Some+Different+Activities


 * Classtime Commercials: A Learning Break. **To tap the interest of media-savvy students, the teacher can assign pairs or teams of them to create a 1-3-minute 'commercial' that reviews key instructional cont ent. (Teachers will get probably get the best results in this activity if they frame the assignment as a specific goal: e.g., //"Barry and Susan, your job is to create a TV or radio commercial that shows the viewer or listener the steps to follow when completing a 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication problem."//) Students should be encouraged to be as creative as their imaginations and available resources permit. (For instance, students asked to create a commercial about how to compute multiplication problems might decide to convert the steps of the math operation into a catchy jingle and put it to original music.) Each team then has an opportunity to present their 'commercials' to the class.


 * Quizzes Developed by Student Teams. ** Teachers can tap the cooperative and competitive spirit of students at the same time with this activity. (The most valuable review of instruction occurs as students prepare quiz questi ons for their classmates!)

To prepare, the teacher first creates a general template for students to follow in preparing a class quiz. (E.g., the quiz must always contain 5 multiple-choice items and one essay question.) The class is divided into groups of 4-5 students. Each group is assigned a section of the material covered in the course and directed to prepare a short quiz and answer-key based on that material. (Groups should of course consult their notes and course text to create the quiz.) When the student quizzes are ready, the teacher looks them over to be sure that items are 'tough but fair' and that answers are correct. Next, groups are paired off. Students in Group 1 in each pair take Group 2's quiz, and vice versa. Students then grade the quiz they took using the supplied answer key. The teacher permits students who do well on the quiz to count it as extra credit or toward an 'effort' or class participation grade.


 * Competitive Quiz Teams & Random Prize Points. **This idea uses the elements of within-team cooperation, between-team competition, and random assignment of prize points to motivate students. The teacher, as quizmaster, prepares review questions prior to the quiz. Each question should be based on instructional inform ation previously covered in class and have a brief, unambiguous answer (e.g., //"What major European battle brought an end to Napoleon I's attempt to return to power in France?"//).

Divide the class into two or more teams. Cycle among the teams as you read off the questions. When a question has been read to the team, the team has 15 seconds to huddle and decide as a group on an answer. The team spokesperson announces the answer to the quizmaster and roles a die to determine the amount of the team's random prize points. The quizmaster then tells the team whether their answer is correct. If the team gives the correct response, the prize points are added to their score. If the team gives the wrong answer, (a) the prize points are deducted from their score, and (b) other teams can attempt to answer the same question-but face the possibility of gaining or losing the same number of prize points.


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