Supplies needed:

A class full of enthusiastic participants

A list of what students are doing research on

Masking tape

Large pieces of paper, preferably poster size

Lots of markers  

Description:

This active learning activity incorporates peer collaboration and its goal is to help in keyword generation. 

I first explain that school is meant to be a collaborative experience and that we all in some respect rely on one another to help us through this educational process.  I then tell them that they are going to help each other generate a list of keywords related to their topic.  I give them each a large piece of paper, some masking tape, and a marker.  Then each student is asked to give a 15 second overview of their topic to the rest of the class while they are writing their idea or thesis statement on the poster they’ve attached to the wall.  After everyone is done I ask them all to get up, walk around the room with their markers, and make notes on their classmate’s posters.  They can write synonyms, broader terms, narrower terms, or anything else that comes to mind.  I ask them to initial their contributions.  The student that was most helpful to his/her other classmates wins a special prize. Students get to take their posters away with them after class.

Time needed in class:  15 minutes

Learning Outcomes:  addresses Information Literacy Standard # 2