Johanna Busch
Activity-Based Learning
My second grade students are most engaged when they are learning actively. My students are young and it is not developmentally appropriate for them to sit still and listen to me talk for long periods of time. They learn best when they are moving around, creating, touching, and playing. My students are more willing and able to tackle difficult questions when they are having fun. I make sure that I plan engaging activities everyday that allow students to develop deep understanding of content and give them chances to apply this knowledge.
Manipulatives
My students use manipulatives during math almost every day. Whether they are using pattern blocks, connecting cubes, pretend money, clocks, or place value blocks, I find that my students are much more able to comprehend abstract math concepts when they can model them with manipulatives. Touching and moving the manipulatives to model mathematical situations supports students in applying content knowledge to a variety of situations and developing a deep understanding of concepts such as place value, addition, subtraction, time, geometry, and money.
The above images show students working in groups to use connecting cubes to figure out all the possible ways that they could make 46 with tens and ones. Breaking a group of tens into ones is a challenging concept for many students. Using connecting cubes allows students to physically break a group of ten into ten ones, allowing students to gain a deep understanding of this concept.
Sorts
Sorts are another way that I use tactile activities to engage learners. Sorts involve students moving pieces of cut up paper around into different categories. I use sorts as an instructional strategy for reading comprehension, phonics, and conventions. Students may sort words my sound or spelling pattern, such as a beginning sound or short or long vowel sounds or by whether a word is a proper or a common noun. Sorts are especially effective for students who struggle with writing. They are able to practice skills and demonstrate knowledge without writing, allowing them to instead focus on the skill we are learning.
These students are work together to sort texts by the author's purpose, persuade, inform, or entertain. Working on a sort together allows students to practice meaningfully applying their knowledge by having to communicate their thinking to another student. These students are struggling to distinguish texts that are entertaining from texts that are informing.
Scoots
My energetic students are more able to stay engaged when they are moving around. Knowing this, I implement instructional strategies that involve movement. When my students are moving around, they are often more willing to take the risks that are required for them to develop deep content understanding. Students are given more chances for interaction during movement based activities, creating more opportunities for connections to be made.
During a Scoot, questions or task cards are placed around the classroom. Students walk around and complete each task. Students record answers on a recording sheet. Scoots give students a great opportunity to build skills by applying the same skill in a variety of different situations. After the scoot, students compare and discuss their answers. Then, I project the correct recording sheet on the board. Students check their own work to receive immediate feedback about their level of mastery of a specific skill.
This is a student recording sheet from a measurement scoot which involved students walking around the room and estimating the length of and measuring different objects using measuring tape. Though this student correctly measured 7 out of 8 objects, many of her estimates are much smaller than the actual measurement. This indicates that she made need extra estimation practice.
Below are images of students completing an addition scoot. Addition task cards were placed around the classroom. Students rotated in pairs. Each pair had two minutes to solve a task card and record the answer on their recording sheet. When the timer went off, students rotated to the next task card. Working together in intentionally grouped pairs allowed students to explain this skill to each other, helping all students develop a deeper understanding of how to add two digit numbers. Furthermore, a scoot gives students many opportunities to meaningfully apply this skill.
Here are images of students working in pairs to solve task cards with two digit addition problems during a scoot.
Here is one of the task cards that students solved during this scoot.
Here is an example of a recording sheet of a student who has mastered two digit addition. This student correctly rewrote all the equations vertically and solved them.
Here is an example of a recording sheet of a student is approaching mastery of two digit addition. This student struggled to correctly write equations vertically and to solve addition problems in the time given. This students' partner explained this concept to him during the scoot.
Arts Integration
I often try to integrate arts as a way to increase student engagement. Students who might otherwise not be very invested in reading or math activities are often more motivated to work when an artistic task is involved. I integrate art through periodic projects as well as a weekly Creativity Friday assignment. This allows students who may not always excel with traditional academic tasks to show other strengths. Arts integration builds connections across content areas. Students are able to connect art, reading, math and other areas through art projects. This helps students build deeper content knowledge in all of these areas.
Arts Integration in Math
The below pictures show place value spiders that students completed after learning different ways to write numbers. Students rolled a die to create a three digit number and wrote it in standard form on the spider's body. Students then wrote the number in expanded, base ten, and written form on the legs of the spider. Students who had previously struggled to write numbers in different forms were much more motivated to master these skills when they were part of an engaging art project.
To bring art to geometry, students created "shapely scarecrows." Students read a poem which described how to make a scarecrow out of shapes. Students then followed the poem's directions to create their own scarecrows. Creating scarecrows allowed students to meaningfully apply their knowledge of shape names to create artwork. This project also allowed students to develop connections between content areas. Students connected reading skills to math and art skills to create a product they were proud of.
This is the scarecrow poem students read before creating their scarecrows.
These are two images of scarecrows created by students based on the poem to the left.
