Connections

It's the same pretty much every morning for me. Coffee. Quick scan of the news feed and then it's straight over to the New York Times Connections game. It's easy to get addicted. So if you're someone who has yet to discover Connections, run away. Seriously. Save yourself. It's too late for me.

Or . . . you could dive in like the rest of the world and get sucked into a simple but compelling game created and hosted by the New York Times. The simple part is that the game asks you to see and make connections between 16 different words, winning the game by grouping the 16 words into four different categories. The compelling part is that it's not always that easy.

So you might select cloud, cotton ball, sheep, and dandelion from the list of 16 words. In this example, the category is "things that are fluffy." Congrats! You just made your first connection. Each category is assigned a color representing a different difficulty level. Yellow is the simplest, purple is the most difficult, with green and blue in between.

The words can be connected into categories by just about anything. Some are incredibly obvious. Others not so much. You might run into NBA teams, things found on a ship, types of cards (playing, birthday, get well, congratulations), or words after "eye" (candy, shadow, witness, contact.) And the NYTimes people will always throw in some tricky words just to mess with you. This becomes important because you're allowed just four wrong guesses.

“We get it, Glenn. You enjoy playing a random online game.”

But here's the thing. It's more than a random game. Think about it. What is one of the most difficult things that many of our students struggle with? Making connections. Connections between past and present. Noun and verb. Identifying patterns. Seeing the difference between synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms. Linking math equations with math concepts. Connecting this person with that event in that place during that time.

The cool thing with so many people having the same Connections addiction that I have means that the Internet is packed with create your own Connection tools. And now you're starting to see it. Creating and sharing Connection games specific to your own content and grade level gives you one more tool in your tool belt that can help kids make sense of the stuff you want them to understand.

Connections can create the Three Bears theory of learning that video game designers call "flow," the sweet spot between too hard and too easy. Need a few examples of what this can help with?

Social Studies:

Connect events across time periods, review geographic places such as river, lakes, capitals, explore cause and effect, compare and contrast religions, types of government, regions, and economic systems

ELA:

Identify verb tenses and verb conjugations, recognize different noun types, match synonyms or antonyms, make sense of idioms, root words, adjectives, number of syllables, pronouns types and their antecedents, authors, literary types, thematic similarity across genres

Math:

Match mathematical concepts with equations, shapes, and math principles, connect ways numbers can be represented such as fractions, decimals, percentages, dig into the properties of geometric shapes

Science:

Make sense of scientific classification systems such as kingdom, phylum, class, make connections between ecosystems, life cycles, water cycle, physical states of matter, biomes, 

When we ask students to see connections, we're doing more than just covering the content. You're asking kids to understand the world around them, an interconnected web of stuff that all works together. You're supporting critical thinking and problem-solving. What's not to like? 

So. What could this look in your classroom?

1. Pick your categories. Is this introducing content? Reviewing? Summative? Formative? Whatever it is, align the categories to your lesson plan.

2. Create your list of 16 words. This will take a bit of practice but you'll want to challenge your kids while engaging them at the same time. Mix in some familiar with new. And be sure to include some distractors - add three words that seem to be in the same category but there is no clear fourth word. It's okay for kids to struggle a bit!

3. Create your puzzle. I like Connections+. But you might like also Create a Puzzle. Both work the same way and allow you to share your creation with students.

4. Play the game. You'll need to demo the process using the official NYTimes site. You can then break off into groups and speed play your own versions with winners walking away with healthy carrot sticks (just kidding – fun size Butterfingers), extra credit coupons, or just the thrill of being the best. Use it at the beginning of class, as an exit ticket, a review session, or as a simple brain  break. The ease of creation means you could literally jam one of these together during a student work period for some just in time learning

5. Ask kids to develop their own games. Have students create and share their games, maybe even on a Google Sites page you create just for this purpose. Perfect for review and a little competition between class sections.

The beauty of Connections is its flexibility. Maybe you just play it for your own enjoyment. But don't be afraid to add it to your classroom box of tricks.