Although we can certainly use it to type up a report, take notes, or write an article, we can also get creative with the features and functions built into the program to make some fun learning activities.
Recently I did a video training webinar where I took a look at eight creative ways to use regular Google Docs features in new fun ways to practice and develop literacy skills. These include:
🟨 Highlighting for summarization⬛ Creating blackout poetry😀 Emojis for writing and summarizing📘 Cloze reading activities🐉 Making "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories💡 Prewriting with embedded graphic organizers✍️ Writing less to write better⌨️ Generating punctuation practice
▶️ Training Video (55 minutes)
Or watch on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD64YXC1EWM
🧰 Session Resources
- Resource Document - "Engaging ELA Activities with Google Docs" - Google Docs link
- Session Slideshow - "Engaging ELA Activities with Google Docs" - Google Slides link
🟨 Highlighting for Summarization
Description: In this activity students use the highlighter tool to black out any text that is not critical, leaving behind just the main ideas.
Resources:
- Blog Post - Improve Reading Comprehension with Google Docs "Black Out" - Resource link
- Blog post - 15+ Awesome Article Sites for Students - Resource link
- Sample article about spiders - Google Docs link
- Example completed article - Google Docs link
⬛ Creating Blackout Poetry
Description: In this activity students write poetry by using the highlighting tool to choose words they want to keep from a starting text, and then blacking out everything else.
Resources:
- Blog Post - Black Out Poetry with Google Docs - Resource link
- Sample text for Black Out poem - Google Docs link
- Completed examples - Example 1 - Example 2
😀 Emojis for Writing and Summarizing
Description: In this activity students use emojis in Google Docs to create summaries, write rebus stories, explore character emotions, and more.
Resources:
- Blog Post - 5 Emoji Learning Activities with Google Docs - Resource link
- Rebus stories - Wintertime example - Blog post link - Template link
- Rebus stories - Valentine example - Blog post link - Template link
- Rebus stories - Halloween example - Blog post link - Template link
- Explore emotions with emojis - "Character Emojis" Template - Google Doc link
📘 Cloze Reading Activities
Description: In this activity you can create a "Cloze Reading" activity in Google Docs using the dropdown chips feature.
Resources:
- Blog post - "Create Cloze Reading Activities with Google Docs Dropdown Chips" - Website link
- Tutorial video - YouTube link
- Sample - "Frog Cloze Activity" - Sample Starter Text - Completed Example
🐉 Making "Choose Your Own Adventure" Stories
Description: In this activity students can create an interactive "Choose Your Own Adventure" story in Google Docs using internal hyperlinks.
Resources:
- Blog post - "Choose Your Own Adventure Stories with Google Docs" - Website link
- Sample - "Dragon Quest" Interactive Story - Google Document link
💡 Prewriting with Embedded Graphic Organizers
Description: In this activity students can use Google Drawings as graphic organizers embedded right into their Google Doc to brainstorm and plan when doing a writing project.
Resources:
- Blog post - "30 Free Google Drawings Graphic Organizers" - Website link
- More templates - Resource link - Resource link - Resource link
✍️ Writing Less to Write Better
Description: in this activity students use the word count tool to write within a character limit or word limit.
Resources:
- Blog post - "Have Students Write Better by Writing Less with Google Docs" - Website link
⌨️ Generating Punctuation Practice
Description: In this activity you can create punctuation practices for students by using tools in Google Docs to remove capitalization and strip out all punctuation.
Resources:
- Blog post - "Creating Punctuation Practice Activities with Google Docs" - Website link
- Sample document to test - Google Docs link
🏁 Conclusion
If you do any of these activities with your students, I would love to hear how they go, as well as see examples of the products they create. Also please feel free to share ideas you have for other ways to use Google Docs for activities. I would love to learn from you!
Post by Eric Curts
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