Thank you for purchasing this resource! Please continue reading for helpful tips! What is Hexagonal Thinking? Hexagonal Thinking is a visual tool to help students make connections & organize ideas on a topic. This hexagonal thinking activity is a fantastic review activity or it would work great as a lesson on its own! this activity is great for building Collaborative skills, strengthening and deepening understanding of content, and utilizing different learning styles! Students are engaged and having fun! Teachers: This resource includes over 150 Age of Exploration related terms and over 20 Age of Exploration-themed images, blank hexagonal cards, and a Raft-style writing activity and rubric. How to print your cards: Print slides 3-15. do not print back-to-back. Laminate cards for durability (optional). Cut out cards (this can be done in advance or have your students cut out the cards as homework.) Slides 14 and 15 include an optional raftstyle writing activity and rubric. How I use printed cards: I count my students off by fours to form 6 small groups of students. Each group receives an envelope with an instruction card and hexagonal cards. I explain the activity to my class before I allow students to begin. If students struggle to come up with “Headings/Big ideas” to start, I suggest using the date cards as a starting point. I give my students 20-30 minutes to create as many connections with the hexagonal cards as they can in the time allowed. I circulate around the room throughout the period checking student progress and asking students to explain their thinking on their connections. Other uses: in addition to using this resource as a review activity, it also works great as an assessment! Students could work independently, in pairs, or small groups. Rather than laminate the cards, print packets and distribute to students. Ask students to cut the cards out at home or during study hall. Allow class time for students to arrange their cards on a large sheet of butcher paper. Once connections are finalized, ask students to glue their cards in place! Students can use colored markers or pencils to mark up their posters. This can be an in-class activity or an assignment. Follow-up: Once students have connected all of the cards, Ask them to research and add five of their own vocabulary cards to any end point. If you have any questions about this resource, please email me at lhansengeorge@yahoo.com P.S. If you would like to learn more about using hexagonal thinking activities in the classroom, feel free to visit my blog. I’ve written several blog posts about the topic including this one and this one. If you’re interested in learning how I incorporate Hexagonal Thinking bulletin boards in my classroom, click HERE. Happy teaching! –Lea Images from freepik STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS Hexagonal Thinking is a visual tool to help you make connections & organize ideas on a topic. Your task is to organize your hexagonal cards into clusters. The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate your understanding of key terms and concepts we learned about in this unit. Task: Working in small groups of no more than four students, begin separating key “headings/big ideas” from the rest of your cards. Once you’ve separated the headings/big ideas, sort your remaining cards into categories. Your next step is to look for connections among your cards. Sometimes there will be more than one way your cards connect. Before you make a final decision where to place your cards, discuss with your group what the strongest connection is. Your goal is to connect as many cards as possible within the time allowed. If you do not know the meaning of a word, first consult your teammates. If your teammates do not know the meaning of a word, consult your textbook or another resource. Don’t forget to incorporate icon (image) cards into your clusters! Be prepared to explain your reasoning for each connection. Every group’s clusters will look a little different and that is okay! BONUS: Add your own terms to your completed clusters! Use the blank cards to write your own key figures, dates, concepts, or vocabulary and add to your clusters! East Exploration Mediterranean Sea Map Africa 1400-1800 China Caribbean Sea West North America Europe Atlantic Ocean Hispaniola Hemisphere South America Pacific Ocean Latitude & Longitude Asia West Indies India England Cuba Indian Ocean France write-in your own vocabulary words bonus hexagonal cards Age of Tea Silk Mexico Trade Network Portugal Gulf of Mexico Netherlands Porcelain Land Route Water Route Geography Spice Trade Marco Polo Adventure Gold Route Cape of Good Hope Glory State God Shipping Network Church write-in your own vocabulary words bonus hexagonal cards Trade Spain Weapons Christianity Catholic Astrolabe Resources Caravel Fleet Inventions Muslim Raw Voyage Ship Materials Catholic Expedition Monarchy Compass Navy Technology Trade Winds Colony Cartography Troops write-in your own vocabulary words bonus hexagonal cards Empire Muslim Imports John Cabot Christopher Columbus Ottoman Empire Henry the Navigator Encomienda Market Economy Vasco Da Gama Queen Isabella Columbian Exchange Ferdinand Magellan Hernan Cortes Quetzalcoatl Treaty of Tordesillas Aztec civilization Mercantilism King Ferdinand Francisco Pisarro Exports Conquest Montezuma Conversion write-in your own vocabulary words bonus hexagonal cards Amerigo Vespucci Conquistadores Labor Balance of Trade Measles Triangular Trade Plantation Enslavement Power Immunity Disease Cash Crop Treaty Atlantic Slave Trade Plants Smallpox Kingdom Middle Passage Animals Sugar Cane Trade Wealth Population Trading Post write-in your own vocabulary words bonus hexagonal cards Tobacco Exploitation Push-Pull 16th Century Horses Balance of Trade HumanEnvironment interaction Primary Source Timeline 17th Century Demarcation Sourcing 15th Century Source Context Historical Thinking 19th Century Profit Secondary History 18th Century Corn Mining Effect Cause Indigenous write-in your own vocabulary words bonus hexagonal cards 20th Century write-in your own vocabulary words bonus hexagonal cards write-in your own vocabulary words bonus hexagonal cards R Role of the writer: Student A Audience: a friend or family member. F T Format: You are writing a Letter. Topic: write about the most challenging aspect of this activity. For example, you could write about which connections were the most “contentious” (if working in groups) or most challenging (if working alone.) Period ________ RA.F.T. Writing Assignment Name________________ Date _______ Below Standard Approaching Standard At Standard Collaboration (if working in a group) Not prepared, not willing to work with the group, does not contribute to group discussion or problemsolving, does not complete tasks on time, is disrespectful to group members. Sometimes prepared and willing to work with the group. Occasionally participates in group discussions and problemsolving, usually respectful to group members. Prepared, ready to work with no prompting, contributes to group discussion and problem solves, helps others, completes tasks on time, always respectful to all group members. Critical Thinking Unable to explain connections, unable or unwilling to provide evidence, refuses to consider alternative perspectives. Provides evidence but does not consider the quality of the evidence or gathers evidence from too few sources. Can explain some connections but not all or has a limited/ incomplete understanding of connections. Asks questions to gain understanding, assesses the quality of the evidence provided to support connections (considers accuracy and credibility. Justifies choices with supporting evidence. Writing Multiple spelling and grammar errors. Not all components are present or unclear. Very little detail. Some information is inaccurate. Some spelling and grammar errors. Most components including: Role, Audience, Format, and Topic are included and clear. Some information is included but could be more detailed. Information is inaccurate. No spelling or grammar errors. All components including: Role, Audience, Format, and Topic are included and clear. Information is detailed and accurate. Age of Exploration Hexagonal Thinking Cluster (Example) Age Shipping Networks trading Networks Age of Route Exploration Technology inventions Queen Natural Intolerance Isabella Cartography Interaction Columbian Astrolabe Century God Christopher Columbus Human Navigation 15th Christianity Bias Gold exchange Caravel West Indies Sponsorship Expedition Exploitation
