For English language learners and native speakers alike, learning new vocabulary and parts of speech can become difficult and tedious. Below are a few games I have been experimenting with recently to make learning English more comfortable, fun, and creative.
Write this, Draw that
Need: Paper, pencil, at least 3 players
How to play: Each player gets a piece of paper and has to write a sentence on it. Once they finish they fold the paper so that the sentence is covered and pass it to the player next to them. Upon receiving the piece of paper, the next player reads the sentence, folds the paper back, and then draws the sentence below. Next they pass the drawing and the next person looks at the drawing and writes a sentence about what is happening. They then fold the paper to cover the drawing but leave the sentence showing. Depending on the number of players, this can be repeated multiple times until the paper returns to its original writer. When this happens, read the original sentences out loud and show how they have been changed with drawings and rewritings.
Flash Act/Spell
Need: Playing board (can easily be made with circles or squares drawn on a piece of paper from start to finish with some squares colored in), dice or coin, items to represent players, vocab cards
How to play: First write down the vocabulary words on one side of a flash card (5 times for practice) and draw the word on the other side. Next have players put their pieces at the start of the playing board and use a coin flip (heads 1 space move, tails 2 space moves) or die to determine how the player moves. If the player lands on a normal space, they must guess the word from the drawing on the flashcard and spell it. If they land on a special space, the other player has to act out the word and it has to be guessed and spelled. Each time the word is guessed and spelled correctly the player gains one point. Whoever has the most points by the time they reach the finish wins.
Apples to Apples (SAT/Weekly Vocab Edition)
Need: Flashcards with vocab words
How to Play: Play just like the game Apples to Apples (http://www.letsplayapples.com/), but with your own cards that relate to vocabulary words. Either mix in with other words or things you like, or combine with an Apples to Apples deck.
MadLibs
Okay yes, MadLibs was mostly invented for family roadtrips but they can be really useful and entertaining when learning parts of speech. Not only do they allow an opportunity to remember what nouns, adverbs, etc, are but they also teach what these things do in a sentence and how they effect it.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Multiplication Tic-Tac-Toe
Remember learning multiplication facts or times tables? Endless worksheets, memorization, and rewriting charts?
Well say goodbye to those beloved memories and get ready to try a fun game.
In multiplication tic-tac-toe, two players practice multiplication and forming strategies.
Here's how it works. The first player chooses two factors (the 1-9 on the game board) and places an item on each (paperclip, erasers, coins, etc). The player then crosses off or places their item on the product in the box above. Next, the second player moves one of the items on the factors to a different factor. For example, if the game begins with three and six selected, the next move can either move the three or six, but not both. The second player puts their mark on the product. Play continues until one player has marked four products in a row, column, or diagonal.
And yes, you can have two of the same factor selected at once.
I've tried this game several times so far and it has been a success. Not only is it helping me remember all that multiplication, but is a fun activity that students can take ownership of and discuss tactics and strategies of play.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Reading Activities
Reading is more than just sounding out letters. Its about finding the meaning, the purpose, and your own reaction to the sentences and stories that those letters create. In this more holistic view of what constitutes reading, activities that contain the high standards of comprehension and critical thinking are needed to deepen and assess these skills. Below is a list of such activities from materials from a lecture on reading in EDS 130 at UCSD.
After Reading Activities
Compare the story/text to a personal event
Poster Report
Mural
Compare/Contrast the characters in a Venn diagram.
Write a new ending for the story.
Write a report card for one of the characters.
Create a skit about the characters in the story.
Read a favorite passage into a recorder.
Play the part of a character and have someone interview you.
Write an advertisement of the book.
Make a TV scroll of a part of the story or historical event.
Write a letter recommending the book to a friend.
Write a diary entry from the point of view of the main character describing a main event in the story.
Make a timeline of events in the story, historical, or scientific event.
Prepare a newspaper article about the story.
Write a sequel to the story.
Give a book talk about what you read.
Write a cinquain or acrostic poem about the main character, historical figures, or events.
Create a puppet for one of the main characters.
Write a conversation between two characters.
Pretend you are a newspaper reporter writing a news article about a major event in the story.
Write a different ending to the story.
Create a book jacket for the story.
Research the author. Find out interesting facts to share with others who have read the book.
Make a diorama of a main event in the story.
Debates.
Choral speaking.
Retell a story or event using overheads/document camera.
Other Ideas:
Act out a scene from the story.
Choreograph a dance for a scene from the story or about what a character may have been feeling.
