How to entertain a group of 9th graders...

I cover a Friday afternoon athletic study hall for half of the ninth grade (about 10 kids) who have study hall instead of gym. Friday afternoon is not a good time for a study hall...they don't have a lot of homework since it's the weekend, or they just don't want to do it because it's Friday... There was a big meeting going on across the hall and a class doing presentations next door, so I was not looking forward to making them all shut up and do something.

Last time I entertained them by showing one kid how to walk through a piece of paper. This week I wasn't sure what I was going to do...thank goodness for Flinn Scientific. My order arrived just as I was headed towards study hall. Perfect.
"Who wants to play with toys?"
Newton's cradle kept them entertained for awhile, and the Happy and Sad balls (they look the same but they're made of different materials, so one bounces and one doesn't). But the hit, by far, was the packing peanuts. I opened the box and told a kid to eat one, and he immediately did (it's amazing how they sometimes will just do whatever you tell them to...). The look on his face was great..."It's like a cheese puff without any cheese!"

Then they found out that you can lick and stick them together to build things. That kept them entertained for the rest of the period, and I only had to ask them to be quiet a few times.

Awesome.

Plus now they can't wait to take my class :-P