Get ready to jazz up your classroom with these interactive gallery walk ideas! As a high school business teacher, movement-based learning experiences are a great way to engage your students. From chat stations to showcasing student work, or even a graffiti review, gallery walks are sure to boost student participation and make your classroom come alive!
A gallery walk involves setting up multiple stations with different tasks, questions, materials, student work, or activities related to the lesson. Students then move around the room in small groups and discuss their answers or solutions or provide feedback as they explore each station.
I love gallery walks because they increase student engagement as students move around the room to interact with the content. Incorporating activities that allow students to move around in the classroom can bring numerous benefits to the learning environment. Here are some of the advantages:
- Increased Engagement: Movement and physical activity can help students stay engaged and focused during lessons. When students are allowed to move around, it can reduce restlessness and provide an outlet for their energy, leading to improved concentration and participation in class activities.
- Active Learning: Movement-based activities promote active learning, where students are engaged involved in the learning process. Through gallery walks students can actively explore, discuss, and analyze concepts, which enhances their understanding and retention of information.
- Social Interaction: Movement-based activities provide opportunities for students to interact with their peers. Chat stations, for example, encourage conversation and collaboration among students, fostering social skills, teamwork, and communication. This can also help create a positive classroom culture and build relationships among students.
- Creativity and Innovation: Movement-based activities can ignite creativity and innovation among students. For instance, showcasing student work or engaging in graffiti reviews can encourage students to think critically, express their ideas in unique ways, and develop their creativity in solving business-related problems.
- Fun and Motivation: Incorporating movement-based activities can add an element of fun to the classroom, making the learning experience enjoyable and memorable for students. This can increase their motivation to participate, contribute, and learn.
So now that you’ve learned all about why movement in the classroom is awesome, I want to share a few gallery walk options to try in your high school classroom.
Discussion Questions
Perhaps the most basic, but one of the most effective strategies for a gallery walk is setting up discussion questions at each station and having students respond to the prompts. This type of gallery walk is also referred to as chat stations.
This can be done by giving each student or group a set of sticky notes and having them write the response to the prompt and adhering it next to the discussion question. Another alternative is providing students with a worksheet to record their responses.
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For this activity, I usually prefer 10 questions. Each question then becomes a station.
Partners are a great way to incorporate collaboration into this activity. Students can work together to respond to each question.
Wanna try it out? Check out the FREE Intro to Food Trucks Gallery Walk.
Student Work Review
In this type of gallery walk, students post their work for others to review. Let your students shine by displaying their projects, such as business plans, marketing campaigns, or infographics. This is useful when you have a creative project that others can benefit from viewing.
For this option, you can post printed projects around the room or you can have students display their work on a computer screen. Students rotate through each station to respond to an essential question on a sticky note or worksheet.
I like to set specific parameters about the type of feedback students will provide. This could be as simple as “what do you like?”, or more focused on a key concept such as “identify the marketing mix for the project”.
For example, in the Competitor Analysis Project students create an infographic and then share it with their peers in a gallery walk. Students complete a sharing form listing the competitors covered in each project and something they learned after reviewing each infographic.
Peer review empowers students by giving them an active role in the learning process. It promotes a collaborative classroom environment where students feel valued and heard, and their opinions and feedback are respected.
Further, when students review each other’s work, they actively engage in the learning process. They critically analyze the work, provide feedback, and reflect on their own understanding of the topic. This promotes active learning and deepens their understanding of the material.
Graffiti
Looking for a more unconventional gallery walk? Try a graffiti review! Set up a designated area where students can express their thoughts and opinions using graffiti-style notes. Encourage them to share their insights on business concepts, case studies, or real-world examples. This unique approach will surely capture your students’ attention and ignite their creativity!
A graffiti review is a unique and engaging activity that allows students to express their thoughts and opinions in a creative way. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to conduct a graffiti review in your high school business classroom:
- Set up a designated area: Choose a specific area in your classroom or a common area where students can write or draw their graffiti-style notes. This could be a wall, whiteboard, chart paper, or a blank paper. Make sure to provide materials such as markers or sticky notes for students to use.
- Define the topic or prompt: Decide on a topic or prompt related to your lesson that you want students to review or reflect on. It could be a course concept, recent article, a business scenario, or a real-world example. Clearly communicate the topic or prompt to students and provide any necessary instructions or guidelines.
- Encourage creativity: Encourage students to express their thoughts and opinions in a creative and innovative way. They can use colorful markers, draw diagrams, write short notes, or even create simple illustrations.
- Share: Once students have completed their graffiti-style notes, provide opportunities for them to share and discuss their work. Facilitate a gallery walk where students can view and comment on each other’s graffiti-style notes.
- Discuss: After the graffiti review, summarize the main points or themes that emerged from the activity. Facilitate a reflection session where students discuss what they learned, any insights gained, or questions they may still have. This can help reinforce the key concepts and promote deeper understanding.
A graffiti review can be a fun and interactive way to encourage student participation, creativity, and reflection. It allows students to express their ideas in a unique way while promoting active learning and engagement. It also makes a great unit or course review.
Conclusion
Allowing students to move around in the high school classroom through activities like gallery walks can have multiple benefits, including increased engagement, active learning, social interaction, creativity, and motivation. So, why not spice up your classroom with these dynamic approaches and watch your students thrive!
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Incorporating these different types of gallery walks in your classroom will bring a fresh twist to your business lessons. Mix things up and get your students out of their seats for a gallery walk!
>>For more ways you can get your students moving click here<<
Business Girl 