Word Cloud Tools
January 2016
Having students build word clouds is a great way to summarize what was learned using content specific vocabulary. They don't take long to make (less than a period) and you can end up with student products that tell you what the students understand about what they have learned.
Some of my favorites like Wordle and Tagxedo don't work on chromebooks because they don't run Java, Flash, or Silverlight. However, I did find these options for you.
Option 1 - Tagul
Option 2 - WordItOut
To turn these in to you - students will have to do a step that involves their gmail - but it still doesn't take long! Then, they get a sharable link to turn in via Classroom. There is also an option to download the image.
How Do I Use This in Class?
7th grade - After students learn about the struggles the Colonists experienced as they tried to establish their settlements ("You Wouldn't Want to be an American Colonist!") they could generate a list of words that describe the issues they faced (swampland, climate, hunger, disease, rebellions, etc). Or, they can create a list of words that describe the reasons Colonists had for leaving Great Britain and settling in America.
8th Grade - After students learn about the Louisiana Purchase, they can generate a list of 10 words that describe the event and it's impact.
OR
To make it a higher level activity in line with your problem of practice, you could create a word cloud and display it for students. The student task could be:
- generate questions about what the word cloud is communicating
- use the word cloud as a writing prompt to infer, summarize, analyze, hypothesize, etc. Be sure to have students explain and justify (claim and evidence).
- use it as a discussion prompt for student talk (50/50), with another activity to follow