Using a "Chalkboard Splash"

"What are the five most important safety guidelines to remember before doing a chemistry lab".  This was the question that I gave to my students last week prior to discussing safety with them.  I placed my students in groups and had them answer this question on large pieces of paper.  Once all students finished creating their posters, we spread the posters throughout the classroom.  Next, all students rotated around the room reading the posters and analyzed all the posters for three things: similarities, differences, and surprises.  If you don't have large paper or chalkboards, you can use the cement floors in your rooms and chalk.  Students are very interested in what their friends think.  This will also begin a dialogue of how similar, or different the responses were.  It allows for many ideas to be generated during class time.
 Step for a Chalkboard splash
1.  Create a sentence starter, prompt, or question
2. As students create their response, have them write it on the chalkboard, easel paper, or the cement floor with chalk.  Designate different areas of the room for different groups of students.
3. Have students rotate around the room reading other students' responses and writing down similarities, differences, and surprises.
4.  Place students in small groups to share what they noticed then ask for volunteers to share with the entire class.

Similarities	Differences	Surprises