Activities for 7th Grade
Post an Identity
Submitted by: Jean
June 20th, 2010
Categories: 3rd Grade | 4th Grade | 5th Grade | 6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade | Classroom Management | ESL | Language Arts | Reading & Writing
Estimated Time: 40-50 minutes
Description: Each student is given 5 Post-it® Notes, each of a different color. On each colored post-it, students are asked to answer a different question about themselves. On the blue post-it, write your favorite thing to do in your spare time. On the pink post-it, write something that always makes you smile. On the yellow post-it, write something that annoys you. On the green post-it, write your greatest accomplishment. And on the orange post-it, write what you hope to be when you grow up. These questions can be changed depending on the needs of the group. The activity can be repeated at different times throughout the year with different questions. Once, students have had time to answer all of the questions, they are to stick them to the front of their shirt. In silence, students are then asked to mingle around the room and learn about their classmates. They are only able to read and respond with facial expressions; no talking. After 10 minutes, students are asked to return to their seats and discuss the activity. The discussion questions can include: Is there anyone you would like to ask a question based on their post-its? What is something new you learned about a classmate.? What is something you have in common with someone in the room? What is something you do not share in common with someone else? What surprised you the most? Is there anything that we all share in common? This is a great way to build relationships in the classroom. It also helps students to grow in their own self-awareness.
You Post It!
Submitted by: Peggy
June 20th, 2010
Categories: 7th Grade | Science
Estimated Time: 30-40 minutes
Description: 1. Read chapter summary 2.Cooperative groups are given different colors of Post-it® notes 3. Questions from summary are written on different pieces of butcher which is placed on various tables. 4. When the timer goes off all groups are located at a table, they must answer the question on the Post-it note--one student will write the answer on the Post-it. 5. When the teacher says "Post-It" the student post the note and immediately move to the next table where the next question and butcher paper is located. 6. When we are done, I can tell which group answered the question correctly by looking at the color of the Post-it notes. 7. If the answer is wrong the Post-it will be removed. 8. The group with the most Post-it notes will win the game.
Sticky Editing
Submitted by: Cathy
June 20th, 2010
Categories: 7th Grade | Language Arts
Estimated Time: 0-10 minutes
Description: In seventh grade lang. arts we peer edit our final copies of a writing piece that is written in pencil. When students swap papers for the final they write their edits on a Post-it® Note. This method lets students change what I hope is only a few edits without needing to rewrite an entire paper. The students love using Post-it notes and they like the idea of not rewriting an entire piece of writing! I like using a variety of colors.
Question Summary Parking Lot
Submitted by: Donna
June 10th, 2010
Categories: 1st Grade | 2nd Grade | 3rd Grade | 4th Grade | 5th Grade | 6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade | Art | Classroom Management | ESL | History | Language Arts | Math | Music | Reading & Writing | Science | Special Education
Estimated Time: 0-10 minutes
Description: During class, students jot down questions on Post-it® Notes that I don't answer or don't answer well enough. At the end of class, all students place a Post-it note on the "Parking Lot" on the board. If a student does not have a question, they write "no question" on their note. I collect these notes and answer all questions during my lesson summary. High school students are very self-conscious about asking questions in front of their peers. Since everyone puts a note on the board, no one knows who had questions and who did not.
Genres of a Different Color
Submitted by: Carrie
June 8th, 2010
Categories: 1st Grade | 2nd Grade | 3rd Grade | 4th Grade | 5th Grade | 6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade | ESL | Language Arts | Reading & Writing | Special Education
Estimated Time: 60+ minutes
Description: It is important for students to learn about the different genres of literature. Using the 6 colors from each assorted colored Post-it® Note, I make a chart with the students to place up on the wall of the classroom. It would look like this: Pastels Oceanside Drama Bashful Fable Butter Fairy Tale Citrene Fantasy Glacier Fiction Heather Fiction in Verse Brights Lipstick Folklore Lime Historical Fiction Cosmic Horror Sunshine Humor Lucky Legend Nantucket Mystery Jewel Tones Cheeky Mythology Crimson Poetry Golden Realistic Fiction Evergreen Science Fiction Cobalt Short Story Majestic Tall Tale Earth Tones Jungle Biography/Autobiography White Essay Cream Narrative Nonfiction Sand Nonfiction Cocoa A play This activity involves categorizing each book that is in the classroom or that comes into the classroom. When a teacher introduces a book that she is going to read, or when a student selects a library book, or even for a larger activity of going through a self of books in the room----the students will try to guess the genre that the book is and when it is correctly identified a Post-it Note will be placed in the book. Take a Post-it Note (select the correct color for the genre from the chart in the room) and place it on the inside of the book cover with only 1/2 inch showing above the pages. Select a student to write the correct genre on the Post-it note and leave it in the book. Eventually all of your in classroom library books will be categorized and by the end of the school year---guaranteed---each student should have an excellent grasp of the different genres of literature. The students may want to Post-it label their own books at home. The students enjoy being "genre detectives" as they try to figure out the genres for each book. Some books may have more than one genre. This activity can be used in all of the grades as well as in Special Education and Title 1 Reading rooms. You will be amazed at how quickly they will catch on to the different genres of literature.
