Tips
Cube Games
Tip: Cube Games - With blank cubes that you’ve made (download a template) or use a store bought dry-erase cube, write tasks on each face of the cube and partners or a small group can take turns rolling for the person to their right who must complete the task. Students pass the cube and roll again. This is a great hands-on strategy for practice and/or review with content and language.
Alternatives & Extensions: On each face, write key content vocabulary and students roll the die and must use the word in a sentence orally or in writing. Write word roots, prefixes, or suffixes on the faces of the cube and the student must give a word or words that use the part of the word rolled. Glue pictures or clip art onto the faces of the cube, students roll and tell a story about the picture rolled then add to the last part of the story including the new picture. The faces can have questions about content or sentence frames that students must complete, for example, e.g. “This piece of art makes me feel __________.” Or “An example of an acute angle is _________.”
Photo Focus
Tip: Photo Focus - Take photos of what you are studying (e.g. community businesses; materials for a science experiment; faces with emotions; maps in social studies; characters in stories etc.). Print 3x5 in. or 5x7 in. and glue them to the middle of a blank sheet of paper. Students then label the parts of the object indicated with Sharpie pens. Variations & Alternatives: Take close-ups of objects (i.e. leaves) or of half of the object (part of a store's building) and have students draw what is missing and/or identify the parts of the object. Students can take the photos themselves with disposable cameras or borrowed digital cameras. Take a walking tour to take the photos (for young children, group them with a chaperone and 1 camera per group with each student taking a few pictures with assistance and the chaperone recording the child's name and the shots in order.) Give students 2 photos to compare and contrast with descriptors, glued into a Venn diagram.
Sorting Bins
Tip: Sorting Bins- Grab 3-6 plastic bins or buckets (you can even use shoeboxes). Label each bin with a category related to what you are studying (e.g. nouns, verbs, prepositions; invertebrates, vertebrates; high fat, low fat, no fat; red, yellow, orange; democracy, oligarchy, dictatorship; items in a store, bank, post office etc.) Create cards with examples for the categories (e.g. house, car, run, to etc. for the categories nouns, verbs, prepositions or United States, Iran, China etc. for the categories democracy, oligarchy, dictatorship.) Pass out the example cards to students who must place them in the correct bin. There are many ways to have students sort: a) line up with a card, show it to class and place in correct bin; b) place bins in central location and work in teams with 10 cards each to see who finishes first; c) 2 lines of students compete to categorize as many cards as possible relay-style etc. Once the sorting is complete the bins should be reviewed whole class or in one bin per group to determine correct sorting. This is a great time for discussion, clarification, and reteaching, as necessary. Variations & Alternatives: Have students work in pairs. Create mini bins at each table for a small group sort. Use picture cards, real objects, maps etc. instead of word cards. Direct students to make a statement as to why they are placing a card in a bin and/or why it should not go in the other bins. The possibilities are endless!
Mine is the Best
Tip: Mine is the Best! - Make a set of cards with key vocabulary (with words and/or pictures) for what you are studying (e.g. colors, numbers, famous explorers, stores and services in a community, chemical compounds or elements etc.). Make enough for every person in class. Pass them out and direct small groups of 3-6 students take turns, one sentence at a time, explaining why their item is the best (e.g. for the key vocabulary sun "Mine is best because it keeps you warm." After 3-10 minutes, students stop and vote for the "best" word/concept (students cannot vote for their own). In the case of a tie, students can give their best argument and vote again. Variations and alternatives: Each group's winner can compete for the class "best" with each person repeating why their word is the best and the whole class voting. Students can trade cards at their own table or with another table for another round. Students can write and illustrate a paragraph about their own or the "best" card(s) or compare two cards in an essay format.
Guess Who?
