Missing Piece
Purpose
To reveal a “missing piece.” A missing piece can be an unanswered questions, areas of
confusion, wonderings about a topic, preferred topics to study. Most commonly
used to deepen understanding.
Process
Graphic Organizers
Purpose
To organize information and
reflect
Process
Students create or use teacher-created graphic
organizers to organize information.
Examples
The teacher may
say:
Essential Questions
Purpose
To deepen thinking
Process
Stick, Stick
Community Level 1 – Acquainted
Materials: Small stick or pebble
How To Play:
Stick, stick, how you wander
From one hand on to another.
Is it fair? Is it fair?
To leave poor ________ standing/sitting there?
Silent Spelling
Community Level 2 – Familiar
Materials: List of spelling words
How To Play: Display a list of already familiar spelling words.
Each student is given a letter card that can be used to spell one of
the spelling words. Have someone call out one of the spelling words.
The students who have a letter card that can be used in that spelling
word stand up and the group works together silently to form a line with
the letters in the correct order.
Scategories
Community Level 2 – Familiar
Materials: Paper and pencil
How To Play: Students form teams of three. Using topics
provided by the leader, students list as many of the words under the
topic as they can. Teams strive to list less obvious words. For each
word listed only on one team’s list, that team receives a point. The
overall goal is to establish and then challenge the class’s best total
scoring of unique words.
Match-Up
Community Level 2 – Familiar
Materials: Premade index cards.
How To Play: Leader passes out pairs of vocabulary cards–a word
on one card and its definition on another–to players. Each player
receives one card, either a word or a definition. Leader signals
students to find the match for their card by sharing card information.
Once each pair has been matched, players stand in a circle next to their
partners. Leader invites each pair to share what word and definition
they have on their cards.
Green Door
Community Level 2 – Familiar
Materials: None
How To Play: The leader chooses a topic but only reveals an
attribute or quality of the topic by saying, “You can bring a/an
(attribute) through the green door.” The players deduce the topic by
guessing what other things-objects, numbers, or ideas-they can bring
through the green door, saying, “Can I bring a _______ through the green
door?” The leader replies “yes” or “No.” The play ends when
everybody has made a correct guess and a player names the topic.
Dictionary II
Community Level 2 – Familiar
Materials: Dictionary
How To Play: Using a dictionary, the leader (teacher or student)
picks and reads aloud a word relevant to current areas of study or
daily life, but one that many students do not yet know. Students write
possible definitions. The leader collects the definitions in a box,
along with the correct one. After students take turns reading them all,
they can choose which one they think is correct.
Dictionary
Community Level 2 – Familiar
Materials: Dictionary
How To Play: Using a dictionary, the leader (teacher or student)
picks a word relevant to current areas of study or daily life, but one
that many students do not yet know. Students can ask the leader yes or
no questions about the word and then try to guess what it is.
Plan for Success: Have a series of words prepared beforehand to help ensure quick searching through the dictionary.
Charades
Community Level 3 – Comfortable
Materials: None
How To Play: Leader prepares a list of vocabulary words. One
student or a group of students acts out vocabulary words while the rest
of the class tries to guess which word is being acted out.
Buzz
Community Level 1 – Acquainted
Materials: Paper and pencil
How To Play: Around the room or circle, players count
sequentially. Each time a multiple of 7 or number with 7 in it is
named, the player whose turn it is must say “Buzz.”
EXAMPLE: Players count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Buzz, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,
Buzz, 15, 16, Buzz, and so on. When a mistake is made, players start
again.