Wake Your Class Up with Simulations!

Have students ever expressed that your class is boring? Have you ever wanted to show students an experiment but didn't have the equipment? Need a way to spice up your classroom? Well why don't you WAKE YOUR class up with simulations? I have complied a list of EXCELLENT simulations that I have actually evaluated (except one) for user-friendliness, design, cost, attractiveness, and effectiveness. This list will be updated regularly so continue to check back!

 

Social Studies

• iCivics- This EXTRAORDINARY site has great lessons for studying constitutional rights, debating, roles and responsibilities of the president, and the 3 branches of government. They can not only be used in a Civics or Government class but very useful in a U.S. History class (when studying the constitution) or in Geography (when studying government or in a unit about the US) Very easy to use, appropriate for all ages, and it's FREE. http://www.icivics.org/
• Playing History- This is a good collection of historical simulations that include various areas of social studies. They are easy to use and fun! http://playinghistory.org/
  
• You Are There- These historical simulations APPEAR to be very good. However, because of software restrictions on my computer, I have only seen it once but have not had time to fully evaluate. However, I feel it may be worth your time.
• U.S. History Simulations- http://www.wadsworth.com/history_d/special_features/ext/hist_sims/
• World History Simulations- http://www.wadsworth.com/history_d/special_features/ext/westciv_sims/
  
• Flight to Freedom- http://ssad.bowdoin.edu:9780/projects/flighttofreedom/intro.shtml
•  Nobel Prize- The Nobel Prize organization has a whole section on education simulations that have been nominated and/or won Nobel prizes! They have some  SUPERB simulations for science, including chemistry, physics, and biology. http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/all_productions.html

Science

• PhET (University of Colorado at Boulder)- This has WONDERFUL  simulations for Science and Math. They are easy to use and only require that you download Java. It has versions into almost 20 different languages. You can even embed the simulations for students to play straight from your website or blog. These are SUPERB!  http://phet.colorado.edu/
• Molecular Workbench- This GREAT site allows students to work thought simulations, asks multiple choice questions, and makes  to explain what happened in a short essay. You can even create your own simulations or change current ones to fit your individual class needs or state objectives. http://mw.concord.org/modeler/
• Explorer Learning-  Now this exceptional site has simulations for science and math for grades 3-12. The best features about this site is that you go get activities specific to state standards or Common Core, and it comes complete with a student worksheet and a student vocabulary sheet. It does have a free samples and a 30 day free trial (which does give you full access to everything) but to get continued full access, you have to get the paid version. http://www.explorelearning.com/
• Nobel Prize- The Nobel Prize organization has a whole section on education simulations that have been nominated and/or won Nobel prizes! They have some  SUPERB simulations for science, including chemistry, physics, and biology. http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/all_productions.html

Math

•  University of Colorado at Boulder- has GREAT simulations for Science and Math. They are easy to use and only require that you download Java. It has versions into almost 20 different languages. You can even embed the simulations for students to play straight from your website or blog. These are SUPERB!  http://phet.colorado.edu/
•  Explorer Learning-  Now this exceptional site has simulations for science and math for grades 3-12. The best features about this site is that you go get activities specific to state standards or Common Core, and it comes complete with a student worksheet and a student vocabulary sheet. It does have a free samples and a 30 day free trial (which does give you full access to everything) but to get continued full access, you have to get the paid version. http://www.explorelearning.com/
• Illuminations- This site has over 100 simulations. They you can pick by grade level or standard. They also have lesson plans and a few assessment questions. http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivitySearch.aspx
• Shodor- This site has an interesting variety of simulations that are easy to use and don't require downloads. http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/

Reading/ Language Arts

• Read-Write-Think- This site has interesting simulations that go with many reading and writing skills. They even have accompanying lessons and they are FREE.  http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/
• Nobel Prize- The Nobel Prize organization has a whole section on education simulations that have been nominated and/or won Nobel prizes! They have some simulations for social studies and economics. http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/all_productions.html
• Mr. Anker- Has some good simulation on basic language arts skills (parts of sentences, analogies, homophones, vocabulary, reading comprehension). http://www.henryanker.com/

