Quiz and Trade

Have I mentioned yet that I love classroom games??  I'm sure I get that from my mom.  But seriously.  Kids are having fun.  Kids are moving.  Kids are talking.  All the things they love to do!  And at the same time, kids are practicing academic skills.

A game that I find so great to play is Quiz and Trade!  It's super easy to set up and is so easily differentiated!

The basics of this cooperative learning strategy are this:

- You'll need at least 1 card per student containing a question on one side, and the answer on the other.
- Pass out 1 card to each student.
- Students then stand up, put their hand up, and partner up with a high five.
- When students meet their partner, Student A will read/show her card to Student B.
- Student B will answer the question.
- Student A will then give praise if the answer was right, or coach if the answer was incorrect. 
- Repeat the process with the other card.
- After both students have read and answered their question cards, students switch cards.
- Students find a new partner and repeat the quiz process.

What I love MOST about Quiz and Trade is this - when a student gets a new card, he has just been either praised or coached on that work.  He now is the teacher and has the confidence to teach it to the next person.

How I Differentiate

Skill Based Groups

One way that I differentiate this strategy is to use it as a station in smaller, skill based groups.  Students who need more supports are grouped together, using cards that include more supports.  Students who are ready for a challenge are grouped together  

For example, all of the Grammar Quiz and Trade games have 2 levels of vocabulary.  

Struggling readers are grouped together using cards with the more common vocabulary.  

Advanced readers are grouped together using the cards with more difficult vocabulary.  

Students are all working on the same skill, but within their own reading level.


Social Groups

I specifically put groups of students together who I know compliment each other well.  In this grouping, struggling readers are mixed with strong readers.  The main factor is that the group meshes well.

Interest Groups

I also offer some students the option to complete independent seat work.  I know there are days that I don't want to work as a team with others, and I can respect that about my students!  All of the grammar games also have coordinating seat work available.  I've also used the seat work as an independent station, homework, and for review.  It's really versatile.  

Whole Class

I frequently use Quiz and Trade as a whole class activity, using both sets of cards combined.  I intentionally pass out the lower level vocabulary cards to the struggling readers, so they are starting with a card they understand and can teach.  

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I'd love to hear other ideas you have for differentiating Quiz and Trade activities!  

Until next time!

Pam

Books We are LOVING - Acceptance!

One area that was always a challenge when working in the inclusion setting was acceptance.  Acceptance of all peers just as they are!  Accepting each others strengths, weaknesses, interests, all of it!

At home, we have been reading picture books to help teach our kids acceptance.  

Here's what we are LOVING right now!

We're All Wonders by R.J. Palacio

If you haven't read the Wonder series, you should!  It's sooooo good for talking about acceptance!  The books are a little grown up for my kids, so we are reading the picture book.  

My oldest just loves Auggie and talks about how awful it is that kids talk about him behind his back.  We get time to talk about what he would do if he met Auggie in real life and what he could say if he met someone who didn't look "ordinary," as the book says.  What a great lesson for him to learn!  

The Family Book by Todd Parr

The Family Book is super easy to read, so my 4 year old loves that.  The book shows pictures of all different types of families, each page saying, "Some families have...." and has several pages that say, "All families....".  

It's so great for showing that even though we are all different and all of our families are different, we all still love our families and have things that are the same.

This has become a favorite for my oldest to read.  This is such a great book for showing kids that it's ok to be just OK at things that you try to do!  He was super excited when he discovered that the letters OK actually make up the body of the character!  

The next book we are loving is Same, Same, but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw.

The book is written from the perspective of 2 young male pen pals who live in very different communities.  The boys discover that while aspects of their lives are different, there are 

similarities to celebrate and share!

We will keep adding to this list as we find books we love!  

What picture books do you love to use with your classes to help instill acceptance?  

See you next time!

Pam

Boom Cards™

You guys!!  Have you heard of these yet?!?  My awesome friend at Krejci Creations told me about this site!  This site collects data on students for you!  Enough said, right?

Data!  Data!  Data!  

We need it for EVERY decision we make for students!  The Boom Learning℠ site tracks student progress for you!  Hooray!  As a special ed teacher who tracks data for all things, I find this particularly helpful for tracking student goals!

There's tons of free products there and some awesome stuff to buy, too.

I'm not an expert on it, but here's the basics.  You can get "decks of cards" from Teachers Pay Teachers OR from the Boom Learning  site.  

With your Teachers Pay Teachers purchase, users new to Boom Learning get a three-month free trial of student progress reporting for up to 150 students. Your trial includes the ability to make up to 5 free DIY decks. You may upgrade or cancel at any time. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (released in the last three years) on interactive whiteboards, computers and tablets. Boom Cards apps are also available. Not sure if your browser is modern enough? Try a free Boom Cards deck first. When you redeem your purchase, Boom Learning opens an account for you if you do not already have one. If you do not subscribe at the end of your trial, you will be able to continue using Boom Cards with the Fast Play feature. Fast Play does not track individual progress. If you do not subscribe we will delete your student records 3 months after the expiration of the trial to protect student privacy.

So, you get a "deck", then students play!  It's great if you're a 1:1 classroom, to use as a station, or even to project on an interactive white board for the whole class!!

So far The Differentiation Shop has 4 decks available to practice dividing large numbers by 2 digits!  

I'd love to hear what types of Boom Card products you're hoping to see!

Until next time!
Pam

Oh!  And don't forget to check out the FREEBIE!!