Creativity Friday
Students also have an opportunity to integrate art into what we are learning about in reading, social studies, or science on Creativity Friday. Every Friday, to celebrate finishing our weekly spelling and comprehension skill assessments, students spend a few minutes completing a creative assignment connected to something we learned about that week. Creativity Friday assignments are usually questions that students respond to through drawing or creative writing. Creativity Friday assignments are an opportunity for students to build connections across content areas between reading, science, social studies, and art. I include these creative assignments to give students an opportunity to reflect on what was learned that week in a way that is meaningful to them. Many of my students find writing stressful and are more able to build deep cross-disciplinary connections through art. I love seeing students who often struggle to express deep understanding of content through writing come alive when completing Creativity Friday assignments.
After a week spent reading texts about camping and exploring nature, students drew pictures of where they would want to go camping. This Creativity Friday allowed students to build connections between themselves, reading, and art. The slideshow below shows two examples of pictures students drew showing what they would do and see if they went camping.
This student drew an image of herself roasting marshmallows over a fire while camping. She built a connection between a text we had read about camping and herself through art.
This student drew a picture of a bear trying to get into zipped tents, building a connection to a story we had read in reading through visual art.
This student drew an image of herself roasting marshmallows over a fire while camping. She built a connection between a text we had read about camping and herself through art.
After spending a week learning about the desert in science and reading, students connected what they had learned in both content areas through art. Students built connections across content areas by drawing pictures of what they would find if they explored the desert. This Creativity Friday assignment specifically supported my students with disabilities, many of whom struggle to communicate their ideas through writing. Creativity Friday gives them a chance to express what they have learned through a different medium.
This picture was drawn by a student with an IEP who struggles to effectively communicate through writing. Though she was extremely interested in the desert, she had a difficult time engaging the the week's writing assignments. Creativity Friday gave her a chance to build connections between content areas through art.
This picture was drawn by a student on a very high reading level. This student chose to also include labels and facts about the desert animal he drew. Creativity Friday allows students to engage in cross-disciplinary content at multiple academic levels.
This picture was drawn by a student with an IEP who struggles to effectively communicate through writing. Though she was extremely interested in the desert, she had a difficult time engaging the the week's writing assignments. Creativity Friday gave her a chance to build connections between content areas through art.
Games
I often use games as an instructional strategy. Games allow students to apply their knowledge in meaningful ways. Students are more motivated to succeed and improve their skill mastery when they are playing competitive, fun games. Games also allow students to apply skills in settings beyond worksheets, quizzes, and tests. Furthermore, students often teach each other while they are playing games, contributing to each student gaining a deep understanding of content.
I most often use games during math, where students are given opportunities to play math games every day during centers. Some of these games relate to skills we are currently learning. Other games allow students to keep practicing skills that were learned earlier in the year. Below is a typical center schedule. Students are split into four groups based on their math levels. Each group is assigned a must do task, which must be completed by the end of the twenty minute period. When students are finished, they play math games for the remaining time. Splitting students into groups by ability allows me to differentiate, making sure each student is applying skills in a way that is meaningful to them. Students are working on tasks appropriate to their ability levels.
This is an example of a math center schedule. A schedule is projected on the Smartboard everyday during math centers. The schedule tells students what they are supposed to be working on during center time. The two games that are included in this schedule (Spin and Subtract and the flashcard board game) are shown below.
Boo Bump
The below images show students playing one of their favorite math games, Boo Bump. One player counts out ten red counters. The other counts out ten white counters. Players One rolls three dice and and find the sum. Player One then put their counters on the sum. Then, the next student repeats. If a sum that a student rolls is already covered, the student can bump the other student's counter off and replace it with their own. Whoever uses all their counters first wins the game. This is an engaging way for students to practice finding the sum of three addends. Students are motivated to master this skill because they are applying the knowledge to a situation they care about, winning a game.
Flashcard Board Game
Students use flashcards to practice a variety of different fluency exercises including sight words and math fast facts. I use board games that students can use with any kind of flashcard. In the game below, each student starts with a different color counter. Students take turns drawing flashcards. When a student correctly answers a question, they move forward one space. When they get a question wrong, they move back one space. Students are racing to be the first to the finish (the Thanksgiving feast on this game board). Flashcard board games allow students to apply their knowledge in meaningful ways. Students are incredibly motivated to improve their speed and accuracy with flashcards because they want to win the board game.
This image shows students playing a flashcard board game with addition and subtraction flashcards.
Here is one of the flashcard game boards that students use to play this game.
Spin and Subtract
Subtract and spin is an engaging game that give students a chance to practice two-digit subtraction. Students use a pencil and a paperclip to spin a number on each of two spinners. Students record each number on a recording sheet. Students then subtract one number from the other. This game is a fun way for students to build subtraction skills. I often use games with spinners because my students are much more eager to learn when they get to spin for their numbers rather than just completing a worksheet. Games with spinners help students build and apply crucial math skills.
This image shows a student playing spin and subtract.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I utilize a variety of activity-based instructional strategies including manipulatives, sorts, scoots, arts integrations, and games. These activity-based instructional strategies help students to develop a deeper understanding of content by allowing them to actively wrestle with new concepts with other students. Activities also provide students with an opportunity to apply content knowledge in meaningful situations. Students are very engaged and motivated when they are meaningfully applying knowledge in an art or game setting. Finally, activity based learning (especially arts integration) allows students to deeply explore the connections between content areas.