggs kicking around in your attic or garage?
We cordially invite you to join in the annual #EggDashCallenge!
Here’s how to play!
1. Take any normal worksheet with review questions.
— John Meehan (he/him) (@MeehanEDU) March 21, 2019
2. Cut the sheet into slips.
3. Hide those slips in plastic eggs.
Teams collect and egg at random then race back to their team compete to solve as many as they can before time expires! Rinse and repeat. #EDrenaline pic.twitter.com/Sg5Xo4Vt8K
Capture the Egg-Citement With A FREE Download!
Some Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I use something other than plastic eggs?
YES! We’ve had teachers using everything from plush Fortnite Loot Llamas, plastic test tubes, brown paper bags, good old fashioned envelopes. You name it!
Can this work in my content area?
You betcha! If you’re teaching something like literature and poetry, consider providing students with a printed copy of the text, numbering certain items throughout the piece, and then having students solve for the numbered items as they draw numbered prompts from the plastic eggs. The activity is super flexible.
Can I throw in a few other surprises?
Big time! Consider loading some eggs with a freebie bonus item (+5 points, draw 2 next time, etc.), or a troublemaking penalty (like no question and just -5 points, etc.).
How long should this activity last?
Totally up to you! Nobody knows the unique needs of your kids and your classroom better than you do — so go with your gut. Five minutes works great for my students, but this could easily scale up or down according to your needs.
We had THE. BEST. time at our faculty meeting this afternoon. #eggdashchallenge was a hit! I can’t wait to see how these Ts use this learning opportunity @PCHSFrisco @tiffany_crites @FriscoISDTech #pblandgoogletools @MeehanEDU @mrmatera #engagement pic.twitter.com/IbRy2qvMpJ
— Mandi Bush, M.Ed. (@Learn_AndGo) January 19, 2023
Brought the #EggDashChallenge to @FCAdultHS staff today! Seeing how well they know each other by guessing who said what on a recent staff survey of their favorite things. Thanks for a great classic, @MeehanEDU! #fcpssbts @fcpsnews @NSP_FCPS pic.twitter.com/elSrFKWrtg
— Jessica Klein (@TheRealMrsKlein) March 28, 2023
Today students rocked our first Egg Dash Challenge of the year. Loads of fun and the results were universally positive. It has become a solid staple of the class that I break out 4-5 times throughout the year. #emc2learning pic.twitter.com/TyYZRu65lX
— Shaun Moriarty (@MoriartyHistory) September 8, 2022
Annual Classic #eggdashchallenge today for test review! @MeehanEDU pic.twitter.com/3Z2RQQZz6w
— MsStrukely1 (@MsStrukely1) March 22, 2023
Some Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I use something other than plastic eggs?
YES! We’ve had teachers using everything from plush Fortnite Loot Llamas, plastic test tubes, brown paper bags, vending machine spheres, good old fashioned envelopes. You name it!
Can this work in my content area?
You betcha! If you’re teaching something like literature and poetry, consider providing students with a printed copy of the text, numbering certain items throughout the piece, and then having students solve for the numbered items as they draw numbered prompts from the plastic eggs. The activity is super flexible.
Can I throw in a few other surprises?
Big time! Consider loading some eggs with a freebie bonus item (+5 points, draw 2 next time, etc.), or a troublemaking penalty (like no question and just -5 points, etc.).
How long should this activity last?
Totally up to you! Nobody knows the unique needs of your kids and your classroom better than you do — so go with your gut. Five minutes works great for my students, but this could easily scale up or down according to your needs.
In all of the excitement, there were a handful of teachers who expressed some concern about certain elements of the activity that weren’t quite captured in the 30 second video, so we wanted to take a moment to offer a bit more clarity and encourage you to do the same. Turns out that viral videos can be great at conveying excitement, but they do have a tendency to fall short in the world of nuance:
Today we reviewed for our upcoming vocabulary quiz by playing Magic Gopher Gum-ball Review my version of the #eggdashchallenge. Students were engaged, excited, deciphering clues, and making connections with the curriculum. Wonderful way to end the week! #NCTOYPOY #socialstudies… pic.twitter.com/T6g9LdFxPT
— Casey Schulte (@cnlewie) March 3, 2023
My scholars had the best time with this #eggdashchallenge! Definitely will use again. @MeehanEDU #emc2learning Played this video to get them hyped up:https://t.co/0wI7L4AuhB https://t.co/MCJrIeIYxx pic.twitter.com/5hOMkROu7X
— Alexis Underwood (@mrsaunderwood) January 29, 2023
Some Things to Keep In Mind:
In all of the excitement, there were a handful of teachers who expressed some concern about certain elements of the activity that weren’t quite captured in the 30 second video, so we wanted to take a moment to offer a bit more clarity and encourage you to do the same. Turns out that viral videos can be great at conveying excitement, but they do have a tendency to fall short in the world of nuance:
Consent Matters
The original video was filmed as part of a totally voluntary teacher training day, where participants signed up in advance to “test drive” games and game-inspired pedagogy with an outside speaker (me). We began the activity by making informed consent a clear point of emphasis, and I implore all teachers to do the same in their own schools or classrooms — especially if they’re planning to capture the event on video. Nobody should ever be “forced” to take part in a physical activity.
Ableism is Uncool
Our training day welcomed 70 teachers of varying ages and experience levels, and featured educators in their 20s and others in their 70s. The relay race element adds some kinesthetic life to the event, but each team could select their own “runner” (or choose a different runner for each round). Folks unable, uncomfortable, or unwilling to race are still equal members of their teams! And all are learners are welcome and encouraged to help provide answers when their teammate returns to the desk group.
Scaffolding Works
After the activity was over, we discussed different ways that teachers could consider scaffolding this activity in order to add more complexity, strategy, and choice. Color coding questions of varying degrees of difficulty in differently colored shells, for example, is an “egg-celent” way to reward curiosity over random luck.
The basic #EggDashChallenge is designed for quick and easy implementation in any course or content area. But don’t feel limited by the basic gameplay! Here are some AMAZING examples of teachers who are “plussing” the activity to take the game to a whole new level. So if you’ve got a hack or variant of your own that you’d like to share, hit us up on Twitter with the hashtag #EggDashChallenge
#EDrenaline #EggDashChallenge @MeehanEDU kids loved it! We did a 10 minute round, totaled our points, then did another round to beat our score! @AmyAcors @GESMrGardner pic.twitter.com/UBwyhrUBNH
— Sarah Ventresco (@SVentresco1456) March 22, 2019
Really digging the idea of timed, scored rounds. And the video is AMAZING! Hear the energy and the student choice? SOOO. COOL.
More difficult baskets have higher odds of more points.
— Jonathan Spike (@jonathanspike) March 23, 2019
Another idea: students anwser the question and then write their own higher order question and put it IN the now-empty egg and return to basketball. If other team draws it and fails to answer effectively, other team steals.
Love, love, love this two part tweet from Jon Spike — who pushes the pedagogy even further by adding new layers of strategy, scaffolding, and choice. Remember: in the immortal words of Drew Carey from “Who’s Line is it Anyway?” — the game is made up, and the points don’t matter. So feel free to serve this activity up in whatever way works best for your students!
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