Thursday Throwdown: Interactive Ideas for the Classroom

I am linking up with Lovin' Lit today to share some ideas to make learning more interactive.

I just ADORE Pinterest! I am sure I am not alone. I have spent many countless HOURS pinning and pinning and pinning....just for fun and relaxation.

Every now and then I take a peak back at my posts and take notes on some ideas I *really* want to try. I put some of them on my to-do list at school and made a folder of "Ideas That Work" on my computer. Here are a few of both new and tried ideas.

Reading Response Letter
Once or twice a week I have my students summarize a book or article that they are currently reading and share their thoughts with me about a particular reading expectation. I would love to mix it up a bit and this idea seems like a good one. Sometimes I feel as though my students are overthinking their summaries. Perhaps having them write a letter to me will help them explain their thoughts and ideas a lot better. Click HERE for a more detailed explanation.

A Quick Inferencing Activity

I LOVE this idea. It's quick and easy and practises a skill throughout the school year. I love going back to things we have already done so that I can see what the students have REALLY retained. This is an easy one! Grab a picture--- sometimes I make a copy/smaller version of the larger one of the board. As a large or small group, I have the kids infer what is going on in the picture using their visual clues.



Movie Clips
I love using media in my room---- especially music videos and movie clips. I recently came across this website called MOVIECLIPS. This site provides a one stop shop to search for video clips.

You can search by genre, age, theme and more.

This is definitely going to be a site that I am going to check in with when I want to relay a message to my kiddos.

Text Mapping
I really like this text mapping idea. We always need to model, model, model.... why not have the kids follow along with your modelling.

How I would use it:

*Make connections as you take part in a shared reading--- Kids use specific colour with a portion of text that they can connect with.

* Highlighting and discussing the different text features

*Use this as a cross-curricular lesson (I am always trying to find extra time for History, Science and Geography). Use the literature in each of these subjects and pair it with your language focus.

Now head on over to Lovin' Lit to see some more ways to make learning more interactive in your classroom! :)

~Kaitlin~