Debbie+C

__March Entry__ 3/27/12  I am sharing a RAFT that I created for my economics class. The purpose of the activity is for them to review different vocabulary words and apply them.
 * 1) For homework they were given a fun story about the demand for glass slippers after Cinderella made them popular. The story weaved in different economic terms within it. We will go over the story and how it explains the terms.
 * 2) Using fairy tales as a them, they are going to write a script using one economic term that we have been using. They will get into pairs and each pair will randomly "draw" a story to use for a skit. This skit will include what the vocabulary term is and an example of its' use.
 * 3) They will have class time to work together and perform the skit to the class.
 * 4) Their outside of class assignment will be to choose a character from the master RAFT list and to choose at least 4 of our vocabulary words to describe in a story.



__November 2011__ 11/30/11 I want to share a literacy activity that I have used and would like to use more in my various classes. I also will include some files you can look over and use or modify to fit your needs.

The strategy is called **__Give One - Take One__**. Roz did pass this one on to us, and I think that is could be pretty useful in many different situations. Give One - Take One is a way for students to share and summarize with each. They have to share a piece of information with each other as they fill out a sheet. Any one fact or information shared must be different from what is already written down by others. Thus, students need to read all of what is there first and may have to search out more information to add something new/different.

I have used it with U.S. History.
 * 1) They had to read a primary source article written in the 1920s by the leader of the KKK. Students needed to code the article for what the author felt were the main values and beliefs of the KKK.
 * 2) The next class, we began a discussion about the article in general. Then we did the Give One - Take One activity. The student will write down a piece of information in the first block. For this lesson, it was information regarding the ideas and purpose of the KKK. Then students need to find other students to fill in a box with a different piece of important information (anytime a student adds to it, a name should also be added -- it just makes it easier to remember who has already fill-out a box).
 * 3) After the squares are all filled, or how many squares you had asked for, students get their form back and look over what people had added. On the file that I will link to (revised version), I added something for the back of the handout where students are asked to summarize what can be learned about the topic based on the shared information.
 * 4) We ended by discussing what was found.

This activity could be used to do prewriting for a paper, summarizing a video, article, or website, and for many other purposes.

The most challenging part for me as an instructor was just coordinating the activity itself. You can set it up for students to walk around the room finding people to share a fact with. (This allows for students to get up and move around.) When Roz did it with us, we were in groups and just rotated the papers around the group. When I did this, students ended up getting separated from their paper, and papers were moved around (that wasn't too much of a hassle because the class was good). I was thinking that next time, I could set it up like "speed dating." Students will need to pair up and I will give them a set time then everyone rotates to find a different partner.

The success of this activity probably also is affected by the size of the class. If there are more students than squares, that is probably ideal (depending on your objective). Again, you can limit the amount of squares needed to be filled in and that would also lessen the time needed to complete the activity.

This is the one that I typed up.

This is just a basic handout.

This is a lesson plan for a trainer with new teachers. The basic outline and ideas in the lesson could be modified probably any lesson using a Give One - Take One strategy.