QR Codes and Word Walls 2.0

I have been sharing this strategy and learning tool at various workshops and I have been asked to provide people with step by step instructions of how I created the QR codes for my Word Wall. I decided to write a blog post. While this may seem familiar to my previous blog post (see here), I added a step by step tutorial of how I constructed my words for my word wall.


Step One:
Construct a list of your vocabulary words & definitions needed for your lesson or unit. I prefer to do mine by unit but it is your preference.

Step Two:
Find a free QR code generator on the internet.
I prefer to use: QR Code Generator because the QR code pops up right on the screen and I can then copy & paste the image without having to download it and/or save it. You can type a definition or you can have the QR code lead students directly to a website.

Step Three:
I open a Word document and type up my words. Then I go to the QR code generator and do one word at a time. For the example below, I am defining the key term "iron curtain." I will then copy the QR code image and paste it into my Word Document. The reason I do this is to stay organized. All the QR codes begin to look a like and if you print them without labeling them, it will take extra time to sort them later!

Here is a screen shot of what I do with the QR codes once I make them. I copy and paste each image and type the word beside it. Like I said above, this helps with the organization factor and it helps me to save paper because I shrink down the size of the QR code to make them small enough to fit on my sentence strips.

Step Four:
Print all of your QR codes off. Depending on the number of the words and the size of your QR code images, this should only take 1-2 sheets of paper.

Step Five:

Write your words on sentence strips, construction paper, cardstock, etc.

Step Six:

Cut out your QR code images (be careful to not cut into the actual encrypted part or else it won't scan) and glue them beside your words on the sentence strip.

 Step Seven:

 Cut your sentence strips. I am OCD and I plan to use these for a while so I try to make them as nice and neat as possible. I prefer to laminate mine when finished as well so they can be used again next year. I just hot glue them to my concrete wall at school and voila! Word Wall is complete!

Feel free to comment with any questions or suggestions. In the next few days, I hope to have some vocab activities I do with my students using QR codes so stay tuned!

Differentiated Instruction with WWII

Wow, we have been hit with this "polar vortex" and it has made teaching very sporadic lately. I struggled trying to get my WWII unit finished. I struggled with whether or not to keep my final project, the choice board but I decided to go out on a limb and keep it. I AM SOOO HAPPY THAT I DID! I must admit, I was almost guilty of doing quantity instead of quality. I was so worried about whether or not I was going to be able to fit in all my curriculum this year, that I was almost ready to cut corners. I am so grateful that I stuck with my gut and decided to allow the students an opportunity to really shine with this final assessment. My students did not disappoint!

At the conclusion of my WWII unit, I presented students with a choice board that held 9 project options. I wanted to give students enough wiggle room but structure at the same time. This was the first time I had introduced a choice board of this size. My students really loved this project. I was amazed at how different each project looked. It is truly amazing what students can do when we step back and just let them learn and discover on his/her own!

I have included some photographs of students' work below: