Small, individual whiteboards are great tools in the classroom. Second grade teacher Ashley Schroeder has lots of ideas on using dry erase boards to help her students learn.
In one of her posts in her “Schroeder’s Shenanigans in 2nd” blog, Schroeder offers eight “no prep and engaging” classroom activities suitable for any grade.
The activities involve the use of individual student dry erase boards for lessons and to stimulate creativity.
Her activities include Lists, a Question Circle, Sentence Diagraming, Think Time, Snowball Sentences, Sentence Swaps, Hard Work, and Dry Erase Race.
Lists – Schroeder, noting the popularity of lists, has her students write lists of nouns, color words, proper nouns, etc.
Question Circle – Students gather in a “question circle,” with a question written on their whiteboards. Each student shows his or her whiteboard to the teacher, who answers the question.
Sentence Diagraming – As part of her instruction on grammar, Schroeder has student diagram and label each word in a sentence.
Think Time – Schroeder uses “think time” when it appears the same students are raising their hands to answer questions. When she switches to whiteboards for answering, more students get involved.
Snowball Sentences – Schroeder has students write a word on a piece of paper. They then crumple the paper and throw it at another student, like a snowball fight. The students then pick up a “snowball” and, on the whiteboard, write a sentence using the word on the paper.
Sentence Swaps – Students write a sentence, leaving a blank where a word should go. They then swap whiteboards, and try to figure out what word should be used in the blank spot.
Hard Work – Even for serious lessons, Schroeder finds it useful to allow students to get creative on their whiteboards.
Dry Erase Race – Set a task, then see how many times the students can write it on their whiteboards in a set amount of time, such as one minute.
See more on these activities, and other tips on using whiteboards in classrooms, at her blog.
Dan Griffin is general manager of EVERWhite, a U.S. manufacturer and seller of whiteboards and tack boards used for teaching, coaching, planning, collaboration and tracking. Along with his expertise in the use of whiteboards, Dan excels in leadership, new product development, business operations, continuous improvement and product marketing. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with a focus on marketing, from Temple University.