Tip: Guess Who? - Pass out a scene with at least 5 characters or people you are studying to table groups of 3-5 students or video project one onto the screen, whiteboard, or SmartBoard. Number off students. Student #1 begins by choosing a character or person from the scene without telling anyone who they chose. The group members take turns asking student #1 questions that can be answered with "yes" or "no" to try to guess who they chose. Whoever guesses correctly gets to choose the next character. Variations and Alternatives: Have students make a collage by cutting out or drawing people etc.and gluing them to posterboard. Take a digital photo of this and project it for guessing. For an extra challenge direct students to choose an object (e.g. Elizabeth Cady Stanton's wristwatch) in the scene or a location (e.g. Standing next to Christopher Columbus) etc.
Sentence Race
Tip: Sentence Race! - Give each group of 3-4 a visual (e.g. a picture, map, chart, sketch) face down. Explain that students will have 3 minutes to describe the visual with as many complete sentences as they can in 3 minutes. Assign a recorder to each group who tallies the sentences spoken. When time is up, switch visuals, and repeat as long as desired. Variations: Instead of finding, printing, or choosing a picture for each small group, use a textbook or books and assign a page with a visual on it for each group. Add a recorder job to one person or all group members who record(s) the sentences spoken. Make it a silent activity where students write their sentences describing the visual on a slip of paper and count the slips when done. Add a judge at each group who determines whether the sentence meets predetermined criteria.
Find Someone Who...
Tip: On a blank sheet, make a grid with tasks in each space related to the content you are studying. Copy and give a grid to each student who then must find someone who can demonstrate the task and record the answer or their name in the space. Examples: "Find someone who can define and give 2 examples of the words below: law, democracy, bill, Senate, House, committee etc." or "Find someone who can draw an example of each term below: amphibian, omnivore, reptile etc." or "Find someone who can solve the problems below: 2+1=, 1-2= etc." or "Find someone who likes the same as you: color, number, food, music, movie, book etc." Variations: Do this bingo style and explain students who complete 4 spaces in a row win; give points for the number of spaces filled in correctly or the number of different spaces students signed for others; fast-finishers can create their own "Find Someone" boards; use visuals to help lower level language learners.
Sentence Cut-Up
Tip: Circulate with sentence strips, a marker, scissors, and 1 envelope per student. Student dictate a
sentence, "I know..." about a topic they are studying (e.g. "I know that photosynthesis is the process in which plants make food." "I know frogs are amphibians." "I know my address and phone number." "I know that the president can veto legislation." etc.) , cut it up and place in an envelope labelled with their name. Student needs to recompose the sentence in the correct order. Variations: You can give students a particular sentence starter (e.g. "I know.." or "I wonder.." or you can require that they demonstrate mastery of a skill with their sentence (e.g. "Give an example of how to calculate circumference." Level the sentences to the reading and writing level of the student and target a reading or writing skill that needs practice. Use this w/ sentence starter or not. Direct pairs or small groups of students to try to combine their sentences so they make sense. Give extra blank sentences strips to students and direct them to elaborate or improve their sentence with more detail or adjectives, for example. Give students a new Cut-Up every week and have them mix and match their envelope of sentences. Color code the strips by topic or types of sentences etc. Ask students to rearrange a peer's sentence. Write a sentence with an error ans direct the student to fix the error by adding or removing words or parts of words.
Word Buddies
In pairs or in small groups, give students 10-30 word cards or word dominoes. Direct students to make pairs of words that have something in common (e.g. same beginning sound; meaning; prefix; category etc.) When they make a pair, they must explain the connection or answer, "Why are they buddies?" Variations: Students are given categories of commonality ahead of time; students or teachers record what the buddy words have in common on a recording sheet or post-its; teams can race to make the most buddy pairs possible and read their reasoning to the whole class. (Magnetic words also work well.)
K(Wonder)L
Tip: Before beginning study on a new topic, ask students to list what they know ("I know...) and what they wonder ("I wonder...") about the topic on post-its. Students post the post-its or record their responses on a 3 column chart. During and after the unit of study, periodically ask students to share what they learned ("I learned...") about the topic. Variations: have students keep a record of the KWonderL chart on an individual sheet; use the KWonderL as an assessment tool to drive instructional decisions; allow students to sketch what they know, wonder, and learned; have students work in pairs to fill out their charts before sharing whole class.