review

Vocabulary Bundle – Google Draw Template for Cut & Paste Activities

Liz Belasic11 Comments

Updated 7.14.22 – Thank you for sharing this Google Slide Template for Cut & Paste Vocabulary! Submitted by James from Oklahoma.

Google Drive Link

Older Entry

I created new templates to create your own vocab cut and paste worksheets. The files are located in the Google Drive Folder and were made using Google Draw.

To edit the template, you will need to select:

  • “File” then “Make a Copy”
  • Rename the copy
  • Make edits for your science unit

vocab-template-page-1-termsvocab-template-page-2-definitions

Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 12.05.53 PM

Google Drive Folder (link): I have all of my vocab sheets posted in one folder so they are easy to find and access. If I find or create any more vocab sheets, they will be included in this folder.

Below are some fun ways to incorporate vocabulary into your lesson plans:

  • Cut & Paste: Have students cut out the definitions and paste or tape them next to the correct word.
  • Flashcards: Students will cut out each vocab word and paste it to the front of an index card, then they will cut out and paste the correct definition on to the back of the index card.
  • Find Your Partner: Give half of the class a vocabulary word and the other half of the class a definition. They will look for their partner and record their answer. Have them come to you to pick up a new word and a new definition and find new partners.
  • Quiz, Quiz, Trade: Using the flashcards, give each student one vocab word. They will go around the room and quiz each other. After quizzing each other, they will trade flashcards and find a new partner.
  • Matching: Create a vocab set by laminating and cutting out the words and definitions. Place the words and definitions into a ziptop bag. Have each student or pair of students match the words with their definitions.
  • Go Fish: Using the matching set above you can play Go Fish. Deal out 3-5 cards per player (depending on the number of students and vocab words) and place the rest upside down in the center. Students will ask each other for a vocab word or a definition, if they don’t have it, they will say “Go Fish” and the student will pick a card from the pile. If they have a matching set, they will place it down. If not, they will add the card to their hand. The first person to place all their cards down wins.
  • Old Maid: Using the matching set above, you can remove one of the vocab words or definitions from the set. Students will deal out all the cards. Students will pick a card from the person to their right. If they have a matching set, they will set it down. The first person to place all their cards down, wins, the person left with the vocab word or definition without that doesn’t have a matching card is the “Old Maid”.
  • Dominoes: Using the matching set above, you can have 3-4 students shuffle the words and definitions and deal out to each student. Have one person start by placing a vocab word on the table. If the next person has the definition, have them place it on the table touching the vocab word. The next person will place a vocab word on the table touching the definition of the previous word, and so on until all the words and definitions are used. The first one to get rid of all their cards wins.  If a students doesn’t have a definition or new vocab word to put down, they will skip their turn.
  • Stations: You can set up stations around the room with different vocabulary activities and students can rotate through the stations.

To make any of these games more challenging, you can combine 2 or 3 related sets of vocab into the mix. If you have any other fun ways to review vocabulary, please add to the comment section below.

Note: If you are having trouble seeing the handouts in ‘preview mode’ and it seems to be stuck in the loading phase, click on the boxed arrow (pop-out button) on the top right to open the pdf and view the rest of the pages.Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 8.47.20 PM.png

Which way to the heart? Free Sequencing Activity using Task Cards

Liz BelasicLeave a comment
Source: Wikipedia Commons
Source: Wikipedia Commons

This is an updated version of an activity I have used with my 7th graders in the past. To get a true understanding of how blood circulates through their body, and to review the parts of the heart, I have the students sort the cards and place them in the right order starting and ending with the right atrium.

Students work in pairs placing the cards into the correct sequence on their desks. When they are ready to have their work checked, I start at the right atrium and go until I find a card out of place, then I stop and have them figure out what should come next and I’ll come back to check later. It will take several tries until they complete it correctly. When they are done, students can quiz each other using the cards or they can try the activity individually and have their partner check their work. Students can also use the Google Slides to review at home or print out a color set for their own use.

Resources

  • Heart Coloring Page – this is a great diagram of the heart. We color this together step-by-step in class when introducing the parts of the heart. Students can use pink and blue highlighters or colored pencils. (link)
    • We use blue only to distinguish deoxygenated blood from oxygenated blood in diagrams
    • I have the students hold the diagram in front of them and face each other so that they can see the right side of the heart matches their right side, but when the diagram is on their desk, the right side of the heart is on their left.
    • When we are done coloring, using their pointer finger, students trace the path of blood through the heart as I say each part in the correct sequence
  • Google Slides – (Public Link)
  • Cards to cut apart (pdf)
    • Need one set of cards per 2-4 students
    • Can laminate and reuse each year, store in a zip-top bag
  • BrainPOP – Circulatory System Video (link)
  • Circulation Song – catchy song (link)
  • School House Rock – circulation song from my younger days (link)
  • Study Jams – Circulation Video (link)
    • This video has a simplified explanation, but is incorrect in stating that deoxygenation blood cells look blue, which adds to the common misconception students have about their blood being blue when it is in their veins.
    • You can ask them if they ever had their blood drawn, it doesn’t come out blue, it comes out maroon-ish or dark-red instead of bright red like when they get get a paper cut or scrape their knee.
  • Horseshoe Crabs have blue blood: Nature Video link updated 3/8/18
  • New link, Ted Ed:

