T-Chart Activity
One of my favorite units to teach is the Latin American Unit. When trying to compare various regions, tribes, and the contributions of the Natives and Europeans, the information can become overwhelming. When my students began learning about the Colombian Exchange and the responsible parties, I found the T-Chart useful in keeping the items in question organized by their contributors, European or Natives. Using the Smart Board and a T-Chart graphic organizer, the students were asked to speculate as to their origin and after a class discussion many of them discovered their first response was not correct. After discussion, student volunteers were asked to go to the Smart Board and place the items under the corresponding columns. As each student went to the board to record their answer, their classmates recorded the items onto a T-Chart template provided.
Some students have been using the T-Chart to organize information from the Africa South of the Sahara Unit to compare landforms, population density, and economic activity from region to region. The T-Chart is probably the simplest method to use when generating a quick comparison between two items.