Active learning looks like what!?!

 Have you ever played "Name that tune?" Two contestants battle back and forth to see who can name a song using the fewest notes possible. Recently, Olympic athlete Adam Rippon wowed the judges by naming a Britney Spears song with only one note. The brilliance, and joy, of a game like "Name That Tune" is that it challenges someone to be knowledgeable with concise information.

How else can thinking concisely be used?

In the 1920's, Ernest Hemingway was enjoying the company of friends. Already famous for his prose, his friends challenged him to tell a story in only six words. After bullfighting, and fighting in the Spanish Civil War, he was not one to back down from a challenge. Hemingway wrote the now famous words - "For Sale - Baby shoes, never worn". 

What can be conveyed in only six words?

"For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn" certainly gets the mind turning. What happened to the baby? Where the shoes never worn because the baby died? Did the baby outgrow the shoes before they could be used? Was there ever a baby? You can also imagine a whole world of emotions surrounding the parents. Did something happen to the mother? Is the father now a widower? 

Six Word Stories have long been used as an English Language Arts (ELA) strategy

Almost since Hemingway published his story, teachers have been challenging students to create their own six word stories. Six Word Stories are a great tool for self-reflection. They can be used as a formative assessment, or to allow students to provide feedback to teachers. Some teachers, like Melissa Pilakowski, have used Six Word Stories as a tool for end-of-year self reflection. 

Even though this ELA strategy is decades old, it can be useful for 21st century learning. Researcher Tim Elmore has provided research on Generation Z and give advise on how best to teach them. These learning strategies are called "active learning".

What does Active Learning look like?

Active learning is a learning strategy that allows for student collaboration and creation. When this collaboration and creation is infused with technology, active learning can take place. Here are two strategies that can demonstrate active learning in the classroom:

1. Think-Pair-Share: I have used this strategy many times in my 6th grade classroom. Students think about a topic or question. Then they pair up and dialogue with a partner about their thinking. After a period of time they share out what they discussed.

2. Question and Answer: Asking students questions, especially higher order questions, and facilitating a dialogue is a great way to promote active learning in the classroom. 

Here is a Padlet with tons of useful information on Six Word Strategies. 

Image source: Padlet created by Jason Hill

Are there opportunities for growth?

Six Word Strategies is an excellent active learning tool on it's own, but there are opportunities to layer strategies and be even more effective in the classroom. After a student creates their Six Word Story, they can illustrate, or search for an image to support their story. They can also generate a QR code with a link to the image to add more interactivity. 

In the Padlet the colored links are all examples of Six Word Stories in different genres. There is a fascinating site on Science Fiction stories, and some stories are topical. The New York Times challenged readers to create Six Word Stories with a focus on the pandemic.

Have you used Six Word Stories? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!