Today, I wanted to have a little fun with our kids. We've been working SO hard getting through our current novel, Holes by Louis Sachar. What a fantastic book! The text is complex and engaging. Our kids could not get enough. In addition, we've been building stamina through the Silent Reading Challenge. I've discussed this in an earlier post, but I'll summarize briefly. Students are given a 500-700 portion of the book to read and answer 8 questions about what they just read. They must complete the reading and answer the questions with a 70% or higher accuracy rate. They are rewarded if they are able to do so successfully and we track each class's overall percent correct and total percentage proficient on a class thermometer. It has motivated them to closely pay attention to the reading.
Since we finished the book ahead of time, and we are about to let out for Spring Break, we wanted to allow them to reflect and enjoy the book. So, I came up with a review game that encourages student discussion. Although the concept is very simple, the results were amazing!
Students engaged in great discussions while playing the game using a modified version of the numbered heads collaborative strategy. Here's how it works: They are presented with a question. They are given 1 to 2 minutes to discuss the answer. A number flashes on the screen.
The student who was assigned that number must write his group's answer on a white board and hold it up before the allotted time is up. At the same time, students review important aspects of the book through 26 higher order thinking questions.
The questions range from identifying the main characters to identifying various text structures throughout the book.
We briefly played today. The excitement level was incredible. I can't wait to play again tomorrow. You can buy the entire 80 slide-game here:
Students engaged in great discussions while playing the game using a modified version of the numbered heads collaborative strategy. Here's how it works: They are presented with a question. They are given 1 to 2 minutes to discuss the answer. A number flashes on the screen. 
The student who was assigned that number must write his group's answer on a white board and hold it up before the allotted time is up. At the same time, students review important aspects of the book through 26 higher order thinking questions. 
The questions range from identifying the main characters to identifying various text structures throughout the book.
We briefly played today. The excitement level was incredible. I can't wait to play again tomorrow. You can buy the entire 80 slide-game here:
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