Create a comic about the story or an important part of the story.
Write a song from the point of view of the protagonist or antagonist.
Change the sex of the main character and discuss its effects on the story.
Another important aspect of reading is discussion questions, especially those with no clear answer. This challenges readers to construct hypotheses based on their observations of characters or situations in the text and prove them with evidence. Below are some open ended questions from the same lecture.
Did the author tell you enough?
What else would you like to know?
What did you find out that you didn't know before?
Tell me the main things that happened.
Were you able to guess what was going to happen?
Can you think of another way the story might have ended?
What do you remember most?
Why do you think the author wrote this?
Do you think there is a message in the book?What is it?
Do you like the illustrations? Why? Why not?
What do you think the illustrator needed to know in order to illustrate this story?
What puzzled you?
Have you ever read other books/stories/poems like this?Tell me about htem.
What character/part interested you most?
Is that character the most important person in the story? Why?
What characters didn't you like? Why?
Did any characters remind you of people you know? How so?
Did the characters change? In what way?
Has anything like this ever happened to you? Did you feel the same as the people in the story?
Have you read a story like this before? If so, was it different this time? What did you notice this time?
Were the events in this story realistic? Tell more.
How could these events really have happened? Explain
How did suspense/excitement get built up in this story?
What problems did the characters face? How did they solve them?
How/why is the life of this family similar/different from your own family life? Give some reasons.
Try to place yourself in this piece. Would you have reacted in the same way or would you do things differently? Why?
Its important to note what these questions are doing to the reader. Many of them ask the reader to relate the story back to their own lives as a sort of "litmus test" for creditability. Instead of simply studying at the story within its own context, these questions reach out to the reader's life to find truths as well as create relevance to the material. This technique is not only useful in reading and language classes, but in any course. When the material covered is brought back to the individual and their life the individual cane become motivated by the meaning derived from this interaction.
If you have any other reading activities or questions that should be on these lists please suggest them!
After Reading Activities
Compare the story/text to a personal event
Poster Report
Mural
Compare/Contrast the characters in a Venn diagram.
Write a new ending for the story.
Write a report card for one of the characters.
Create a skit about the characters in the story.
Read a favorite passage into a recorder.
Play the part of a character and have someone interview you.
Write an advertisement of the book.
Make a TV scroll of a part of the story or historical event.
Write a letter recommending the book to a friend.
Write a diary entry from the point of view of the main character describing a main event in the story.
Make a timeline of events in the story, historical, or scientific event.
Prepare a newspaper article about the story.
Write a sequel to the story.
Give a book talk about what you read.
Write a cinquain or acrostic poem about the main character, historical figures, or events.
Create a puppet for one of the main characters.
Write a conversation between two characters.
Pretend you are a newspaper reporter writing a news article about a major event in the story.
Write a different ending to the story.
Create a book jacket for the story.
Research the author. Find out interesting facts to share with others who have read the book.
Make a diorama of a main event in the story.
Debates.
Choral speaking.
Retell a story or event using overheads/document camera.
Other Ideas:
Act out a scene from the story.
Choreograph a dance for a scene from the story or about what a character may have been feeling.
Create a comic about the story or an important part of the story.
Write a song from the point of view of the protagonist or antagonist.
Change the sex of the main character and discuss its effects on the story.
Another important aspect of reading is discussion questions, especially those with no clear answer. This challenges readers to construct hypotheses based on their observations of characters or situations in the text and prove them with evidence. Below are some open ended questions from the same lecture.
Did the author tell you enough?
What else would you like to know?
What did you find out that you didn't know before?
Tell me the main things that happened.
Were you able to guess what was going to happen?
Can you think of another way the story might have ended?
What do you remember most?
Why do you think the author wrote this?
Do you think there is a message in the book?What is it?
Do you like the illustrations? Why? Why not?
What do you think the illustrator needed to know in order to illustrate this story?
What puzzled you?
Have you ever read other books/stories/poems like this?Tell me about htem.
What character/part interested you most?
Is that character the most important person in the story? Why?
What characters didn't you like? Why?
Did any characters remind you of people you know? How so?
Did the characters change? In what way?
Has anything like this ever happened to you? Did you feel the same as the people in the story?
Have you read a story like this before? If so, was it different this time? What did you notice this time?
Were the events in this story realistic? Tell more.
How could these events really have happened? Explain
How did suspense/excitement get built up in this story?
What problems did the characters face? How did they solve them?
How/why is the life of this family similar/different from your own family life? Give some reasons.
