Students love to move. This is no secret.
Students also love to solve mysteries.
In my Spanish class, I’ve used QR Codes to allow students to do both. If you’re curious about the WHY of this assignment, you can find that here. This post is simply a step-by-step guide to using this little-known secret to enhance a learning experience.
The Objectives
Students will explore their school and decipher clues in the target language. Students will complete sentences with the correct form of the verb.
The Materials
- Printed paper
- Laminator
- Cell phones (with a QR Code reader app) – Student-provided
The Prep
Like any good assignment, this takes some prep. But not much.
First, I have to create the QR Code Scavenger Hunt. That can be done easily with this website. The interface isn’t the prettiest, but it’s effective.
I entered the following sentences in the clue generator box:
- Yo _____ (comer) en la cafetería.*como
- Los estudiantes _____ (practicar) deportes en el gimnasio.*practican
- Mis amigos y yo _____ (leer) libros en la biblioteca.*leemos
- Mi amiga mejor _____ (estudiar) en la clase de ciencias.*estudia
- Yo _____ (escribir) un ensayo en la clase de inglés.*escribo
- Mis amigos y yo _____ (hablar) con el director de la escuela en la oficina.*hablamos
- Los estudiantes _____ (tocar) un instrumento en la clase de música.*tocan
- Los deportistas _____ (beber) agua en la fuente de agua.*beben
- Yo _____ (pasar) tiempo con amigos en la clase de español.*paso
- ¿_____ (dibujar) tú en la clase de arte?*dibujas
I then created the scavenger hunt and printed the QR Codes on orange paper (so they would stand out). I also laminated the pages so they would keep for future years.
The next step is to hang the QR Codes around the school. It’s important that you hang the clue that leads to next location in the correct spot. For example, I hung the clue “Yo _____ (comer) en la cafeteria.” outside the Art room, so the students knew where to go next. Once the students found the clue in the cafeteria, they scanned the code there, which said, “Los Estudiantes _____ (practicar) deportes en el gimnasio.” Then they’d head off to the gym.
I made sure do the scavenger hunt once myself, just to make sure it worked.
The entire scavenger hunt should be a circle. This way, I can start small groups at any location, and they can complete the whole hunt without everyone moving as one giant mass.
In (and out of) the Classroom
Once class started, we did a quick review of present-tense –AR, -ER and –IR endings. I then asked students (in the target language) to form groups.
*Note: I had asked students the day before to bring their cell phones to class on the day of the hunt (we don’t usually allow cell phones in the classroom) and to have them download a QR Code Reader app. The preferred app is i-nigma. It’s free and easy to use. I posted this information on my Google Classroom as a reminder the day before.
*Also, if not everything student has a smart phone, it’s not a big deal. Each group needs just one.
*Finally, once the QR Code reader is downloaded, no wifi / service is needed; the reader will still pull up the dialog without a connection.
I gave each group a QR Code that was already hanging somewhere in the school. So one group may get the clue that reads, “Mis amigos y yo _____ (hablar) con el director de la escuela en la oficina.” The group would scan the page in my classroom, making sure everything worked, write down their answer to the question on a sheet I provided, then head off to the office to find the next clue.
Once the students completed all 10 of the conjugations, they would come back to my classroom, where we’d reconvene and go over the answers.
*Note: I gave the students a deadline of when they had to be back by, even if they weren’t finished with the scavenger hunt.
Reflection
Obviously, there are quicker and more efficient ways to get students to conjugate verbs. This was a review activity. Had I simply printed the sentences and handed them out as a worksheet, we could’ve completed the activity in five minutes, not taking an entire class day.
However, I’m a firm believer that, if students enjoy a class, they’ll work harder on the less exciting days. I would only plan on doing an activity like this a couple times a year. But it’s a great way to empower the students and have them review present-tense conjugations in a fun, practical way.
Your Thoughts
What do you think about the activity? Are there any improvements you can see? If so, I’d love you to post them in the comments section.
Use in Other Content Areas
I’m not an expert in other content areas. But I’d encourage anyone who adopted this idea (or has already used it in their classroom) to post below how you used it. I’d love to hear what others are doing with technology.