Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Puzzles

Some colleagues of mine showed me a great way to have the kids review.  They made puzzles that were four squares by four squares cut in half diagonally to make triangles.  On one side of each line is a clue, the other side is the answer.  I thought this was a great idea, but I couldn't shake the thought that there is no way for the kids to check their answers.  All the triangles fit together into the same final shape with a million different possibilities.

So, like with many things, I tweaked it.

I still used triangles, but I didn't make them form together into lines of squares.  The triangles were all oddly shaped and sized so that they would only fit together in one way.

I had the kids each make one.  I told them they could do vocabulary (English/French), verb conjugations (subjects/verbs), or clues (you smell out of this/le nez).  They handed them in so I could check to make sure they were accurate.  I then handed them back and had them cut them apart.  They traded with partners and put them together.  It worked out great!  It gave them a chance to review what we're learning.  I found that many kids did much more than just translations, which was great.  But even translations gave them a chance to practice vocab.

The cool thing about this is it can be used with just about anything.  Teaching match (problem on one side, answer on the other), teaching vocabulary, parts of speech, dates, historical figures...you name it!

Here is an example of a finished puzzle put back together:

Want an outline? Click HERE.

3 comments:

  1. I just discovered your Blog and absolutely love your ideas! I teach grade 9 core French in Canada and your activities and games have really inspired me and I can't wait to use them!

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  2. I'm not sure if you're still monitoring your blog, but I was wondering where the words/answers were for the outlines that don't connect to anything. I see you have words like "allergy" and "pharmacy" and "to have an itchy ear" but I'm not seeing if those have anything to do with anything else.

    I'm guessing they're just random vocabulary words to make it a little harder for students to know if it's a side piece or not?

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  3. J. Symes,
    Sorry for the delayed response, as I am on maternity leave.
    There are no answers to the outside pieces. I have them do that on purpose so that there is only ONE way this puzzle can go together correctly. If they end up with something other than a square when they are done, then they know that something is off.

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