Teaching+Wiki+Ideas

Page created by Becky Burks
 * Wiki Lesson Plan Ideas**

The uses for wikis in the classroom are endless. Teachers can create wikis for many purposes including communication to parents and community, display of student work, how-to tutorials for students, student created projects, etc. The Wiki Lesson Plan Idea page focuses on ways to incorporate the use of wikis into the curriculum. This page includes lesson ideas for wiki integration, wiki plan collection sites, and example sites.

//Tip//: Since students will be publishing work online, it is extremely important to include lessons on copyright and plagiarism before beginning these projects.

Wiki Lesson Plan Ideas
Language Arts:
 * News Stories: Students write news stories on school, community, or world topics and create a news wiki.
 * Book Reviews: Students write book reviews and collaborate to create a wiki.
 * Literary Elements of a Novel: Groups research and evaluate symbolism, characters, theme, etc. Students then build a wiki page.
 * Poetry Wiki: Students write poems and add them to pages on a wiki.
 * Vocabulary Wiki: Students create a wiki page about a new vocabulary word. The page can include the definition, a sentence using the word, an image, etc.

Math:
 * Show Your Work Wiki: Students create a page that shows detailed steps about how to solve a math problem.
 * Problem Solving Wiki: Students work together to solve a word problem provided by the teacher.
 * Famous Mathematicians: Groups research a famous mathematician and his/her contribution to math today. Students then create wiki pages of the findings.

Social Studies and Geography:
 * Civil War: Groups work together to research specific battles in the Civil War and create a page about that battle.[[image:group-11:clrglobe.gif align="right" caption="clrglobe.gif"]]
 * States: Students research state capitals, symbols, nicknames, brief history, etc. Students work collaboratively to create a wiki page on the state.
 * Industrial Revolution: Students research different aspects of the Industrial Revolution and report on a wiki page.
 * Understanding Cultures Wiki: Students research a culture and work in groups to explore topics such as holidays, religion, traditions and beliefs, etc. Each group creates a page on the wiki explaining the topic.

Science:
 * Body Systems: Students create wiki pages on the different organ systems in the body.
 * Planets: Groups work to research a planet and post findings and pictures on a wiki page.
 * World Climates or Biomes: Students choose a climate or biome and research temperature, rainfall, humidity, etc. Students then create a wiki page including the findings.
 * Animal Classification: Groups choose to research reptiles, fish, amphibians, birds, or mammals and create a wiki page including research findings.

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Wiki Lesson Plan Idea Collections

 * TeacherFirst: Wiki Walk - Through contains excellent wiki resources for the classroom. Lesson plan ideas are listed by grade level and topic.
 * Wiki in a K-12 Classroom is an excellent compilation of ideas for student created wikis in the classroom.
 * 50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classrooom
 * A Collaboration of Sites and Sounds: Using Wikis to Catalog Protest Songs is a eye opening lesson plan created by Read Write Think. Students create a wiki reviewing protest songs.

Examples of Wiki Use in the Classroom

 * Educational Wikis provides examples of wikis created for and by students in the classroom.
 * [|Wikis in the Classroom] is a list of classroom wikis and a great resource to find ideas.
 * Race in Me Poetry Wiki encourages students to reflect on their lives and their race. Students then create a poem and a podcast.
 * Educational PBWikis are educational wikis created in PB Works.
 * The Student Created Wiki about the novel Holes illustrates how students can create a book study wiki.
 * ICT ABC Wiki is an example of a classroom wiki that has an imbedded glog and voki avatar.
 * Creative Web Tools For and By Kids is an excellent example of wiki use in the classroom.

__ ** How to Teach With Wikis ** __ __ ** By: Hudson, Hannah Trierweiler, Instructor, 15320200, Sep/Oct2009, Vol. 119, Issue 2 ** __

__ [|CREATE YOUR OWN MATH BOOK] __ __ Start by telling students that by the end of the year, they will have created their own virtual textbook! Then, as you progress through the year, have small groups update a wiki on a weekly basis with the topics you've been learning. For the first part of the school year, model how to organize the material under distinct subheads (e.g., for algebra, "Variables," "Functions," and "Operations"), as well as include hyperlinks to past material. Later, students can take control of the wiki themselves. Have students share their updates with the whole class. __

__ [|REWRITE A CLASSIC TALE] __ __ For his most recent novel, Paper Towns, young adult author John Green created a related wiki, omnictionary.com, incorporating many of the same characters, places, and historical figures as the novel. Invite students to explore Omnictionary or another book-related wiki. Then challenge them to create a wiki for the book you are currently reading in class. Ask students to think about how the wiki can deepen and extend the experience of reading the book. You might keep the wiki strictly factual or have a blend of fact and fiction, like Omnictionary. A wiki for To Kill a Mockingbird, for example, might include a biography of Harper Lee as well as an entry on Boo Radley that reveals more about him than we learn in the book. __

__ [|GO BACK IN TIME] __ __ Begin by inviting students to choose a historical figure from the period you're studying. As a jumpstart to research, have students study that person's wiki on Wikipedia. Then ask students to explore books, articles, and other online sites. Once students have completed their research, have them create their own **wikis** for the figures they have been learning about. When finished, talk about the places where students' **wikis** can hyperlink to one another. __

__ [|LEARN SPANISH] __ __ Some foreign language teachers use **wikis** as a way to organize vocabulary words by theme or unit of study. That way kids have quick and easy access to an online dictionary customized just for your class. You can also use your wiki to link to people who speak the language you are studying as well as to places where the language is prevalent. Contributing to a wiki is an excellent way to encourage language practice. __

__ [|FOR THAT SCIENCE CENTER] __ __ Talk about the parallels between **wikis** and the scientific enterprise--a group of people working toward a common goal, sharing information along the way and fine-tuning the results. Then challenge students to identify ways one would improve the accuracy of an existing wiki that covers a topic you are studying in class. Another fun science-class wiki idea: Start a brainstorming wiki for a science fair, where students can post and respond to one another's ideas. __

This website is a place for teachers to share their wiki lesson ideas. Click the edit button to add your new Math ideas!
 * Wiki Tips Lesson Plans **

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