It’s always interesting to see how well students know each other. I have the privilege of seeing (most) of my students for three years and many have known each other since kindergarten. We spend so much time in language classes having students talk about themselves, that I love to use activities to see how much they know about one another.
In 3rd grade, we spend time at the end of the year doing adjectives. During one class period, students move from desk to desk and write an adjective about their classmates. This is a great activity for students to work on complimenting each other and to get their descriptive juices flowing. The next step is to have students create accordion people with five descriptions. Students write their names on the back and turn them in.
In 3rd grade, we spend time at the end of the year doing adjectives. During one class period, students move from desk to desk and write an adjective about their classmates. This is a great activity for students to work on complimenting each other and to get their descriptive juices flowing. The next step is to have students create accordion people with five descriptions. Students write their names on the back and turn them in.
I number the desks and put a random accordion person at each seat. Students number their papers and then rotate silently through the numbers, guessing the correct classmate. At the end, we go number by number to see how many they guessed correctly. Students love when they guess correctly.
On a less basic level, this can be done as an end of the year review (or beginning of the year review). Students write as many things about themselves as they can think of (favorite color, foods they like and dislike, activities they like and dislike, etc.) and then turn it into a word cloud. My favorite website is currently tagul.com, as it allows students to save their work and also gives them the opportunity to use a myriad of shapes and designs. It also works really well on the iPad.
On a less basic level, this can be done as an end of the year review (or beginning of the year review). Students write as many things about themselves as they can think of (favorite color, foods they like and dislike, activities they like and dislike, etc.) and then turn it into a word cloud. My favorite website is currently tagul.com, as it allows students to save their work and also gives them the opportunity to use a myriad of shapes and designs. It also works really well on the iPad.
Following the same process as above, students move around the room reading the word clouds to determine which of their classmates it describes. This can be used to play a Guess Who? Type game with other vocabulary items such as animals or food. The word cloud contains the description of the item and the students work to guess what it is.
This can be used at any level. Higher level students can be required to write complete sentences or write more detailed descriptions. This is a great way to work on circumlocution and descriptive writing in a fun way.
How could you use this in your classroom?
How could you use this in your classroom?
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