Blood Types Flashcards & Games

Liz BelasicLeave a comment

I used this hands-on activity as a review/reinforcement with my 7th graders and it really helped them understand the different blood types, about blood donation, and basic Punnett Squares. Plus they had fun playing the games and making up their own games.

Materials:

  • One set of laminated flashcards (pdf) per person, or two sets shared in a group of 4 students
  • pencil and lined paper to make Punnett Squares

All of the instructions and different games to play are explained in the handout. Some examples are: Who can donate? Punnett Square Practice, Identification, Memory, and Matching.

Other ways to use the cards:

  • Flashcards –  Students can print their own at home and use them to study
  • You can set up a station/rotation to play the games as they are, or as ‘make your own’ game stations. Or a combination of both. Place one game at each station and have the students rotate every 7-10 minutes (see below for logistics)
  • Rotation Directions – students will rotate from table to table and learn to play the game at each station
    • Need a group of 4 students at each station.
    • When it is time to rotate, only 2 go to the next station, and 2 stay.
    • The 2 that stay are the experts on that game.
    • The 2 experts teach the 2 novices how to play when they rotate to the table.
    • When it is time to rotate, the 2 experts who stayed go to the next group, and the novices are now the experts and teach the 2 new novices that came to the station.
  • Quiz-Quiz Trade –
    • give each student a RBC card and have them identify it, then trade
    • give each student a blood-type card and ask for the genotype (ie AA or AO)
    • Or mix both decks and play both games
  • Find your Partner –
    • give half or your class Blood Type Cards and the other half of the class RBC cards and have them find the matching set

Interactive Links for further practice

  • Blood Typing Game – can you make the right choice? (link)
  • Are you my blood type? can you find the donor? (link)
  • Emergency Room – figure out the blood type and correct transfusion (link)
  • NatGeo – interactive heart (link)
  • BrainPOP:  Blood & Blood Pressure

If you use this lesson in your classroom, I am always happy to hear how it went!

For related lesson plans, please visit my Life Science page.

Quiz, Quiz, Trade – Apollo Missions

Liz BelasicLeave a comment

Recently, I tried the “Quiz, Quiz, Trade” (QQT) method of review to help my students study for their Apollo Missions assessment. How does it work? See the video below:

Materials:

Procedures:

Before starting the activity, I modeled how to ask, answer, and trade using student volunteers. We also discussed ‘quizzing etiquette’. What do you do if your partner is stuck? How can you give clues to help jog their memories? What are some things that you should or should NOT say if someone can’t answer the question, even with hints? After you go over the answer with your partner, are there any tips to help your partner remember the answer? I stressed the importance of helping each other learn. It is not just about getting the answers right or wrong and no one ‘wins’ if they answered the most questions correctly.

Each student was given one question to start the activity. Because I had more questions than students in my class, after a student makes 3 trades, I had the students hand in/trade their cards with me to introduce new questions into the mix as needed. Some students will answer more questions than others, and that is ok. The students quizzed/traded with each other for about 20 minutes. While they were quizzing each other, they kept track of which questions they answered correctly, and which ones they needed to work on using this handout: Quiz, Quiz, Trade Numbers  (pdf)

Sample Question Card
Sample Question Card

For the second half of the review activity, I divided the class into two teams. I would randomly pick one question to ask each team. Before I asked the question, I announced the number of the question I was going to ask them. The students on each team then looked at their sheets to see who had that answered that numbered question correctly and chose one person to come up to answer the question. If no one had the numbered question answered correctly (or did not have a chance to answer it during QQT), they would volunteer a ‘tribute’ to try to answer the question. If the first team answers correctly after I read the question to the class, they earned a point. If answered incorrectly, the other team had a chance to steal and earn the point. We really enjoyed playing QQT and I plan on using it again in a variety of ways.

This is also a great way to practice vocabulary words. Using index cards, students can write the vocab word on one side and the definition on the other. You can also use it for identification skills – show a picture on one side, and the identification on the other. For example, one side can have a picture of a beaker, and the other side will have the word ‘beaker’ to practice identifying lab equipment. Other ideas include: plant identification, constellation identification, cloud identification, metric conversions or abbreviations, etc…