Foldables

A colleague showed me something very similar to this activity, but of course, like most things, I decided to tweak it to better suit my needs.

This activity is called a foldable.  It is perfect for vocabulary practice, verb practice, or just about anything else.  If your students are anything like mine, they have no clue how to study, so something like this is a great way to get them started.

You start with a grid that has 26 rows and 5 columns.  Across the top row you name each column: First try, Second try, Vocabulary, Fourth try, Third try.  Depending on where we are in the chapter, I might fill in the vocab for them, or I might make them fill it in themselves with words/concepts they are struggling with.  The one shown, I decided to do verb conjuguations to help them with their verb quiz tomorrow.

This activity goes in rounds.  Round one, have the student fill in their answers in the column that says "first try".  This must be done without their notes.  Then, they need to go check their answers using their notes.  Any of them that they got right need to be crossed off in the vocabulary column.  Normally you would have them fill in all of the 25, but for illustrative purposes, I just did a few below.

Next is round two.  They start by folding back the "first try" column so that they can no longer see it.  Then they must answer any of the questions that they have left showing in the vocabulary column without using their notes.  Similar to the previous round, once they are finished, they use their notes to check their answers and cross off any from the vocabulary column that they have gotten right.

Next is round three.  You will notice it is on the far right of the paper instead of next in line.  This is done so that it can be folded eventually.  You repeat the process again: no notes, write in your answers that are left, check your answers, cross out what's right.

Students may have to even go to a fourth try.  My rule is, with the conjugations, if they still don't get it right on the fourth try, they must write the correct conjugation five times on the back of the sheet to practice.  The idea of this activity is: if you know it, you don't have to keep writing it over and over.  If you don't know it, then you are getting some much needed practice.  Another great thing about this activity is, once students know how to do it, you never have to explain it again.  These are great to have on hand for that last minute sub plan or if you happen to finish a lesson earlier than expected.

CLICK HERE for a free copy of this from my Teachers Pay Teachers store