Play It – Say It!
Purpose
Students infer which response best matches a prompt and justify their thinking.
Materials
- Index cards
- Prompts, statements, or descriptions that correlate with the various response cards
Instructions
- Organize students into thinking partners.
- Have students create response cards and hold them in their hand like playing cards.
Examples:- 5-7 important terms, concepts, historical figures, characters, formulas
- Steps in a process (one step on each card)
- Different genres, literary devices, or reading comprehension skills
- Present a statement and allow students a few seconds to match the statement with one of their cards.
- Say, “1-2-3, Play It!”
- Students slap down the response card they think matches the prompt.
- Say, “Say It!”
- Students shout out their answers, all at the same time.
- Students justify to their thinking partner why they slapped down that card by completing this response stem: “I may not be correct, but I think the answer is ______ because ______.” Allow students to change their minds after talking.
- Observe students’ thinking and verify/clarify as appropriate.
- Students turn to their partner and finish this stem verbally or in writing: “The correct response was ______ because ______.”
Classroom Management
- Role-play ways to appropriately slap down cards and say responses at the same time.
- Add an element of humor by asking students to Say It in different voices: Say it like a cowboy, say it like a football coach, whisper say it, etc.
- Remind students there will be no harm or humiliation for incorrect answers because correcting mistakes is a sign of intelligence!
Differentiation
- Provide access by previewing response cards with a supportive adult or peer.
- Provide access by allowing student/teacher notes, journal entries, or visual supports, and/or encouraging text-to-speech supports.
Think It Up!
- Have students think more deeply about the concept by responding to a Think It Up prompt as an exit ticket or journal entry:
- Sequence the response cards in order from the ideas you know best to those you know least. Get a friend to coach you on the one you know least.
- Generalize what all the cards have in common.
- Encourage students to use lead4ward’s Thinking Stems (English/Spanish) to frame their responses, if needed.
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