BALANCE LEARNING AND FUN
If your students aren't learning in
FUN AND CREATIVE WAYS then you need to find ways to make it fun and creative. TODAY is the perfect holiday to get them up, moving, learning, and having fun all at the same time!!!
GET KIDS UP & MOVING
Instead of having students read an article or chapter at their desk, try a 'Walk-About.' Photocopy the text they need to read. Divide it up and then tape it to the wall in different areas of your classroom. Even if it's the most "boring material," having students keep moving stimulates their brain, as noted in this
2017 Edweek article.
LET KIDS COLLABORATE
Put students into pairs, groups, or teams. Students then 'walk-about' in their teams, read each section of the article or chapter, and summarize it.
GAMIFY YOUR ACTIVITIES
If you are worried about time, use a timer or music. Let students know that when the timer beeps or the music stops, they have to move on to the next station. This will gamify the walk-about and will challenge students to "beat the clock" at each station.
CHALLENGE THEM
Use different summary techniques. Challenge students to use a
6-Word summary or an
ABC summary so that they are forced to boil the material down to only what matters most.
GIVE KIDS CHOICE
Instead of having everyone write a summary of each section in a notebook, give them a choice. Maybe they want to use
SeeSaw or
Flipgrid to record their verbal or visual summary. Maybe they want to draw a picture of their summary and then explain it. The choice is theirs!
REFLECT
At the end of the lesson, bring everyone back together to discuss and reflect. Have each group discuss a different section to put it all back together. Then use an exit strategy like sticky-notes on the board or a question posted in your Google Classroom for them to answer.
Easy-Peasy!
CONGRATULATIONS! You have just changed a boring reading assignment into an interactive, collaborative lesson, complete with gamification and technological integration - and it took NO TIME AT ALL. It really is a FUN DAY at work!
