Using Google Forms to Reflect/Transition into a New Topic!

I have used Google Forms many times in the past for checking understanding of a concept, surveys, etc.  Today, I used them for a different reason.... to pre-check knowledge and transition into the next lesson.  I created a form with various multiple choice questions, open answer questions and a reflection piece to see how well students felt they knew the information related to the lesson we would be starting.  Then, I analyzed the  information collected by the Google Form and analyzed it to help me plan instruction to better fit student  needs.

Here is a video of students completing the form.

My Google Form -  This particular form was used to obtain info. on how well students knew and thought they knew the meanings of different conjunctions before starting a lesson on the subjunctive with adverb clauses.

Pick an App - Creating visuals for what we are reading!

Today, in order to help students read & understand the current chapter of "Don Quijote", we did the following activity ...

1.  Students were broken down into small groups.

2.  Each group was randomly given a section to read and tell the class about. (Jigsaw)

3.  Each group was directed to create a visual representation of their section to present with their explanation to the class using an Android app of their choice.

This activity worked wonderfully and I love that students are able to connect a visual representation of what they are reading to help in understanding/processing.  Here is one of the works of art my students created (In only 5 minutes!) using an app called Paint Joy.  This app is great because it records each stroke you make and plays it back to you in a video format  Other apps that were used today by different student groups included Whiteboard and Skitch.

This is how we read it!

Spanish IV students are reading their first mini novel (an abridged version of 'Don Quijote').  For today, students were placed in small groups and assigned a small part of the chapter.  They then read through it, looked up any words they didn't know and prepared to share with the rest of the class their section.  Tools that were used today.. 

• Special Don Quijote Timer (to help keep groups focused/on task) - See video below!
• Xooms/Transformers
• Word Reference App
• Abridged version of Don Quijote for Intermediate Spanish Students