This is post that has been in the edit phase for about a million years, but is also the post I'm most excited about sharing. In this one, I'll show you how to make a scavenger hunt that incorporates the beauty and ease of Google forms, along with the joys of actually hunting around in the real world. (The complete step set can be found by clicking on the button at the bottom of this page, but first a little background!) I owe the idea-hatching for this invention to my dear, sweet dad who was a creative weirdo. He invented "secret friends" for myself and my 3 siblings by writing to us anonymously from a P.O. box. He hid walkie-talkies behind the TV set to trick us in to thinking we were communicating with aliens. He held candy auctions for my friends involving Lifesaver fun packs and Monopoly money. The man was a nut, but I am so thankful for his contribution to our imaginations. I get worried that kids these days aren't getting to stretch enough of that creative brain in part because of this wonderful technology we love. (Oh no! I just used the phrase "kids these days!" I'm officially old!) Speaking of technology we love, Google forms is one of my all time favorites. (You can click here to see a slightly outdated how-to video for creating one, if you haven't had the pleasure yet!) The idea for this project sprung from ability to set constraints for data validation which could (and did!) come in handy for a scavenger hunt! It works like this: you create a Scavenger hunt using Google Forms, alternating between content specific questions and real-life running around the room to find "clue" words. The kids will not be able to advance to the next section of the activity until they have either successfully put in the correct answer or found the mystery word hiding in the room. Using custom text for the data validation field, you can guide kids who are having trouble. The kids are so engaged that behavior management goes on the back burner, and you can actually concentrate on the small group instruction when teams are stuck. It's so much fun! Here are some photos from our last hunts!
2 Comments
Lauren Fox
4/19/2017 08:58:27 am
This was so awesome to witness! Your students were so engaged, and I could see how valuable the experience was for reinforcing not only digital skills but strong math content standards. I really hope you get to share this with other educators at the BLENDed Learning Summit in May!
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