Strategy of the Week

Strategy-
Information Gap Activity 

This type of activity gets students talking to one another about a relevant topic in a content area, such as Famous Women in History.

Before class, create a chart with important information from the reading, and at least three categories. Then, remove some information from the chart. This is the chart for student A. Add the information back, and remove the opposing information. This is the chart for Student B.  Then, have students take turns asking and answering questions to fill in the missing information on their chart.

I have included an example below. An activity such as this requires students to form questions, such as “Who was born in Skojpe, Macedonia?” or “Who was famous for…?” It also requires students to speak, listen, read and write, all in one activity. Click here for a free (no-frills) PDF of the activity below. In my TpT store, you can find ready-made information gap activities on the Famous Women in History and Human Organ Systems.

Information Gap- A

Animal	Animal Type	Habitat	Interesting features
Frog	Amphibian		Frogs do not drink water but instead absorb it through their skin.
Cheetah		Grasslands and Savannah in Africa
	Reptile	Warm tropical places in Central and South America
Parrot	Birds (Aves)		There are over 350 different types of Parrots in the world.
Seahorse	Fish	Warm shallow water with lots of sea grasses

Information Gap- B

Animal	Animal Type	Habitat	Interesting features
	Amphibian	Wet environments such as rainforests, lakes, and ponds in many countries
	Mammal	Grasslands and Savannah in Africa	Can run over 60 miles per hour- faster than any other land animal.
Iguana	Reptile		Iguanas can live for 15 years or more.
Parrot		Warm tropical places in South America, Australia and Asia
Seahorse			The male seahorse has babies instead of the female.