BrainPop, Class Dojo, and Notetaking

Right before vacation I did this little activity that wowed me with how well it worked.  We had just finished up Egyptian pharaohs and I wanted to give Cleopatra her own time but not too much.  I turned to my favorite standby of BrainPop and I identified 14 facts that should go into notes.

First we set up our note book for notetaking.

(The kids were so mad I made them cut her in half!!!)

I told the kids that I had identified 14 important facts and I was going to give one Class Dojo point for each fact they identified that matched my list.  I had them do this on scrap paper and we watched the video three different times.  These kids worked hard because they knew they were going to earn a lot of Dojo points for their Olympic team.

OMG... I was so impressed with how well the kids did.  I put up a list of my facts and most students were able to match 10 or more!  Students then used their and my notes to create a final draft in their note book and i walked around the classroom giving them the Dojo points they earned.  Also, they absolutely loved the idea that Cleopatra's life is portrayed like a soap opera!  I really love when a small activity has students really work on an amazing skill!