Do you know....? Yes, I do know......!

      Did you say... STUDY?   How do I do that? 

     Studying information for a unit of study in order to prepare for a test can be overwhelming for many children.  They don't know where to start.  Some students don't know what they know or don't know.  So, I tried to come up with a fun interactive way for my kiddos to study with each other. Hopefully, some child will take this activity home to study with parents or other students.

            I have my 5th grade students write on index cards the following sentence.
"Do you know that ____________________?"  
 Then they complete the statement using information from their notes or text book. For example, "Do you know that Christopher Columbus was born in Italy but explored for the King and Queen of Spain?

      I have the kiddos write 3 to 6 statements, one on each card. They need to look through their notes and text book to find the correct  important information for the unit of study. 

      Then the fun begins!  The students form two circles or lines. I'll say, "Decide if you want to be peanut butter or jelly?" or hot dogs or hamburgers, or ice cream or apple pie. You get the picture.  The kids are very excited to make a choice and pick one.  Then I'll say, " Jelly goes first."   Now the children know who will read their statement first.  

      "Jelly" students read their statement "Do you know that ......?"   Then the "peanut butter" kids respond, "Yes, I do know that ....." and have to repeat the first statement exactly.   This keys in on their listening skills as well as recalling and repeating the information given. 

      Sometimes students write incorrect information on their cards. OOPS! This can be a learning situation too. Hopefully, the misinformation will be caught by other students and corrected on the spot.

       Now it is the "peanut butter" students turn to read their statement card to their partner with the "jelly" students responding.

       After a few minutes, I ring a bell or make some other sound to get my students' attention.  The "peanut butter" students will need to move on to the next person in line.  The process starts again.  This way the students are hearing new information from different classmates. Sometimes the information is repeated by different children.  That is okay, too. We have to hear information more than once to get it to stick in our mind.

      It is a kind of a "Speed Dating" situation, but we are reviewing information.

      I do hope you can use this study technique in your classroom. Give it a try, It can't hurt, and your kids might have fun and learn something. Let me know if it works for you.

Please leave a comment.  I'll love to hear ideas from your classroom.
Beti