As the weather warms and the flowers bloom, most students get even more antsy and restless than they were in the winter months. Now is not the time to bore them to death with "drill and kill" activities to get ready for the all important state assessments. Students need to move and stretch their bodies, which in turn, will stretch their brains and improve their overall recall. Even the most reluctant learners tend to participate when the activity allows them to fully engage. Below you will find three strategies that have worked in my classroom over the past 15 years.
Pass it On:
This is a great strategy to review content information. Students stand or sit in a circle. The first student is handed a ball of string and holds one end of it. As we review a concept or piece of text the students will toss the ball of string to another student in the circle. When they catch the ball of string they grasp the string and hold on to it before passing it on to the next student. The string creates a web as it is passed among students. When students catch the ball they can either provide a detail/fact about the concept/text or ask a question. If they ask a question then the next student they pass the ball of string to is expected to attempt an answer. It is okay if the answer is wrong, but it is important to point out the erroneous information so that students don't become confused. As students asked questions I recorded them on the blackboard, overhead, document camera, Edomodo etc. Students were expected to review the questions asked and be sure they could completely answer them before the next class. Once every student had a chance to catch the ball, we reverse the ball of string and students roll it back up again. As simple as it sounds I have noticed that doing this as a review of information before a test will improve students scores.
Show Me:
As an English teacher and Theater fanatic, I wanted the kids to create the images they read, so I had them show me. They could work in groups or pairs or do a one man show. The idea was simple, just show me what you read and understood. I would often have students take video on their phones and then show it to me or e-mail it to me. I told them they had to capture it all in less than two minutes. This kept them from trying to include every detail. I wanted the BIG picture, but I wanted them to put it in perspective. I often asked my more advanced Pre-AP students to put the text in a different setting or try to find a way to demonstrate a different point of view than that of the main characters, i.e. a person in the crowd listening to Marc Antony's speech. They loved being hams, and they were in full control. Not every student took this option but if I didn't offer it they were disappointed. The idea works for any content, ask students to show you how it works. If you aren't into acting you might try the IPad app "Showmia" and have the students create a mini slide show with audio explaining the concept.
Strike a Pose:
Vocabulary is one of the most difficult concepts for students to put to long term memory. I tried just about everything with little success. They knew it just long enough to take the quiz or test and then the following week it was gone, wiped clean from memory. In a last ditch effort actually more out of frustration than anything else I started putting poses to vocabulary when I introduced new words. For example, "conflict" accompanied a boxing pose (yes I know there are multiple types of conflict but this stuck with the kids and they understood it inherently). Once I had introduced the vocabulary and poses, we practiced, I called out the word and they struck a pose, and then they called out the definition. I even encouraged students to assign poses to their "found vocabulary" when they were reading. They LOVED it!! For whatever reason, it stuck and it got them thinking, and moving.
As I said these are just a few of the strategies that were successful for me. Of course all of them require that you allow students to get up and move, and sometimes... TALK. The results will speak for themselves your students will learn, remember and you won't have to "drill and kill". Let the warm weather and sunshine revive your students love for learning. Let them "spring" to life with new-found knowledge.
Until next time...
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