Providing a variety of ways that students can ‘show what they know’ makes projects more interesting and allows for more creativity. Label the first two Tic-Tac-Toe and BINGO.
Tic-Tac-Toe
A tic-tac-toe board sets out six components. Students select 3-in-a-row to complete one ‘win’ in this X’s and O’s game turned into a set of requirements. Students do 3 of the 6 activities to demonstrate their knowledge or understanding of a subject. If you plan out the grid carefully, you can assure that students cover the core learning through a variety of skills: writing (informational papers, plays, magazine-style stories, etc.), artistic presentations (drawing, collage, music, models,etc) and research (reading, watching videos, etc.).
To control one element of the project (your most important segment) , use the center square as a must-do square. All projects must include that square to be considered complete.
BINGO
Using the bingo board is similar to tic-tac-toe but increases the number of possibilities which also increases the potential creativity of a project. It builds a grid of 25 choices that can be written to be more specific or more general. Again, lay out the components so that your primary target pieces are used by everyone who completes the project. You can place that component in the corners, down one row, diagonally, etc. and allow the students to use various strengths to ‘show what they know”. For fun, keep the middle square (Bingo card Free Space) free, allowing for individual interpretation and creativity.
Parting Notes:
If you like this format and wish to use it for future projects, I suggest that you lay out your ideas by category: research, art, media, written report, oral presentation, etc. creating a grid to be replicated at will. That will save you organizational time down the road.
Fostering creative thinking will enliven projects and heighten student interest. By allowing for individual strengths, you foster student love of learning. It’s all a matter of putting higher level questioning strategies and multiple intelligence ideas to work for you and your students. Prepare to be pleasantly overwhelmed by your students’ creativity.