General

• Google Advanced Search 
• If you want to search and find simulations and games by topic (for example by a topic such as colonization, photosynthesis, solving quadratic equations, etc.), you can use Google Advanced Search. 
1. Read my article on Using Google Search to Find Resources
2. When you select the format, use  Shockwave Wave Flash (.swf)

This list is CONSTANTLY growing so make sure to check back often. Any suggestions kimberlyscott@gmail.com or @ingeniousteach

Musical Chairs- Simple and Fun!

Everyone knows the elementary game of Musical Chairs. The teacher plays music while a number of students walk around a circle of chairs. There is one less chair than there are students. When the music stops, the students rush to get a seat. The student who didn't get a seat is out of the game. Another chair is taken out and the next round begins with the students who are left.

 

There is an INGENIOUS way to make this game content-based and appropriate for older students. Give students a number of questions (study questions, study guide, review questions etc.) after they have went over the content. Allow students to play musical chairs such as described above. After the music has stopped and students have gotten a seat, THIS is where the content-based method comes in. In order to stay in the game, students need to correctly answer ONE of the questions from the study guide. Any student who gets a question wrong, is out of the game and can be replaced by the student who didn't get a seat OR a student in the class. After the correct answer is given (by one of the students in the game), the answer should be posted on the board or shown via a PowerPoint. 

I use songs that my kids like to listen to (except I use the edited version:)

SPED Accommodation- Allow these students more time to answer AND allow them to use their notes or the textbook to answer.

“And the Winner is…….” Award Show

Last year after the BET Awards, my kids came to school excited about what had transpired. They talked about the performances, the clothes, and of course the awards. Then an INGENIOUS idea hit me. Why not create an award show activity in my room for review?!

 

So this is how it works. This activity is best used at the end of a unit for review. It can also be used during the lesson for more motivated students. Anywho, after studying a unit with several different concepts (in history I use it during a unit where we studied several different people), as a class, develop a list of the important people in the unit

• Tell them the class is hosting an awards show (Grammys, BET, MTV, Hip Hop, Country Music Awards, People’s Choice, etc.- choose the one that would most interest YOUR students). 
•  Next, hand out this Rank Order Chart. Have each student vote on which person (or concept) is the most important/relevant/or had the greatest impact 
• Take the sheets up and have one student tally the votes. 
• While the votes are being tallied, divide the class into collaborative groups of 3-4 students. Allow each group to pick one person from the list (for less independent classes you might have to assign a person to each group)
• Have each group come up with 5-7 reasons (for the textbook, homework, supplementary materials, etc.) why there person should win the award for most relevant. 
•   Each group should also pick one student from their group that will play the person their groups choose. The group will help that student write an acceptance speech if he/she wins. The speech should include actual things that person might say and/or people he or she would actually thank 
• After approximately 15-20 minutes, have students hand in their handout with the reasons and begin the awards show. The teacher can play the host or you can allow the student who tallied the votes to be the host. Either way, announce the nominees in each category and read 1-3 of the reasons from the list. After all the nominees are announced, announce the winner. Allow the student who chose to portray the winner to come to the podium and give an acceptance speech as if they actually were that person.

 

Variation

You can develop other categories (most innovative, most popular, etc.) and announce the other people as winners. This time when announcing nominees, give 1-3 DIFFERENT reasons from their respective lists. This allows the class to review ALL of the people studied. At the end, a short assessment could be give (3-2-1 assignment, teacher-prepared multiple choice questions, etc) to ensure students were paying attention and retained knowledge needed for the test. 

