Thumbs-up True-False

A simple and quick check for understanding method. Pose questions to the class. Each student does thumbs-up for true, thumbs-down for false, and thumbs-sideways for "not sure."

It's a simple technique, and easy to do, and good for a quick read on how well students understand.

Summary ball

After presenting information, have students stand in a circle. Give the ball to a student. That student must state some fact or concept just presented, and pass the ball to another student, who must do likewise. Give students a short time (e.g., five seconds) to say something, in order to keep things moving.

When I tried this with students, there was a little lack of enthusiasm, which I think came from their uncertainty as to what to say. I think it might be easier if they could just throw out facts (e.g., Truman, Stalin, containment). Another possibility is to have students say a term and toss the ball, so the other student must identify the term, the say another term and toss the ball.

Last Word

Have students do an acrostic with some term. For example, I've done this after a lesson on the Enlightenment with the word "Enlightenment."

Wordle

Generates a tag cloud based on imported text.

Could be used to process student inputs, look for patterns, or generate text for word splash

At http://www.wordle.net/

Human Bingo

Create a bingo sheet, with questions in squares--throw in a few fun things, about people, just for grins. Pass out sheets and have students find a person for each square, someone who can answer that question. When sheets are filled in, student return to their seats. Pull student names out of a hat, have students mark bingo sheets. When someone gets bingo, everyone whose name is on the bingo must be able to answer the question for the class. If everyone can do it, it counts as a bingo. You can have edible markers for students to eat them. Another possibility is, for a bingo, both the student with the bingo and the students on the sheet must be able to answer the question.

Good for review before tests, since the questions on the bingo sheet can be either specific terms (e.g., "Can identify Eugene Debs") or general ideas (e.g., "Can name three reasons unions were weak in the Gilded Age")

Source: Wormeli, Summarization in any subject

Moving summarizations

Students come up with actions to 'act out' the meaning of a sequence of events

Wordsplash

"Splash" terms all over a sheet, and have students make relationships between the terms. I usually have students write out a couple sentences on the board using as many terms as they can.

Usually, descriptions of this call for a "predictive" phase before you study, then students check on their predictions. However, I've used it simply as a summing up tool after studying material.

It works effectively both for reviewing specific terms, and for getting students to think about relationships, i.e., go beyond recall.

Frayer model

Four boxes around concept: essential characteristics, nonessential characteristics, examples, nonexamples. See Wormeli, Summarization in Any Subject

This worked well for summarizing primal religions.

Could be useful for abstract concepts, like absolutism or constitutionalism.

Have students write it on the board so they can compare.

P-M-I

See Wormeli. Good for getting discussion on ethical isses, e.g., evaluation Peter the Great's westernization program

3-2-1

Three questions, the first calling for three answers, the next for two, the last for one.

For example:

What were three scientific discoveries in the Scientific Revolution?
What were two ways in which those discoveries affected people's lives?
What is one aspect of life not affected by those discoveries?

Create a test

Have students write test questions.

Crossword puzzles

Students usually think these are fun

Point of View

Ask students to describe material studied (a narrative, a way of life, a set of beliefs), from a particular point of view. e.g., describe modern American society from a Hopi point of view, describe Lincoln's emancipation policy from various political viewpoints

Partners A and B

Divide students into pairs. Partner A talks for one minute about everything he/she remembers or that occured to him/her on the topic. Then Partner B talks, but cannot repeat anything that Partner A said.

Good for processing/summarizing after lectures and discussions, when it's less about specific facts and more about general ideas. Also good for on-the-fly, in the middle of a lecture, say.

Concrete spelling

Ask students to write a term in a pictoral way, which reflects the meaning of the word (See Wormeli, Summarization in Any Subject, for examples)

Share one-get one

Students get or draw a nine-by-nine grid. In the top three squares, they put three facts or ideas from the lecture, reading, or other material. They then walk around and compare notes with other students. They fill in the blank squares, copying from other students--no student may contribute more than one idea to a given student, and no student may repeat any ideas in his/her squares.