Popsicle Sticks Game

The Popsicle sticks game is a fun way for students to practice vocabulary. To make a game you will need one Popsicle stick per word. Write one word on each stick. On the tip of one stick, draw a red dot. You will also need four sets of the words and definitions (one for each member of the group who will be playing). Place the Popsicle sticks in a plastic cup labeled with whatever story/skill/root-word/etc. is being covered by those sticks.

For two sets of playing direction ideas, click here:
Basic Popsicle sticks
Organizational patterns/author's purpose Popsicle sticks

Speed Studying Activity

Speed Study

This activity was created after I saw a news segment about speed dating. I thought that the concept could be applied to studying. The kids enjoy it because they are moving, they feel like they are playing a game, and they don’t have to work with any one partner for too long. This particular description is for using flashcards; however, the speed study concept can also work with other activities.  

Arrange two rows of desks so that students will sit facing each other.

Hand out flash cards to the students in the left row.

Each student in the left row will use the flashcards to quiz the student across from him or her. For every correct answer, the student being quizzed gets to keep the flash card.

Every three minutes the teacher will say, “Switch!” and the students on the right will move down one seat (the students on the left stay where they are). The students will continue quizzing with their new partners.

Once every student on the right has had a chance to work with every student on the left, the students who were being quizzed will count how many flashcards they have managed to accumulate. The student who has collected the most cards “wins”. The students may then switch sides, with the students on the right quizzing the students on the left.