No tech ideas from Matt Miller

Matt Miller (Ditch that Textbook) recently shared this no tech ideas via email:

Here are some of my faves. (Would love if you replied with one of your

favorite no-tech ideas, too ...)

1. The "add and pass" activity (how-to article)

Every student has a sheet of paper. They start writing a story. Then, after

about a minute, they pass the paper to the person behind/next to/in front

of them. Keep adding and passing! With a couple turns left, I'll tell them to

start wrapping the story up. Add some movement by keeping papers on the

same desks. Students move from desk to desk instead.

2. Row wars (how-to article)

Students form teams of three or four. Teammates sit in a row (column) of desks. I give the front person a paper with five questions (teams of four: seven questions). Then calamity ensues. First person answers a question -- any question -- and passes it behind them. The next person continues. The back person answers and passes it up. When all questions are finished, the front person puts the paper on a chair at the front of the room. Points are awarded for correct answers and the fastest finishers.

3. Trashketball (how-to article)

I'd take this review game over Kahoot! any day of the week! (I first played this when I was a middle schooler.) Put an empty trash can on the floor. Add lines for one point, two points, and three points. Assemble students into three teams. Ask everyone a question. A correct answer gets your team a shot at the basket to add more points. All of my wacky rules and "lifelines" are in the how-to article. I also like whiteboard jigsaw sketchnotes (where groups of students sketch details about parts of a chapter on their part of the whiteboard) and rotating conversations (two circles of students -- inner and outer -- and students rotate to the next student to answer each question).