5 ENGAGING WAYS TO USE COOL CUBES!

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COOL CUBES are a FUN & ENGAGING way to get students to interact with ANY text.

Here are 5 EFFECTIVE and EASY ways I have used COOL CUBES in my classroom!

1. SEMANTIC VOCABULARY SQUARES:

For many years I have tried teaching "5 vocabulary words a week", but found it was not too effective for my students. I then started exploring different options. I found that it is much more efficient to spent time teaching my students ONE word for about 5 minutes a day, 2-3 times a week, and delve in deeper into the meaning of that word. As soon as I discovered "COOL CUBES" I decided to give this a try in conjunction with the cubes. Currently we are reading The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. The word "IMPULSIVE is a vital vocabulary word that exists in this play, and students must understand this fully in order to grasp the concept of Romeo & Juliet's tragic flaw! I figured this was the first word I wanted to teach them after the balcony scene. HERE'S WHAT I DID: I gave the students the word, gave them the definition, and gave them specific directions for what they should list for each side of the cube.

Example:

Impulsive: acting spontaneously or without thinking things through

6 sides of the cube:

ONE SIDE: REWRITE THE WORD

2nd Side: Write Synonyms

3rd SIDE: Write Antonyms

4th SIDE: Write commonly IMPULSIVE people/places/things

5th SIDE: List activities associated with the word/ definition

6th SIDE: Use the word in a sentence

HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE:

WORD BANK - For support, I gave my students a word bank, and for higher level I challenged students to come up with additional words that I did not list.

Word bank example: Soccer player, basketball, hasty, spontaneous, cautious, slow, tiger,

SMALL GROUPS

2. CHARACTER CUBES:

GAME # 1 If each cube represents a character in a text, give each table a different character, and have them come up with 6 different traits to describe that character. They must spin the die and write 3 traits with 3 pieces of evidence in their notebooks.

Red cube: Juliet

Yellow cube: Romeo

Green cube: Tybalt

Blue cube: Mercutio

GAME # 2 Each group gets ONE cube. On each side of the cube, they should write the name of a character. They should they spin the die, and whatever name they land on is the name of the character they must characterize on their paper. The thrill of the unknown makes it fun and interactive- my students were highly engaged.

Long Way Down Example:

CUBE TO PAPER:

Student response:

3. INDEPENDENT READING/Literature Circles

Many people ask how to get students engaged during lit. circles.

After students I give my students about 15 minutes to read in class, and they are expected to also read at home. The students who are reading the same book decide on a pacing guide, and we tell them a timeline for finishing the book in its entirety.

SAMPLE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS THAT WORK WITH ANY TEXT:

a. Who does the main character remind you of in real life?

b. If the story had a different setting, how would it impact the way the characters behave? (Hint* consider about the time period as well as the location.

c. Identify the challenge or change your protagonist is dealing with. What coping mechanisms are you noticing?

d. What is the central idea of your text so far? What messages do you believe the author is trying to send to the reader?

e. Who is the intended audience of this book? Think about who the author wanted to read this book. What evidence do you have of this?

f. "Mirrors are books that contain story lines, characters, and experiences you can see yourself in. You can make personal connections to these books. You feel seen and heard after reading a book that is a mirror. A book that is a window helps you see into the life or experience of someone else." Is this book more of a window or a mirror for you? Explain.

4. WHOLE CLASS TEXT DISCUSSION: After finishing the first two acts of ="Romeo & Juliet" I had my students create their own quiz questions for the exam. In groups of 3, I first had my students CREATE the questions. They were allowed to use their notes for this part. Then, they traded their dice with another table. Finally, I had them take turns rolling the die and answering each others' questions. The result? They were able to review for the quiz and I actually used some of their questions! It helped their comprehension of a difficult text and made it more interactive.

5. LITERARY DEVICE REVIEW: 

I give each table a cube, and give them each a literary device. Their challenge is to come up with as many examples of the device as they can, writing one on each side of the cube. Then, they leave each cube on the table they worked and have the students walk table to table as a gallery walk. As they walk, they should look at the examples and guess which device is being demonstrated.

We did this activity for Jason Reynold's "Long Way Down"

On each side of the cube, I wrote one literary device.

Students will have to roll the dice, and then find it.

Simile

Personification

Imagery

Repetition

After rolling the die, students are prompted to find ONE example of the device in the text and explain the author's purpose for using it.

Example:

1st Roll: Simile: Example: “The tape framed it like it was art”

Purpose:  

Reynolds is comparing Shawn’s zipped up body to art in order to show that Will is having to cope with seeing his brother being treated like an object now that he is gone. This makes the audience feel more emotion for Will as we try to empathize with him.

When people see yellow tape- they usually stop and look. So his brother’s body is on display.