Try to place yourself in this piece. Would you have reacted in the same way or would you do things differently? Why?
Its important to note what these questions are doing to the reader. Many of them ask the reader to relate the story back to their own lives as a sort of "litmus test" for creditability. Instead of simply studying at the story within its own context, these questions reach out to the reader's life to find truths as well as create relevance to the material. This technique is not only useful in reading and language classes, but in any course. When the material covered is brought back to the individual and their life the individual cane become motivated by the meaning derived from this interaction.
If you have any other reading activities or questions that should be on these lists please suggest them!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Environmental Education Games!
Recently I've been working with Global Environmental Brigades (at UCSD), "a secular, socially conscious network of volunteers that travel to developing countries to mitigate ecological degradation and develop sustainable environmental practice." At UCSD our group has been visiting Nusatupu - an island in the San Blas Arpeggio of Kuna Yala, Panama. We have installed and educated the community about solar panels, initiated a waste removal and reduction program, and spent a large amount of our time educating the leaders (Silahs) and children about the environment. We gained a deeper appreciation of nature, while they learned what they can do to save the place they love.
So how do you teach kids who speak either Spanish or Dulegaia (the Kuna indigenous language) about the environment?
We had a combination of colorful presentations, short worksheets, games, art, and service activities. For now you can get a taste of the games:
Water Ball
Need: Ball
How to play: This game is essentially kick ball, but with a water cycle metaphor. Divide the participants into two teams. Team one can kick, team two can catch. A kicker from team one goes to home plate and a member from team two rolls the ball at them. The kicker kicks and runs around the four bases trying not to get tagged by team two's outfielders. If the ball is caught, they're out. If the get tagged, they're out. If they don't reach the base before the ball does, they're out. Three outs and a switch. Here's the metaphor. The ball is like a water molecule, when it's rolling imagine its rolling down a river or through the ocean. The energy from the kick evaporates it into water vapor, into clouds, and when it is caught it condenses back into rain.
Concept: Parts of the water cycle
Predator's Coming
Need: Nothing
How to play: Similar to the game "Capitan's Coming" - just with different activities. Allow all the participants to stand in a random mass and have the Predator call out the following commands:
Symbiosis: Two people pretend to clean each other
Camouflage: Two people hide one other person
Run Away: Four people sit in a line on the ground as if in a row boat and row
Attack: Five people two for legs, two for arms, one for head, make a creature and loud attack noises.
Predator's Coming: Everyone stands in a line and the "predator" comes by trying to make them laugh (no touching).
If participants can't find a group to be in or laugh, they're out.
Concept: Teaching different ways organisms interact.
So how do you teach kids who speak either Spanish or Dulegaia (the Kuna indigenous language) about the environment?
We had a combination of colorful presentations, short worksheets, games, art, and service activities. For now you can get a taste of the games:
Water Ball
Need: Ball
How to play: This game is essentially kick ball, but with a water cycle metaphor. Divide the participants into two teams. Team one can kick, team two can catch. A kicker from team one goes to home plate and a member from team two rolls the ball at them. The kicker kicks and runs around the four bases trying not to get tagged by team two's outfielders. If the ball is caught, they're out. If the get tagged, they're out. If they don't reach the base before the ball does, they're out. Three outs and a switch. Here's the metaphor. The ball is like a water molecule, when it's rolling imagine its rolling down a river or through the ocean. The energy from the kick evaporates it into water vapor, into clouds, and when it is caught it condenses back into rain.
Concept: Parts of the water cycle
Predator's Coming
Need: Nothing
How to play: Similar to the game "Capitan's Coming" - just with different activities. Allow all the participants to stand in a random mass and have the Predator call out the following commands:
Symbiosis: Two people pretend to clean each other
Camouflage: Two people hide one other person
Run Away: Four people sit in a line on the ground as if in a row boat and row
Attack: Five people two for legs, two for arms, one for head, make a creature and loud attack noises.
Predator's Coming: Everyone stands in a line and the "predator" comes by trying to make them laugh (no touching).
If participants can't find a group to be in or laugh, they're out.
Concept: Teaching different ways organisms interact.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Summer of Science 2010
We just finished our first ever project "Summer of Science." Together we learned about how a plant grows through games, songs, art, and discussion. Below is a slide-show of our activities.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Games from Summer of Science
In our first project, Summer of Science, a variety of games were used to help participants deepen their understanding in the topics we covered. Below are a list of the games and how to play them.
