Flip Google Sheets into Fun Activities

Google Sheets is a powerful tool in the G Suite line-up, but it’s not all formulas, pivot tables, and data.  Google Sheets can become a fun, interactive learning opportunity with the help of the Flippity add-on.  With Flippity, you can quickly and easily turn a Google Sheet into an engaging learning activity for almost any content area.

The first thing you will have to do is install the Flippity add-on for Google Sheets.  You can get the add-on by clicking here.  Once you have that, you can begin creating Sheets and turning them into fun activities to use with your students.  Flippity offers 15 different games, tools, and activities to use.  For each one, Flippity provides a demo version, instructions, and a template, so you don’t have to do much of the work on your own besides plugging in your own content to customize each template.

Here are the ones Flippity offers:

• Flashcards
• Quiz Show
• Random Name Picker
• Memory Game
• Word Search
• Spelling Words
• Badge Tracker
• Crossword Puzzle
• Bingo
• Hangman
• Progress Indicator
• MadLibs
• Mix & Match
• Tournament Bracket
• Certificate Quiz

Flippity is a great tool to bring some fun, engagement, and interactivity to any learning activity for any content area.  Plus, it is easy to use and (the most important part) free.  To learn more about Flippity, please click here.

Bringing History to Life

Finding interesting ways to bring history to life and make it relevant for students can engage and intrigue almost any learner.  One of the more exciting ways to do this is through the use of primary resources, such as documents, photos, videos, and maps.  The National Archives has a fantastic online resource that provides digital copies of these first-hand resources as well as pre-made activities you can use with your students.

DocsTeach is a service provided by The National Archives that curates, organizes, and supplies digital primary resources and activities to teachers and students for free.  Once teachers register for a DocsTeach account, they can find, modify, and save pre-made activities as well as create their own from the thousands of primary resources available.  The National Archives adds new resources all the time.  The resources, documents, and activities range from lower elementary to high school.

Documents and resources are organized and grouped by historical eras, which are the ones included in the National History Standards.  When searching, you can browse by era, media type, or search with keywords.

DocsTeach also provides seven tools that are designed to strengthen particular critical thinking skills.

1. Finding a Sequence:  Putting documents/resources in chronological order
2. Focusing on Details:  Doing a close reading and analyzing details
3. Making Connections:  Exploring the relationship between events and the concept of cause-and-effect
4. Mapping History:  Gaining a geographical context of history   
5. Seeing the Big Picture:  Matching resources that are related to one another in a concentration style game
6. Weighing the Evidence:  Evaluating the strength of resources in proving a point
7. Interpreting Data:  Assessing the source of a document

With DocsTeach, teachers and students can explore history and geography by bringing it all to life with interesting and interactive primary resources and activities.  Here are some helpful guides from DocsTeach:

DocsTeach Overview

DocsTeach Guide to Creating Activities