Sticky Questions (Stormboard):
Sticky questions are great to use as a pre-reading activity. For this particular strategy, teachers have each student jot down a brief question on a post-it note after scanning a short passage or introduction within a piece of text. These sticky notes are mainly used to help students generate questions surrounding a given reading or text. They can also be used to enable the students to identify the specific purpose behind the reading. Once the entire class has jotted down a few questions, the teacher has a couple of options as far as what she can do next. First, she can have all of the students place their individual sticky notes on a poster to be hung up in the classroom and categorized according to the general topics of each set of questions. Another option is for the teacher to collect all of the sticky notes and read them aloud to the class in a discussion forum so that students' questions are kept anonymous. Finally, the post-it notes could simply be used as a self-monitoring tool for students, allowing each individual to keep track of all of their thought processes and return to them later upon completion of reading to see if any of their questions were addressed or answered within the text.
Stormboard is a wonderful website that allows students to submit and share their questions on individual "sticky notes" virtually and anonymously online. This is a great tool for teachers to implement into their instruction because it is visually appealing to students and caters to those individuals who may normally be hesitant or afraid to participate in class on a regular basis. This tool can be used to generate discussion regarding a given topic and allows students to contribute to a lively discussion, read other students' thoughts and ideas, and receive instant feedback through comments.
Sticky questions are great to use as a pre-reading activity. For this particular strategy, teachers have each student jot down a brief question on a post-it note after scanning a short passage or introduction within a piece of text. These sticky notes are mainly used to help students generate questions surrounding a given reading or text. They can also be used to enable the students to identify the specific purpose behind the reading. Once the entire class has jotted down a few questions, the teacher has a couple of options as far as what she can do next. First, she can have all of the students place their individual sticky notes on a poster to be hung up in the classroom and categorized according to the general topics of each set of questions. Another option is for the teacher to collect all of the sticky notes and read them aloud to the class in a discussion forum so that students' questions are kept anonymous. Finally, the post-it notes could simply be used as a self-monitoring tool for students, allowing each individual to keep track of all of their thought processes and return to them later upon completion of reading to see if any of their questions were addressed or answered within the text.
Stormboard is a wonderful website that allows students to submit and share their questions on individual "sticky notes" virtually and anonymously online. This is a great tool for teachers to implement into their instruction because it is visually appealing to students and caters to those individuals who may normally be hesitant or afraid to participate in class on a regular basis. This tool can be used to generate discussion regarding a given topic and allows students to contribute to a lively discussion, read other students' thoughts and ideas, and receive instant feedback through comments.
Word Clouds (Wordle):
Word Clouds are typically used to visually represent a text. How it works is that students type their own personal responses or definitions on a given topic or word into a computer generator such as Wordle. Wordle automatically makes the words that are used the most frequently by students appear larger than all of the other words on the page. As a result, the students are able to pick out and identify which words were deemed the most important by their entire class as a whole. Word Clouds serve as nice anticipation guides and are a beneficial strategy for teachers who are trying to introduce vocabulary words, a new topic or unit of study, or wrap-up/review a chapter.
Word Clouds are typically used to visually represent a text. How it works is that students type their own personal responses or definitions on a given topic or word into a computer generator such as Wordle. Wordle automatically makes the words that are used the most frequently by students appear larger than all of the other words on the page. As a result, the students are able to pick out and identify which words were deemed the most important by their entire class as a whole. Word Clouds serve as nice anticipation guides and are a beneficial strategy for teachers who are trying to introduce vocabulary words, a new topic or unit of study, or wrap-up/review a chapter.
Tea Party:
"Tea Party" is another pre-reading technique that is designed to engage students in a meaningful conversation. In this particular strategy, each student receives a notecard that contains important words or passages that are taken directly from a piece of text. These words and phrases can be interpreted in multiple different ways, but they should ultimately be used by the students to make predictions, formulate connections, and relate various ideas within the text to one another. After all of the students have had the chance to read and reflect with their own notecards individually, they are to circulate around the classroom and share their index card with their peers. At this time, students should also be comparing their excerpts and critically analyzing its contents to see how each of their phrases connect to one another in the text.
"Tea Party" is another pre-reading technique that is designed to engage students in a meaningful conversation. In this particular strategy, each student receives a notecard that contains important words or passages that are taken directly from a piece of text. These words and phrases can be interpreted in multiple different ways, but they should ultimately be used by the students to make predictions, formulate connections, and relate various ideas within the text to one another. After all of the students have had the chance to read and reflect with their own notecards individually, they are to circulate around the classroom and share their index card with their peers. At this time, students should also be comparing their excerpts and critically analyzing its contents to see how each of their phrases connect to one another in the text.
The "Clock Buddies" worksheet below can be used by students throughout the entire year when working on partner activities in class. At the beginning of the school year teachers should distribute this worksheet to their class and have each student sign up to be another student's partner for each given time on the clock. Once each student has their worksheet filled out, the teacher is able to use it as a tool to automatically select student pairs for future in-class activities. For example, the teacher may request that the class find their "2 o' clock partners" one day to work together in completing an assignment.