Quotation Mingle

-English: Article about the ever-changing English language, short stories

-Music: Article about a famous musician or the importance of music in schools

-Social Science: Newspaper article from the time of WWII

-Kinesiology: Article on the importance of stretching before exercise

Quotation Mingle

Sarah Grace Marzullo

Things to Consider

Making it Applicable to all Subjects

Why is Quotation Mingle a good activity to incorporate in a classroom?

-Math: Article about a famous mathematician, newly discovered proof, or maybe an adapted quotation mingle that uses word problems

References

1. It gets students engaged in the text.

2. It teaches students to make inferences.

3. It gives students a chance to do something fun and get out of their seats.

4. It allows for collaboration.

This is a great activity because it requires few materials, just an article and cut out quotes. Try to consider your students' interests when choosing an article or text. This activity is all about engaging students.

Make sure that your students know how to make predictions before doing this activity or it will not be successful. A mini lesson could definitely work well with this activity.

Daniels, H., & Steineke, N. (2011). Texts and lessons for content-area reading, with more than 75 articles from the

New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, Car and Driver, Chicago Tribune, and many others. Portsmouth: NH:

Heinemann Educational Books.

Pearse, Margie. Learning That Never Ends: Qualities of a Lifelong Learner. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Google Books. Web.

How does it work?

Step Three: After students have mingled for 6-8 minutes, call time and tell everyone to freeze. Ask each pair of students to join another pair of students and discuss what they believe the article is about. Students may do this while still standing up. Ask students to consider what the main points of the article might be. In addition, ask students to come up with a possible title for the article. Allow 3-5 minutes for small group discussion.

Step Four: Ask students to share their predictions and article titles.

Step Five: Read the article! Have students take note of where their predictions were right or wrong. After reading the text, come back together as a class to discuss the content of the article and the process of making predictions (Daniels & Steineke).

Step Two: Explain the activity. Tell students that you have chosen an article but you are not going to tell them what the article is about. Instead, students must guess what the article is about by looking at quotations pulled from the text and mingling with peers. Tell students that they must walk around the classroom and talk with other students one-on-one, sharing their quotes and inferring what the text might be about. Encourage students to talk to as many classmates as possible in order to hear all of the quotes. The more mingling that takes place, the better understanding students should have of the text.

Becoming a Lifelong Learner

How does it work?

"When we make predictions we become active participants, anticipating the direction of the learning. Predictions compel us. They keep us committed, and commitment builds tenacity. . .Guessing is a childhood pleasure, but with the popularity of Fantasy Football, it is obvious that making predictions even keep adults in the game (2, Pearse and Dunwoody)."

-Learning That Never Ends: Qualities of a Lifelong

Step One: Prepare the materials. Find an interesting article or short text and pull out 8-10 quotes. Copy the quotes onto strips of paper or index cards. Try to choose a range of quotes that provide context for the text and spark curiosity. Pass out quotes.

What is it?

Quotation Mingle is a collaborative "front-loading" strategy that allows students to engage in a text and make inferences before reading it as a whole.