10 ways to use EduProtocols in class

From the Ditch That Textbook community

1. Use Smart Start at the beginning of the year, after a long break and again to finish the year strong!

2. Use the Cyber Sandwich to (GASP) summarize the textbook!

3. Combine Cyber Sandwich with VR to level up the experience.

4. Study social interactions with Iron Chef.

5. Level up the emoji paragraph with fake text messages.

7. Combine Quizlet Live with the Fast and Curious EduProtocol.

8. Combine Math Reps and Jamboard for engaging math activities anywhere!

9. Incorporate BookaKucha into small group guided reading and literature circles.

10. Use Sketch and Tell after a read aloud.

10 Ways to use EduProtocols to wrap up the year
Teach Better- Work Less - Achieve More by Kim Voge

1. Gamify it! 

Review facts, dates, vocabulary using the Fast and Curious EduProtocol

The key to remembering is repetition. Gain back valuable teaching time by making the basics fun and gamified. 

• Choose your topic and find or create a quiz. We love Gimkit, Blooket, and Quizziz.
• Run the “quiz” and see how your students do round 1.
• Provide a mini lesson to address the gaps.
• Run the “quiz” again to see the immediate impact of review and feedback.
• Repeat this process daily until it is time for the assessment. 

2. No Paper Exit Tickets!  

Use Thin Slides! Provide a slide deck where students grab a slide and include 1 word or sentence and 1 image to show what they know. This flexible EduProtocol can be used as a way to see what students think they know or as an exit ticket. It can also be used as a way to document what new knowledge is gained. Really flex the collaborative nature of learning with the Thin Slide Study Guide. No need for flashcards…routine review over time will build lasting impact.

3. Make independent reading purposeful with Game of Quotes.

Heather Marshall put together this gem based on “bring your own book”. I found additional quote cards here.

• Students read independently for about 10 minutes.
• The teacher announces the subject on the game card.
• Students search the text they have just read (close reading!) and look for the quote that embodies the topic on the game card.
• When a student locates the “perfect quote” they notify the teacher. The rest of the class has 2 minutes to find their own quote.
• Students share quotes a table group and vote for the winning quote for the table.
• Those students then stand and read their quotes.
• Informal voting can occur to declare a “winner”.

4. Revamp the research project with Thick Slides

Thick Slides quickly became a class favorite in Spring 2021. Students didn’t even realize they were doing a research project. (It’s like slipping the veggies into the dessert!) Thick Slides are a deconstructed paragraph. Students are researching and writing all the parts of a paragraph, but in a highly engaging way that does not lead to paragraphs that start and end with “Let me tell you about” or “I hope you like my paragraph”. As with all EduProtocols, you need to start with a fun, low cognitive load topic. In the samples attached, you will see how we went from favorite food, odd animals, to researching a self selected topic. The template is in there, too! 

5. End plagiarism with Parafly 

In general, students struggle with putting things into their own words. We need to teach them this skill so they learn how to paraphrase and find synonyms to “put things into their own words”. Last year, Jon came up with Parafly. My sixth grade students successfully paraphrased and were able to metacognate about this activity, explaining their thought processes.

• Find a multiparagraph piece of content, but at a lower lexile.
• Open up Socrative and launch a “short answer” question.
• Copy and paste a paragraph from the article.
• Send out to students, providing them with support as they learn how to paraphrase (invert sentence order, say it in plain language, use synonyms, join ideas)
• Display work on board in class, not showing names. Find some “glows” and “grows” to share aloud. Ask students to verbalize what they notice as well.
• Launch a new paragraph and practice again, repeating this process. 

Once you do this a few times, students get the idea. You may need to revisit often or review before the next research project. The instant feedback and repetition are key to this working well!

6. Crowdsource learning with Number Mania. 

Number Mania is an innovative way to introduce a topic or summarize learning via an infographic. Students contribute number related facts to a Google Form that auto populates a spreadsheet that students can access. Set the timer and have students begin the hunt for facts. After 7-10 minutes, students create an infographic. I find it helpful to expedite the creation process by providing a template with some icons readily available. Here is a student created sample.

7. Grow writing skills with purposeful practice 3X Genre. 

This idea, inspired by Josie Wozniak, allows students to practice 3 genres of writing. Provide an image or gif for your students. Then select 3 genres/purposes for writing. For example, you may have a picture of a skateboard and students need to come up with a title and the first paragraph if they were writing a personal narrative, informative article, or a persuasive letter. This builds on-demand writing skills. This can be used across multiple content areas as well. The picture can be a primary source, artwork, sport, etc. Here is a generic template.

8. Solidify math skills or front load for next year with Math Reps. 

Lisa Nowakowski and Jeramiah Reusch wrote the book, literally, about using EduProtocols for Math. Lisa’s Math Reps website has templates ready to go. You basically supply a few numbers and students practice multiple standards based on a domain of learning. 

9. Use the Random Emoji Generator for story ideas and summarizing practice.

Have your kids ever ASKED to write? We have kid-safe emojis and animated emojis built in at Eduprotocols.com/class Here’s the flow:

• Teacher opens up Socrative and launches a Short Answer question. Students join class.
• Teacher opens Eduprotocols.com/class in a new tab, displaying this for the class.
• Teacher clicks to reveal the first emoji.
• Students write a sentence BUT THEY DO NOT submit.
• Teacher reveals next emoji and the process repeats until all 5 emojis have been revealed.
• Now that students have 5 sentences, they press submit.
• The teacher can display paragraphs without student names and provide some global feedback.
• The paragraphs can be sent out to be viewed and voted on by students. 

NACHO Paragraph (as in “It’s not your paragraph” is a great follow up where students can edit a classmates’ paragraph. Here is an example of how I used this with my students.

10. Keep the collaboration going with Iron Chef. 

Think Jigsaw, but with a twist. Students work in groups on a slide deck, each with their own focused piece. They note the facts, vocabulary, or information about a provided topic. They insert a picture or gif and then the Secret Ingredient. The Secret Ingredient is often a way for students to connect to the material, provide an additional random fact, something humorous, or even a vocabulary word in context. You can grab the Iron Chef template here. 

As with ALL EduProtocols, be sure to introduce using low cognitive load material. A commercial, picture book, or low lexile passage are ideal. Once students understand how to use the protocol, then you can dial up the information and cognitive load.