Treasure Chest of Thoughts

I introduced two of my classes to the Think Tank yesterday.  They may have just begun to understand the word collaboration (which just happened to be on our vocabulary words while reading Animal Farm, as one student noted!).

EXAMPLE #1

These two sections of Pre-AP English 10 are preparing to debate two topics upon conclusion of our Utopia v. Dystopia Thematic Unit.  One team will debate censorship, while the team judges and prepares to debate idealogical systems (this topic the teams will narrow next week).

In the Think Tank, each team has its own page on which to gather evidence and plan the team’s argument.  As I commented to them, part of the beauty of this format is that they also have access to their opponents’ online thoughts.

Steps Taken

1. Each student requested access to the Think Tank wiki.
2. I granted them access as a writer.
3. Students reviewed the pro-con pages for the two topics.

Steps to Take

1. Review how to hyperlink to sources that support the team’s angle, so each team member can all be on the “same page.”
2. Teach how to add pages and link to those pages should their info/database become too congested.

Purpose of the Project?

• To increase my students’ awareness that communication in the 21st Century will only go more digital.
• To add to their repertoire of technological tools.

Not a bad goal as Earth Day approaches, and we are pondering even more:  Go Green!

EXAMPLE #2

English 11 posted their introductory paragraphs to my class wiki (they completed the above steps also), but then I realized they could make changes to this database of class information.  At the time, this seemed a natural place to copy/paste the introductions.  To keep all such assignments in a consistent place, we will move these paragraphs to the Think Tank next week.

This is an amazing teaching tool.  In one lesson, we reviewed the placement of commas and periods within quotations, verb usage, and plagurism!  Plus, two students found misspelled words on their own. 

Effective!