Geometry Riddles and Interactive Word Walls

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about using QR codes for differentiation in the classroom. Today I want to share another example of how we've been using them this year.

We were studying polygons and their assorted properties, so I had students write riddles to describe a particular polygon. The riddles could only have one possible answer, so they had to be very specific with their clues.

Once the riddles were written, we went to the Math is Fun Illustrated Mathematics Dictionary and looked up the term that was the answer to the riddle. We checked our riddle for accuracy using the definition, and then we made QR codes that linked to the term and its definition in the online dictionary. (QR code tutorial here).

The end result was an interactive word wall that really entertained my students.

Every chance they got, my students would come over to the display with their iPads, read the riddles, and then try to solve them. They could then check their work by scanning the QR code to see if they'd solved the riddle correctly. It was the most engaged I'd ever seen my students when it comes to learning vocabulary, and it made me think that next year, I'd like to create QR codes for the words on my word wall. It could be a fun way to review terms and make the displays more interactive. After all, if my word wall is going to occupy valuable real estate on my wall, then I want to get the most out of it. 

This was another activity that was pretty quick to put together. I think getting them all hung up on the wall took me longer than actually writing the riddles or generating the QR codes! But it was a fun activity, and I wanted to share it.

Have you seen any other examples of using QR codes in the classroom? What are some of your suggestions for doing so? Feel free to share in the comments below!