Two Truths and a Lie
Need: Nothing
How to play: For this game everyone thinks of two truths about themselves and one lie. Each person then takes turns saying their statements and the others must guess which statement is a lie. For example:
I have two siblings.
I have over 20 pets.
I go on vacation in Cancun every year.
For me, Cancun is the lie. 20 pets, my guppies just had babies.
Concept: The truths shared are an example of experiences in our lives that have shaped who we are. This is compared to the idea of a "variable." The "variables" of our lives make us unique.
Sheet o' Gravity
Need: A sheet, different sizes and weights of balls
How to play: Everyone grabs a part of the sheet and pulls on it until it is tight. Next the leader adds different balls to the sheet and asks the participants to guess what will happen. Will the tennis ball roll towards the basketball or vice versa? Will the golf ball go towards the balloon or will they both stay still?
Concept: The sheet represents the force of gravity. The objects in place are drawn to each other depending on their mass. The largest object doesn't necessarily attract the smallest, its about which is more massive.
Guess your Charge
Need: Post-it notes. Anything sticky that you can write on.
How to play: Divide the participants into two groups. Half of them close their eyes, the other half keep them open. On the post-its write + indicating positive charge or - indicating negative charge. Allow the participants with their eyes open to look at their charge and then place it on their forehead. For the participants with eyes closed, place the charge on their forehead without them seeing it. Now have everyone open their eyes and interact. The participants who saw their charges can either "make friends" and stick together or run away and scream according to the charge of the other participants. If a positive and a positive interact, they should both run away screaming (same if negative and negative.) If a negative and a positive meet they should give each other a hug, shake hands, etc. After some time, bring everyone back and allow the participants that did not see their charges to guess what they have. Then switch groups.
Concept: Introduction to how charges interact and electromagnetism.
Mafia
Need: Nothing
How to play: Have the participants sit in a circle tell them to close their eyes. Go around the circle and give the participants characters by tapping their shoulder.
No tap: Regular particle: Decides who is the weak force and votes.
One tap: Weak force: Causes other particles to decay.
Two taps: Strong force: Keeps particles together.
Three taps (optional): Gravity: Points at two people, makes their fates the same. (If one person was selected to decay, the other person will.)
Four taps (optional): Electromagnetism: Points at two people and decides thumbs up (they both live even if one was selected to decay) thumbs down (they both die if one was selected to decay).
While their eyes are still closed ask for the weak force to wake up. Have them point at the particle they want to decay. Tell them to sleep. Next ask the strong force to wake up, have them pick a particle to save, back to sleep. The other two forces can be called on and go through the same process. After ask everyone to wake up and tell them who decayed or who almost decayed but was saved. If someone does decay they become a ghost and can watch while everyone sleeps but cannot talk. Next everyone discusses who the weak force was and two nominees are selected. They give their plea and everyone votes on who is guilty. Who every is guilty is now a ghost.
Play until there are no more weak forces or until there are two people left.
Concept: Function of the weak force and the strong force.
Machine
Need: Ball (optional)
How to play: Have one participant do a motion and a sound while pretending to pass a ball. Have them get creative. Now have another participant add on to their motion. Continue this until everyone is moving and making noise. Now add the ball and encourage them to work together to pass it. Everyone has a different movement (specialization) and they are working together to complete a task (passing the ball). For extra fun tell them you're adding glucose so they can make ATP for more energy, then tell them they burnt it too fast and are now running slower.
Concept: Cell specialization
Photosynthesis
Need: Ball
How to play: Choose three participants to be the sun, magnesium, and the receptor. The sun tosses the ball to the magnesium who then holds it and throws it up to be bounced by other participants to the receptor (without letting it hit the ground). Everyone then makes a circle and passes the ball around twice while tapping it. Two teams can participate to race.
Concept: Photosynthesis. The ball first represtents a photon from the sun, then an electron once it is passed from the magnesium. The passing around the circle represents the Calvin cycle and tapping is for adding CO2 and RUBP.
Telephone
Need: Nothing
How to play: One participant comes up with a funny word or phrase. They whisper it to the next participant and they whisper it to the next and so on. The last person to get the phrase announces it out loud.
Concept: Mutations. They occur in the transfer of information.
Punnet Square
Need: Chalk
How to play: Participants draw a punnet square and fill it out accordingly. They then must close their eyes and throw a ball and see which parts it hits and say the phenotype and genotype. At the end have them say the chance the ball has of hitting any given phenotype and genotype.
Concept: Genetics, punnet square, probability.
