Challenge Envelopes
Purpose: To
facilitate review and/or higher level processing of a topic or concept.
Description: This
activity is designed to provide students with opportunities to formulate
challenging questions regarding a topic or concept and to be challenged by the
questions of others.
Procedure:
- Divide the class into small groups.
- Give each group of students an envelope.
- Have each group write a challenge questions on the front of the envelope.
Encourage higher level questions that have prompts like:
- What might be…?
- What could be…?
- What if…?
- Have each group generate the answer or criteria for a response and
include a sample response. These should all be placed inside the envelope.
- Scramble the envelopes and have the groups rotate the envelopes through
the class. When a group receives and envelope, the question is to be
addressed and then checked against the answer or criteria inside the
envelope.
- Have each group put their own response to the question inside the
envelope when they are done. They should then send the envelope back into
circulation.
- As the envelopes begin to fill with responses, the groups are to compare
their responses to the others that are in the envelopes.
Rogers, S., Ludington, J., & Graham, S. (1999). Motivation
and learning: A teacher's guide to building excitement for learning and igniting
the drive for quality. Evergreen, CO: Peak Learning Systems.
from Instructional Strategies for
Engaging Learners
Guilford County Schools TF, 2002
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