Old school classroom winners?

My students got me thinking today - while creating causal maps, I noticed one group had a different approach to their layout. When I mentioned that it reminded me of a blueprint or floor plan, they said they were inspired by Block Blast. I still need to work out the details, but I think explaining how "blocks" (labeled with events) fit together has potential! Kind of like a new take on hexagonal thinking. 

My students got me thinking today - while creating causal maps, I noticed one group had a different approach to their layout. When I mentioned that it reminded me of a blueprint or floor plan, they said they were inspired by Block Blast. I still need to work out the details, but I think explaining how "blocks" (labeled with events) fit together has potential! Kind of like a new take on hexagonal thinking. 

OMG- Tetris! I knew all those hours I spent playing that game as a kid would pay off someday. I’m down to help plan this one for sure.

So cool! I love when the ideas originate from students! Sometimes I get so lost in my own thinking that it becomes too detached from them. I'd really love to see how this idea materializes.

I found some printable Tetris pieces here. My sophomores are starting the Cold War soon and I was thinking they would appreciate something tactile during our upcoming PSAT test days. Maybe they could "build the Berlin Wall" by combining blocks labeled with factors that led up to the wall's construction?

That is brilliant. Would you pre-fill the blocks or have students do that? 

Also... I am thinking this is a great idea for LEGOS!

yes! I want to know that as well. This is a fantastic idea

Julianne Horowitz I was thinking I would pre-fill some blocks and have students do a couple on their own. And I love the LEGO idea. It makes me wish I had saved the larger Duplo blocks from when my kids were little!

Here's a draft for Berlin Wall Tetris - the first page has blank blocks that students could fill in while the second has pre-filled blocks. Please chime in with suggestions to improve this!

I am so impressed by this Anne Koschmider ! I was picturing it as a whole class wall (giving each kid a "block" as they walked in the room), but I really like this every-man-for-himself option because they'll be able to see many different combinations. The only thing I might add is to specifiy how many blocks/contributing factors they need to include in their paragraph. My students are so writing-resistant in the absence of rules. :)  Thank you for sharing!!

I think Todd Nussen would love this too.

Good call Julianne, thank you for the feedback! I do like your idea about each student having a block - that could make for a fun end-of-unt or end-of-term review with a bigger chunk of content.