Setting the Scene

To be even MORE creative and set the scene (and to encourage my students to get into it), I purchased a small trophy (approximately $2.50 from Target) and created a red carpet (use extra red butcher paper). You can even film it (a digital camera or smart phone) and show the BEST ones for review before the test OR include on your class website or blog. Just make sure to have the proper documentation (some schools or districts have funny rules about how you can video tape your students and why. My students get a KICK out of seeing themselves on video or on my website or blog. In the future I would like to have one of the red carpet backgrounds (the ones celebrities take pictures on) and a microphone (even if it doesn’t work) to make it more fun.

Application for Reading- Pick several characters from a reading selection as the nominees. Create categories such as who had the most impact on the story, who was the best hero, or who was their favorite character.

Application for Language Arts- Pick several types of words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.) as nominees. Create categories such as sentence changer, most important, or best describer.

Application for Science-Pick several types of chemicals as nominees. Create categories such as most powerful, most dangerous, and most useful.

Application for Math- Pick several types of numbers (positive, negative, integers, whole numbers, etc.). Create categories such as easiest to multiply, hardest to solve, most relevant.

Application to Social Studies- Pick several events in a unit (battles, laws, people). Create categories such as which had the biggest historical impact, most powerful, most important.

SPED Accommodations- Start the SPED students off with at least one example already filled in on each sheet. Allow them to give fewer reasons and give them pages numbers as hints to where to find reasons.

Scavenger Hunt!

This activity is STUDENT APPROVED! It is so easy and my students love it!  Even the never-want-to-participate kind.

 

Before you can begin you, you must have a few things.
1. Study Guide with approximately 10 questions
2. Scavenger Hunt questions- pre- printed and cut out. It may be easiest to print each set of questions on different color paper. It might be easier to print them on a business card template. (See this template)
3. Paper clips or rubber bands- To keep the cards together
4. Resources for the students to find answers (textbook, notes, articles, computers)
5. Students are put into groups of not larger than 3

There are two ways to do a scavenger hunt.

1. Textbook and Notes Only- Groups all start out by getting question #1 from their stack. Each group looks through their textbook and notes and write their answer on a small dry erase board or a sheet of paper. If it is incorrect, they go back until they get the right answer. If it is correct, they get question #2. The group who gets to last question correct first, is the winner.
2.  Textbook + Computer+ Other Resources- With this variation, direct students to find some answers in the textbook, some on bookmarked websites on a class computer, some in class workbooks or teacher resource books, and even some on class posters or quality work of other students (that you may have posted on a brag board).

At the end of either scavenger hunt, pass out the study questions worksheet (which are the same study questions from the game except they are on one sheet). Quickly go through the questions and answer, since students have answered most (if not all) of them and can readily give the answers. I usually have a PowerPoint or smart board activity with the answers ready to help those students who need to see it visually.

When to Use This Activity
1. At the beginning of a lesson or unit to force the to find the answers on their own. This activity is a lot more fun then just reading and answering the questions.
2. After they should have read the assignment (either for homework the night before OR during class) to see if they paid attention.
3. As review for a test- I use those multiple test questions that come with the textbook or others similar to the ones on the test. (Make sure to remove the answer choices so there are only questions. If students have answer choices they will keep guessing.)

Application to Math- Give students a set of practice problems. This is more fun then giving them a worksheet and since you probably have worksheets with the problems, it is easy for you to make.

Application to Science- Give students a set of questions involving an experiment they completed. Ask them about the steps of the experiment and why the results turned out the way they did.

Application to Reading- Ask students about a story they should have read for homework. If they read they should be able to quickly answer the questions.


Application to Language Arts- Ask students to identify and change the mistakes in sentences. Or they can make changes to a paragraph. 

Application to Social Studies- Ask students to a series of events in a unit. Answer study questions in preparation for a test.

SPED Accommodation- For SPED students, give them a set of cards with pages numbers (and even hints to which paragraphs to read) to find the answers. Make sure to pair them with another student that would help guide them. Also make sure with SPED students, they have had the change to read the material before hand. Do not use as a beginning activity with this group of students. See the SPED version in this sample.