Materials needed: 1) cards with two vocabulary words Number of Teams: 2 Directions: 1. One member from a team will be given a card with two vocabulary words. Each word will be given different point values based on difficulty. 2. The team representative will have a specific time limit to act-out the word. 3. Other…
Activities
Pictionary Vocabulary the Review Game
Materials needed: 1) a list or cards of vocabulary terms and 2) whiteboard, chalkboard, or smart board and markers/chalk Number of Teams: 2 Directions: Each team will take turns sending one “artist” to draw a picture of a vocabulary word given by the teacher. The artist will be given a time limit to draw the…
“Bluff” the Review Game
Materials needed: 1) a list of questions from the study guide (or from the test) 2) note cards, popsickle sticks, etc. with students’ names Number of teams: 2 Directions: Ask the question to the entire team (make sure there is no talking). Students have the option to stand or sit. The teacher will count the…
ZAP! the Review Game
Materials needed: individual papers slips, note cards, sticks, etc. containing questions or vocabulary words one slip, card, stick, etc. as a wild card with a word such as ZAP! or other word related to the unit’s theme bags, baskets, or buckets to hold questions Number of teams: groups of 3 or 4 Directions: Each student…
Review Games – All Play and No Work?
Is it a waste of time to play review games to prepare for tests? “I pray thee, spare thyself at times: for it becomes a wise man sometimes to relax the big pressure of his attention to work” (Augustine, Music, ii, 15). St. Thomas Aquinas uses this quote from St. Augustine to respond to the…
Teaching the Mysteries of Rosary to Elementary Students
The Challenges of Teaching the Rosary Teaching the Rosary to little ones is no easy task. It is not simply teaching the prayers, but decoding the new vocabulary in the prayers so that children are able to understand them. It is not simply exposing children to the mysteries of the Rosary but enabling children to…
Rosary Journals for Meditation on the Mysteries of the Rosary
One of the ways I taught students to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary, was to have them create a rosary journal for a particular week. We focused on one decade/mystery of the rosary each day (for a total of five mysteries per week). I found this to be especially powerful for the sorrowful…
Danielle Rose Music: Mysteries of the Rosary CD
In 2002, Pope John Paul II put out the apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (RVM). In this letter the Pope reiterated his personal devotion to the rosary and power of praying the rosary. This letter was the inspiration for a beautiful collection of prayerful songs written and performed by an amazingly talented young musician Danielle…
The Month of the Rosary is October
As teachers, during the month of October my wife and I always dedicated a number of class prayers to praying the rosary. October is a perfect opportunity to teach children how to pray the rosary in their own lives. She found that with her fourth graders and I found with my middle school and high…
How to Assess with No Test (Formative Assessments)
Old-school teachers like to teach and test, teach, and test. Tests and quizzes can be effective measures of a student’s progress, but they are rarely used to their full potential. If a quiz or test reveals that there were concepts that students did not master, then teachers need to re-teach. This concept defines the term…
