Spicynodes

February 1, 2012 - Author Angela Mayfield

Passing on a great tip from one of our followers and educators, Robin -

After reading last week’s tip about Glogster, Robin shared how she uses a similar tool called Spicynodes in her classroom.

Glogster is fabulous and my students really enjoy it. We also use one called Spicynodes. The nice feature about this one is it allows students to create an outline on a topic and then enter it in the node. They can add photos or embed videos to jazz it up.

Individual membership is free to use Spicynodes, and you have a cool new tool to help your students dive into concepts more deeply than they might with pen and paper.

Want to see an example? Check out a Spicynodes student project created in Robin’s class as a semester summary for her Agriscience course.

Thanks for sharing Robin! Do you have a great idea to share? Just reply to this email and pass on your great tips!

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Fun and Games: Sudoku Review

January 20, 2010 - Author Angela Mayfield

Sudoku PuzzleWe all know that repetition increases retention for students. But what do we do when our review strategies become stale? Try spicing up your content review with your students by playing Sudoku with your class content. Sudoku is a popular puzzle game, where the numbers 1-9 must be placed into a grid so that each row and column contains only one of each number. Apply this strategy to your class, but instead of numbers, students must plug review concepts into their grid.

 

For example, let’s say you just taught students that there are four main layers to the earth: inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust. Give students a blank 4x4 grid (because you have 4 concepts) or have them draw a grid on their paper. Students race to fill in the four layers of the earth so each row and column contains only one of each of the concepts.

Layers of the Earth Sudoku

 

Inner Core Outer Core Mantle Crust
Mantle Inner Core Crust Outer Core
Outer Core Crust Inner Core Mantle
Crust Mantle Outer Core Inner Core
  

 

This is a quick game that uses repetition to help students recall and retain new terms learned. Use this game with any number of terms; just make sure your grid has the same number of rows and columns as your terms!

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Tags: Engaging Classrooms

Passport with a Purpose

September 18, 2008 - Author Jennie Harp

Passport with a Purpose

You’ve just taught an incredible lesson, students’ brains are full of new ideas and they’re making connections like crazy to other concepts you’ve covered in class and they’ve learned elsewhere. You think... Why not affirm your thoughts and hold them accountable for the information they’re processing?

Sometime in the next week, pose a question at the end of class, have students answer on a slip of scratch paper (with their name for credit!) and, as they leave class, collect their answers (their passport out of class). This may sound like, “In a moment, you’ll provide your thoughts to a question I pose about today’s class. Be ready to hand it to me as you leave the room – it’s your passport out the door today. You’ll record your thoughts on a piece of scratch paper. The question is: "INSERT QUESTION HERE?" (see suggestions below)

Now you know where students stand and they’re continuing the learning process, even as they leave your room!

Some possible questions to pose for their passport entry:
· What piece of knowledge from today sticks with you most?
· What concept are you interested to know more about?
· How does what we learned today connect with our conversations last week on "INSERT IDEA HERE?"
· What concept do we need to cover more or in a different way to solidify your understanding?
This activity can become a tradition in your classroom with slight modification. Instead of having students hand you a piece of paper at the door each time, have them reserve a section of their class notebook for “passport” entries. Each time you’re looking to do a quick review like listed above, have students enter their answer in their passport section and you can “stamp” it for credit. Initials work just fine to stamp the entry. If you want to go crazy, use a fun stamp you find at the store! This version of the passport, of course, takes more time than collecting papers quickly at the door, but students are able to check back over their learning in their passport throughout the course of your class.


Classroom Engagement Tip for September 18, 2008
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