Pass the whiteboard

White boards – the key to just about every activity

What is it about holding a marker that makes the most tuned-out student willing to answer just about any question, even doing verb conjugations? Who knows?? But it sure works. Here’s an incredibly simply white board activity that is now one of my favorites.  It is very low prep but gets everyone working. Differentiation and review is built in. Take a look and let me know if you have tried it and how it worked and any suggestions you have:

Materials – everyone gets a white board and marker. We never have enough erasers, so these are shaired in pairs.

Seating – stick with your regular classroom seating but make sure students know ahead of time that they will be passing the boards in something like a huge circle (in my room it comes out more like a blob).

Topic – any, as long as there’s some depth of vocabulary. Examples: clothing; food; what I did over winter break; an accident; Don Quixote; a movie we watched

Rules – explain these ahead of time: students may write only one word/phrase on the board at a time. They may not repeat any word that’s already on the board. They may repeat a word they wrote on another board, but no more than twice. Also they must wait to hear you say “Pass it” (in the target language).

Instructions – tell students to write a word. Count down from five, then say “Pass it.” Scan the room to make sure everyone is getting a chance to write, and delay your countdown accordingly. As the boards go around in a circle the activity gets harder, so give students a chance to write. Excuse those who are a bit lost, telling them they can “steal” a word to use on the next board.

You will see a tremendous amount of reading. Everyone is scanning the vocabulary, looking for a word they can add.

Next – you can take this in countless directions. Try:

• flip the board over and repeat as many words as you can without peeking – solo or in pairs.
• use the words on the board to tell a story aloud. Teacher sets timer for short period of time, posting the timer on the overhead (search for “stopwatch” to find one you can post on the projector). Students can work solo, taking turns, or in pairs. If work solo, use a partner to listen, count sentences, give suggestions, praise, etc.
• use the board to write a story. Same parameters as above, giving a little more time.