We know school is serious business, but cognitive science tells us our brains can’t learn unless we feel safe, interested, and intrigued. That’s why we’re making JAMs. These “repeated games” invite us to explore the role trust plays in confl ict & cooperation. Unlike ordinary programming that regards literacy & engagement as separate concepts, JAMs meet in the middle to make reading comprehension a blast.

JAMs are 30-minute activities, “task confl icts” that hinge on skilled reading, healthy dialogue, and collaborative problem solving. Whereby small groups layer historical viewpoints to detect bias & test truths. No judgment. This in the spirit of F. Scott Fitzgerald who said, “The test of a fi rst-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”

Stacked by schema and organized by standard, JAMs can be played as stand-alone fun, or spiraled for serious learning. Making class time sweeter than honey.