Snow/extreme cold day!! And perfect timing because I came up with an idea for this blog on my way home from school yesterday. Great day to be able to relax and write!
In education it is important for students to engage and discuss and not just sit and listen to lecture then do independent work. In science and I'm sure in all subjects, sometimes you just really need the students to practice something or remember content. How do you do both? Simple "trick" the students into thinking they are not doing a worksheet. Here are 5 easy strategies to take a worksheet and make it interactive, encourage discussion and allow students to practice and process. I tried to mix it up with some that are in seats and some that require movement around the room. These strategies are not original to me. Many of them are cooperative learning strategies or reading/writing strategies. If you have been teaching for a while you probably know most of these. This is just meant to be a quick refresher if you feel stuck in a lecture/worksheet rut.
1. Coaching back and forth: This is great cooperative learning strategy for math type problems or anything where it involves steps that can be talked through. Have students work in pairs. Have students choose to be partner A or partner B. They get one worksheet between the two of them and then go back and forth to answer the questions. The key is that first Partner A talks through the problem and records while partner B coaches. Then they switch on the next problem. Tell them for coaching to Tip, Tip, Tell, Re-ask. They each initial the problem they do. Wander the room to make sure they are following procedure. It is not just passing the worksheet back and forth. They must interact and coach in order to make it work correctly. Here is an example when students are asked to calculate force of gravity.
2. Card sorts: For any worksheet that involves matching this works great. Or even vocab. There are many variations of this. Use to sort vocab words with definitions, use to put vocab words into categories/groups One way to implement is to have students in groups of 3-4 and then deal out cards. They each put one card at a time into a category. Only the student with the card can touch it but others can tell them what category to put it into. You can do this with words or also pictures is a fun variation. Rock types example and a comparing cells example using pictures.
3. Say it, write it, pass it: This is another cooperative learning strategy where you can take questions on a worksheet and have the first student in a group say the answer out loud, then write it down, then pass the paper. The next student answers the next question and so on.
4. Find someone who: This is a go to for me. I take a worksheet and change the questions into Find someone who knows... I put each question in a box and generally do about 15 questions in a 3 x 5 grid. Students are assigned a column of 3 boxes to answer. Wander the room to ensure they go the correct answer. Then have students stand up, hand up, pair up to get the rest. They can only get one answer from another student then have to move to find another student. Encourage and monitor so that students are explaining and talking through each question. Do not allow a clump of students to just pass the paper around the circle as this defeats the purpose. Here is an example on static electricity and after students have completed a PHET simulation on static
5. Fold the line/quiz,quiz trade: This is another good vocab practice. I have found that many students don't fully understand how to utilize flashcards so doing structured activities helps them with this. For this one I make cards with a question or definition on one side and then the answer or vocab word on the back. Then I hand them out to students so each student gets one card. Students make a line then fold it in half until everyone is standing across from a partner. One side quizzes the other side. Remember to have them tip, tip, tell, re-ask if their partner doesn't know the answer. Switch so the other side quizzes, then have students trade cards and one side rotates one person so they have a new partner. They end up asking the question they just answered so they get double practice on each question.
Hope this give you a little inspiration to get the students up and moving! I am realizing that it is easy to get lazy and forget a lot of great strategies! There are so many out there! It's nice to have a few go to ones on hand. My first three years I had an amazing new teacher coach who always said that the more "tools in your toolbox" the easy it gets and the better teacher you become. I fully stand by her advice!
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