One of my student’s favorite activities is our ‘A Fact a Day Game’ and I was actually talking about this at a recent training that I attend to speak at. Lots of teachers got real interested in finding out more about this game, and that’s when I figured I should probably share it on here too.
Sometimes it’s the most simple things that I do with my students that others love to hear about or see… And yet because they’re so simple for me, I don’t really think about sharing them anywhere! But, this one I know will probably be a big hit with your students.. Because it definitely is with mine!
What is the ‘A Fact a Day Game?’
So this game is basically where everyone (or one person – depending on how you want to work this with your classroom) has to share a fact for the day. You can set a theme or rules around it, or you can let it be completely open. For example..
“Today I want you to share a fact that you know about Martin Luther King Jr.”
Or
“Today I want you to share a fact about your favorite animal.”
Or
“Today I want you to share a fact that you think is funny.”
Literally, you can make it whatever you want. This also opens up more conversation opportunities. So for example, I had a student once who absolutely LOVED gorillas. And for his fact, he told the class how a gorilla’s DNA is approximately 98% the same as our (human’s) DNA.
This fact resulted in a LOT of discussions. We Googled to fact check.. Because this game is also a perfect opportunity to talk about fact checking.. What facts are.. And how we shouldn’t believe everything we see or read and that research is GOOD. (See how this game really expands into other areas of learning?
Then that opened up more conversations..
What other animals have DNA similar to ours?
Are there any animals that have 0% of their DNA similar to ours?
What is DNA?
WHY is their DNA similar to ours?
So, I flipped the lesson plan a little bit.. And I wrote down 5 questions that the students had about this fact on the board.. And I told them to go and do their research to answer the questions as best as they can. I watched as some went to the library area.. Some went to the computers.. iPads.. And one girl went over to the boy who loved gorilla’s and asked if they could team up.. She knew that her best bet to finding out all things gorilla was to ask someone who loved them!
I also expand this into fact or opinion or fact or fiction activities with my students too. It’s also meant that my students are a lot more exited to find fact books in our classroom library and in our library visits too.
Why Did I Start A Fact a Day?
So, in our morning meeting sessions, I noticed that I had students who really wanted to talk and share what they knew about the topic we were going to be working on.. Or especially on a Monday when they really wanted to tell me a new fact that they had learned about their hobby/interest.
Instead of constantly asking my students not to interrupt and re-directing back, I wanted to give them an opportunity to share this information. But I also wanted it to be valuable. And that’s when I figured making it into a set game that we do every day would be the biggest benefit. It meant that my students could hold in their excitement just a little bit longer because they knew they would get a chance to share a fact during our game time. It also meant that students were able to concentrate better in our morning meeting session beforehand.
When Do I Do the Game?
Typically I’ll do my morning meeting routine with my students, and then we’ll move onto our ‘A Fact a Day Game’ before we start our next activity.
What are the Benefits of Discussing Facts?
Honestly, since starting this game with my students.. I now see just how beneficial this game is. I had no idea it would be this beneficial for us, but it truly is.
To start, when we share facts about our currently topic/theme, then it helps my students to get excited about it. It also means that I can have students reinforcing their own learning and understanding of this topic.
I also find that when my students explain and share facts with their peers – that they really try to slow themselves down and explain themselves more clearly.. Because they want their peers to be excited about their facts too! This also helps all of my students to become more aware of our topic and it really does help them to remember different facts and information about it.
I also love that this game really has my students working together as a group. It definitely seems to have made my students become more of a community and family.. Because everyone is working hard on being respectful, waiting their turn and listening to others.
This game also provides my students with a chance to connect with their peers who may also have similar interests or passions to them.. Something they may not have realized before this game. This means my students get the chance to build those all important social skills.
Talking in front of others can be a huge task for a lot of my students. So the game is very open and if someone doesn’t want to share a fact.. That’s completely fine. I like to give my students the chance to work themselves up to feeling confident enough to share facts. And after a short while, I have noticed that almost every student gets involved now.
Overall, I do really find that my students learn really well from each other. And this game has really helped to put that into practice in the classroom.
If you decide to try this game out in your classroom be sure to leave a comment below or tag me on social media @teachingautism. I LOVE to see the activities being used in other classrooms and students benefiting from them too!
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Nikki
