February 2, 2026

Let's find a low-key moment with Bart Simpson this week! Lofi covers of popular songs! The beats are recognizable, but no distracting words.

Here's a direct link to this week's selection

What it is:
Students write ultra-concise summaries of a concept, video, reading, or lesson—but with a twist: the summary must be 53 characters or fewer. If it’s longer, the Google Form won’t submit.

🧠 Why it’s Powerful:

This constraint forces students to:

- Identify the absolute core idea
- Eliminate unnecessary words
- Make precise vocabulary choices
- Revise intentionally before submitting

Students often revise multiple times to “fit,” which means more thinking without more teacher prompting.

🎯 Why Try It With Students:

Promotes clarity and synthesis, not retelling
Works in any subject area
Quick to complete, easy to assess
Great for exit tickets, video reflections, or lesson wrap-ups
Prevents copy-and-paste summaries

What counts as a character:
Every keystroke counts as one character, including:

Letters (A–Z)
Numbers (0–9)
Spaces
Punctuation (periods, commas, apostrophes, question marks, etc.)

➡️ “Photosynthesis makes food.” = 26 characters
➡️ “Photosynthesis makes food for plants.” = 36 characters

Click here for a template

🛠️ How to Make It (Google Forms)

Open Google Forms and create a new form.
Add a Short Answer question:
- Example prompts:
  - “Summarize today’s lesson in 53 characters or fewer.”
  - “State the main idea of the video (≤53 characters).”
Click the three dots on the question → Response validation.
Set the rule:
- Text → Maximum character count → 53
Add a custom error message:
- “Too long! Remember: letters, spaces, and punctuation all count.”
(Optional)
- Collect emails for accountability.
- Use as a daily exit ticket or formative check.

💡 Teacher Tip

Model one example and count characters together once (Google Docs → Tools → Word count). After that, let students struggle productively—the revisions are where the learning happens.

My latest doom scroll has led me to share two teacher tips that are easy to implement and will help you and your sanity.

See the tips below!

@karmateaches on TikTok

This is a simple, common-sense strategy to use with your students when you need them on their devices but need to pause their work for important instructions or announcements.

You're not asking them to put anything away, close down anything, or interrupt the digital workflow. Simply making them focus on you and listen, without the temptation to look at their devices!

Can't take away minutes from passing? That's fine! Take away free time or "get ready for the bell" time. OR come up with another way to encourage compliance.

Click here if the video doesn't play

Tent your laptop.mov

Click here if the video doesn't play

Jar of doom .mov

@brittanyjoyner3 on TikTok

We all do a little too much picking up after the students when they leave. This teacher had a jar and came up with a great way to get her students to care about picking up after themselves!

Don't have a jar? Maybe it's a tupperware of doom? A sack of doom? A box of doom? You pick the vessel, the message remains the same.

She takes away their ability to bring snacks into the room when the jar is full. Is that already a rule for you? Then assign it to another privilege, like picking your own seat or free time.

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