Students of any age enjoy social interaction. Whatever you are teaching it is always a good idea to plan activities that get people out of their seats. Getting students to work together to complete tasks that test their knowledge of the material being covered is essential. The following activity can be used to work on definitions of key terms in any subject.
Preparation
First, type out about ten definitions or sentences that cover the key terms being learned in your class. Use a larger font so the words are easy to see. Leave some space between each word and throw in a couple of extra words that have nothing to do with the sentence. For example if one of my sentences was “Biology is the study of living organisms.” I would write that sentence with a large font and extra space between the words and I would maybe include words like “chemistry” or “dead”. Once you have your ten sentences written print them and cut out each individual sentence. Place a paper clip around the words for each sentence. Now put all ten sentences in an envelope. For a normal size class you will want about ten envelopes like this.
Start Activity
When your students arrive split the class into groups of twos or threes. Pass out an envelope to each group. Explain that students are to pull out one set of words at a time and these are to be spread out on the desk. The goal is for students to put the words together to form a sentence. Explain that there are two extra words for each sentence. When a group feels like they have the correct answer they are to raise their hands and you will come by to check for accuracy. If the sentences are correct one student is to mix up the words, stack them, place the paper clip back around the words and select the next set from the envelope.
Variations
As the teacher you can decide if you would like to make this a competition for the class. The first group to form all ten sentences correctly is the winner. Speaking from experience, this will really get your students moving and focused. Even students who are too cool for anything school related seem to wake up when competition is involved. You can decide on an award for the winning group if you choose this route.
You can also decide to do one sentence at a time as a class. Doing it this way nobody is allowed to move on to the next sentence until you have given the signal that everyone has finished. Now you have the option to discuss each sentence and its meaning one at a time.
This activity works great for little kids all the way up to high school. As long as everyone is on task let your class has fun. It may get a bit loud, but any good teacher knows that sometimes that is the price you pay to get students motivated.