Two Truths and a Lie
Need: Nothing
How to play: For this game everyone thinks of two truths about themselves and one lie. Each person then takes turns saying their statements and the others must guess which statement is a lie. For example:
I have two siblings.
I have over 20 pets.
I go on vacation in Cancun every year.
For me, Cancun is the lie. 20 pets, my guppies just had babies.
Concept: The truths shared are an example of experiences in our lives that have shaped who we are. This is compared to the idea of a "variable." The "variables" of our lives make us unique.
Sheet o' Gravity
Need: A sheet, different sizes and weights of balls
How to play: Everyone grabs a part of the sheet and pulls on it until it is tight. Next the leader adds different balls to the sheet and asks the participants to guess what will happen. Will the tennis ball roll towards the basketball or vice versa? Will the golf ball go towards the balloon or will they both stay still?
Concept: The sheet represents the force of gravity. The objects in place are drawn to each other depending on their mass. The largest object doesn't necessarily attract the smallest, its about which is more massive.
Guess your Charge
Need: Post-it notes. Anything sticky that you can write on.
How to play: Divide the participants into two groups. Half of them close their eyes, the other half keep them open. On the post-its write + indicating positive charge or - indicating negative charge. Allow the participants with their eyes open to look at their charge and then place it on their forehead. For the participants with eyes closed, place the charge on their forehead without them seeing it. Now have everyone open their eyes and interact. The participants who saw their charges can either "make friends" and stick together or run away and scream according to the charge of the other participants. If a positive and a positive interact, they should both run away screaming (same if negative and negative.) If a negative and a positive meet they should give each other a hug, shake hands, etc. After some time, bring everyone back and allow the participants that did not see their charges to guess what they have. Then switch groups.
Concept: Introduction to how charges interact and electromagnetism.
Mafia
Need: Nothing
How to play: Have the participants sit in a circle tell them to close their eyes. Go around the circle and give the participants characters by tapping their shoulder.
No tap: Regular particle: Decides who is the weak force and votes.
One tap: Weak force: Causes other particles to decay.
Two taps: Strong force: Keeps particles together.
Three taps (optional): Gravity: Points at two people, makes their fates the same. (If one person was selected to decay, the other person will.)
Four taps (optional): Electromagnetism: Points at two people and decides thumbs up (they both live even if one was selected to decay) thumbs down (they both die if one was selected to decay).
While their eyes are still closed ask for the weak force to wake up. Have them point at the particle they want to decay. Tell them to sleep. Next ask the strong force to wake up, have them pick a particle to save, back to sleep. The other two forces can be called on and go through the same process. After ask everyone to wake up and tell them who decayed or who almost decayed but was saved. If someone does decay they become a ghost and can watch while everyone sleeps but cannot talk. Next everyone discusses who the weak force was and two nominees are selected. They give their plea and everyone votes on who is guilty. Who every is guilty is now a ghost.
Play until there are no more weak forces or until there are two people left.
Concept: Function of the weak force and the strong force.
Machine
Need: Ball (optional)
How to play: Have one participant do a motion and a sound while pretending to pass a ball. Have them get creative. Now have another participant add on to their motion. Continue this until everyone is moving and making noise. Now add the ball and encourage them to work together to pass it. Everyone has a different movement (specialization) and they are working together to complete a task (passing the ball). For extra fun tell them you're adding glucose so they can make ATP for more energy, then tell them they burnt it too fast and are now running slower.
Concept: Cell specialization
Photosynthesis
Need: Ball
How to play: Choose three participants to be the sun, magnesium, and the receptor. The sun tosses the ball to the magnesium who then holds it and throws it up to be bounced by other participants to the receptor (without letting it hit the ground). Everyone then makes a circle and passes the ball around twice while tapping it. Two teams can participate to race.
Concept: Photosynthesis. The ball first represtents a photon from the sun, then an electron once it is passed from the magnesium. The passing around the circle represents the Calvin cycle and tapping is for adding CO2 and RUBP.
Telephone
Need: Nothing
How to play: One participant comes up with a funny word or phrase. They whisper it to the next participant and they whisper it to the next and so on. The last person to get the phrase announces it out loud.
Concept: Mutations. They occur in the transfer of information.
Punnet Square
Need: Chalk
How to play: Participants draw a punnet square and fill it out accordingly. They then must close their eyes and throw a ball and see which parts it hits and say the phenotype and genotype. At the end have them say the chance the ball has of hitting any given phenotype and genotype.
Concept: Genetics, punnet square, probability.
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