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The Brown Bag Teacher

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Fast-paced Test Prep with Kagan

Today I’ll be sharing about a no-prep, fast-paced, and structured way we review specific skills or topics throughout the year – Brain Spills! Be warned, though, this is a very SIMPLE way to review, so please, no throwing tomatoes! The great part about these spills? They can be completed in 10 minutes or less and can adapted to any grade level or subject area. So, let’s get start! 🙂

When I say, “Brain Spill” students know to get a piece of notebook paper and pencil out. Then, I give them a keyword or skill to write in the center of their paper, set our countdown timer for 2 minutes, and the race begins. What’s the goal?? Write all the quality information or examples you know about the topic or skill. YOUR PENCIL CANNOT LEAVE THE PAPER! Regardless of the skill, I typically keep it at 2 minutes – long enough for students to brainstorm several ideas and not long enough that students can begin talking/chatting!

 

Once students have all of their thoughts on paper and the timer goes off, we play rounds of All-Write Round Robin. Starting with the number 1s, each member of the group shares one tidbit on their paper while their classmates make eye-contact. Assuming the information is true/accurate, the teammates then write the fact on their own brainstorming web.
If a student already has that information, they place a “check” on their paper. The circle continues (with everyone writing and participating) until every item on each paper at your table is checked or erased (if your ideas got confused). Typically, the All-Write Round Robin process takes 4ish minutes and at the end of the All-Write Round Robin, every student at the table as a comprehensive list of information!

When students finish, their papers look something like this!

     

When tables finish with All-Write Round Robin, I have assigned a certain number (1s, 2s, 3s, etc) to stand as a visual signal to me that we’re ready to continue. When I have 5 people standing (I have five table groups), we take turns sharing  information from our webs and we create a class anchor chart (see below). I go through a couple of rounds as we discuss and elaborate on the information they included on their brainstorming webs.

It’s that simple. In just 10 minutes or so, students walk away with a set of notes that showcases the ‘highlights’ from our learning, they’ve talked about the content, and we’ve discussed the content as a class.

A super, simple idea – these brain spills are perfect for reviewing before a test or pre-assessing knowledge as you begin a unit! Plus, it is all student-driven – no lecturing, no boring reviews, not teacher focused. So, there you go – Brain Spills! 🙂 Do you use Brain Spills in your class or do you use another way to quickly review content? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

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Comments

  3. Kelly Anne says

    Yay!! Such a great idea- I love how simple and easy it is to implement and it provides all sorts of great review. I usually do something like this at the end of a unit, but am now wondering why I only did it at the end of the unit!!? Why not other times throughout the year!! Thank you for sharing- have a great week!!

    XO, Kelly Anne
    AppleSlices

    Reply

  7. Jessica Lawler says

    What an awesome idea, Catherine!
    I am definitely going to try this – I think it would especially well with science or social studies. After the "brain spill" is over, the kiddos could highlight the most important information they'll need to know for an upcoming quiz or test.
    Thanks for sharing!

    ~Jessica
    Joy in the Journey

    Reply

  8. Carrie Garrison says

    Awesome! This reminds me of the Brain Drain activity I do at the beginning of lessons in order to see how much my students know. I love the idea of now using a closing version or review version. Thanks!

    Reply

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