Flipgrid and Play-Doh!

One of the concepts students learn in 5th grade is how the Earth rotates and revolves and the effects of those different movements. I wanted to collect some information on what students knew already about how the Sun and Earth interact with each other and how the Earth's movements cause day and night.

I decided to have students use Play-Doh to create models of the Sun and Earth and then explain their thinking in a Flipgrid video. I introduced the activity to students in small groups of four while the rest of the class worked on other assignments in Google Classroom.

Here are the directions I created:

I gave students a few minutes to create their models:

Then, we went over the directions for their videos. I wanted to do this in small groups so that students would have a chance to ask questions before they started. Once students understood what to do, I sent them out to record their videos:

I'm really excited to hear their responses and start figuring out how I can create activities to build on their knowledge and, in some cases, clear up misconceptions.

My plan is for students to return to these videos AFTER they have learned more about the Earth's rotation. Then, they will reply to their original video and share their new knowledge. We can do a series of these videos as they learn more about this concept. In the end, the videos will show how students progressed in their understanding.

How have you used Flipgrid in your classroom? I would love to hear your ideas!

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