Which ONE of the following classroom learning activities do you think would work BEST with high school students. Choose ONE and DEFEND your anwers with a short paragraph in a comment to this post.
Roll Call
Four Corners
Mix and Match
Can of Sticks
(choose one of your own)
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17 comments:
I think all four are fantastic exercises and can be adapted to any classroom. It is almost unfair to say which would be "best", but I am going to say roll call, because I plan to use it Monday, it is short, quick, and easy, doesn't take preparation, is great review, could be used daily, offers rewards, yet because the rewards sometimes aren't given out, it reinforces that psychological need to keep trying in order to win the award (there's a name for that habit). So the reward never gets old. Count me in.
I can see uses for all of the tools we were shown at this inservice, but I am particularly interested in the 4 corner activity used in preparation for a writing assignment. Lots of times, kids say they don't have anything to say or that they don't have any ideas. This activity would force them to brainstorm and think about the topic before they write and then hear other ideas that they could incorporate in their writing.
I liked the four corners exercise. I think this exercise would be good to use for high students because it would invovle all of your students by moving around, and getting them to talk about why they choose the corner the choose.
This would allow students to talk among themselves and to state why they went to a particular coner. Student's reasons would be based on how they perceived "I believe..... based on their opinion,reasons they could then write a short paragraph.
The best thing is-there is no right or wrong corner.
I think they all have their benefits. I am looking toward using "choosing your homework" - having the student choose which 5-8 problems he/she is going to do from the given 10. This will allow some choice and decision making by the student.
I like the can of sticks idea- because a lot of times you get the same students time after time volunteering answers in class and when you call on someone else they feel like you are picking on them- this technique makes it a random call and everybody has to be prepared to answer since they don't know when their name is coming out of the can-
I believe the Can of sticks would be the best one to use for my classes. It would keep the students focused to see who was next to participate.
But the Roll call is also excellent and I will be using it today in class. It is hard to pick just one because they are all excellent ways of getting students involved in the learning process.
Like the others said, it's difficult to choose which strategy because all have merit. I really like the sticks idea because it takes some of the heat off of the teacher. It's downside is that it may not get everyone involved so removing the chosen sticks and picking from names left over during subsequent rounds would be best in my opinion. It keeps students thinking as they have no way of predicting when they will be called to action. It's also great for group activities. Rob
I see value in all four methods, but I think the best would be the four corners approach. Getting the kids moving around, thinking why they chose the answer, and discussing their reasoning with others will do wonders in developing those critical thinking skills that can be so elusive.
I actually used the roll call activity in my classroom this morning. Everyone participated. All the students had to pay attention to make sure they didn't give the same response as others in the classroom.
I like the can of sticks idea. It would be very easy to implement in class and could be used for many different things. The other ideas are good but anyone can use the can of sticks. I do like the four corners also. I could just see myself using can of sticks more though.
Any tool that we can use to keep their attention is valuable. I use a variation of the Can Of Sticks with a 20-sided or a deck of cards. The kids each have a random number or card assigned to them. It's a little less personal with these but I don't need sticks for all my classes. I also have the numbers on the seating chart for the precious ones who can't remember their number. We can use the die for classroom reading, answering questions, and even bonus points. The kids really seem to enjoy it.
I think the "can of sticks" technique would be the most useful. I'm sure all of us have tried (sometimes successfully and sometimes not) to encourage more of our students to participate. This technique makes it very easy. I also like the fact that it can be easily modified - you can let other students choose, use the sticks for group work, or use it for "bonus" opportunities. I'm not sure if I'll actually use sticks, but I'm planning to try this out at some point.
I think all four can work.I am going to try dividing their chapter objectives and then they have to tell each other the ones they have looked up. They will teach each other. Then we will compare by groups.
I agree with most everyone else that all of these are great. The one I can see myself using the most is the four corners. I already have students respond to quotes as a bell ringer at the beginning of class, so I could easily have them take their responses to a corner to spice up the conversation.
I think four corners is the most effective approach with high school students because it gives them a chance to choose which corner best describes their belief or opinion. This is no pressure; no right or wrong answers. Making them defend their position holds them accountable rather than letting them just socialize with peers about non-school related things. Similarly, it sets the stage for class discussion, writing assignments, or other activities. Mrs. Glick
I like the can of sticks best because I'm tired of the same students answering questions all of the time.
I like the four corners activity. It gives students a chance to voice their opinion. I think it will take some coaxing for the more quiet student. I hope that the students do not have the "herd" mentallity and all go to the same corner. I have already used roll call in foods I. We finished up equipment and this was a way for one lucky student in each class to earn bonus points for the test. I can already see me using several of the methods on the list in my classes.
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