Tell All Tablets: A Forever Freebie for Back to School

In the interest of authenticity, I’ll say it: I like glyphs.  There.  I've admitted it and I’m not taking it back. I think they're a fun way to get in reading comprehension (or listening comprehension if your students are not yet readers), add some color to a boring day, and learn about your students.  And let's not forget that glyphs hang on one crucial skill: following directions.  However, it has been my experience that the higher the grade, the fewer glyph options available.  Also, STEM is such a massive trend at the moment anything else seems to have fallen to the wayside.  I’m seeking to remedy this.

The “Tell All Tablets” are a glyph intended for older students (such as grades 3-5), though they could be used with younger students.  (Yes, I am aware I don't need the auxiliary before "Tell All Tablets".  However, I am from the South and we like to hear ourselves talk, so that necessitates throwing in an unnecessary word in here or there so as not to lose attention and draw emphasis.  Pretty much everyone I know says things like, "I'm going to the Walmart/Target/Kroger" and not, "I'm going to Walmart/Target/Kroger".  I can also take a tangent and run with it, much like I'm doing presently.  Anyway...)

The tablets are a glyph that allow students to share information about themselves in a non-threatening way.  There are no right or wrong answers, they just simply  respond accordingly to the legend.
  

                    

I couldn't leave out primary classrooms, so there's a simpler version as well: 

                            

What helps make this geared for older students are the activities that come after everyone has finished their glyph.  Upon completion they are to work with a partner and compare the information on their tablets.  “Tell All Tablets” includes two different graphic organizers so students not only learn about a peer, but will organize their findings.  

To add rigor to this activity the glyphs can be displayed and discuss what conclusions can be drawn from the data. I've even included some questions to get you started! 

To grab this fun freebie, click HERE.  I'm so excited to do this with my students when the school year begins.  Last week I went to King's Island (an amusement park with my favorite roller coaster of all time) and was surprised to see a decent number of people sporting fanny packs.  (Upon observing the lululemon one, I knew the neo-fanny pack phase was legit.)   And if the world will welcome fanny packs back into fashion, we can totally make glyphs do the same.

My mom, sister, and I at the Detroit Zoo. Note not only are all 3 of us (fanny) packin' but my sis and I are wearing the hautest of head couture: bedazzled baseball caps with flat bills.  Anyone else miss the '90s?