#11- Student Choice- Character Trait Wordles

   I've known about word clouds and Wordle for a couple of years now, but I never got around to using them in my classroom until this year. I know vision in hindsight is 20/20, but I don't know why I didn't try using them before. My students did a fantastic job, and were able to make beautiful wordles! We finished up Unit 1 of our reading series two weeks ago, so I took the students down to the computer lab to make a wordle about a character from Unit 1. One of our comprehension skills we focused on was character and how you can assign characters a trait based on their words, actions, how others treat them, etc. Before we went to the computer lab, I had students complete the graphic organize below by assigning the character 5 traits (They used a character trait keeper sheet from read, write, think.) and finding evidence in the text that supports the character trait assigned.

   Once the students completed the graphic organizer and after I modeled Wordle by making one the classroom, we went down to the computer lab for students to begin creating their own. I was a little hesitant to let the students use the advanced tab like we did in class, but my students caught right on and were Wordle pros! Below is an example of a Wordle created by Stephanie.

   I differentiated the assignment by having my two higher reading groups list seven character traits, and the below level group list five traits. I know what you're thinking...how are you going to grade it? For assignments like these, I typically type up a rubric and attach the rubric to the paper once I've graded it.

     Overall, it was a fun assignment for the students and me. The students have already asked me when we are going to create another one! My only complaint about the Wordle website is there is no search option in the gallery, so retrieving my student's Wordles when I needed to print them in color at home (yeah...teacher's use their own printers and ink...surprise of the century...) was time consuming. Next time, I will have the students copy and paste their wordle link to a wiki before leaving the computer lab so I don't have to sift through hundreds or Wordles. :)