I originally learned this activity from Tina Hargaden and added my own twist for my elementary students. Starting in second grade, my students use notebooks, which are a great way to collect the stories we read in class and all the extension activities we do. Last year, instead of the traditional Card Talk activity, I incorporated a movement component to make it more engaging. If you teach elementary students, you know they need movement and joy, which is why I developed this idea.
The first change I made was to use notebooks instead of paper. I ask my students to include the following important details in their notebooks:
-Write their names in the center of the notebook using their favorite colors.
-In each corner, write something about themselves: Favorite food, a family tradition, an activity they enjoy, and their birth month and date.
Once the students complete this, I explain to my students the meaning if the word “Chócala”. In Colombia, “¡chócala!” is an informal expression used when giving someone a high five. It’s a way to celebrate, agree, or show solidarity with another person.
After I play music and have students walk or dance around the room. When the music stops, they share the information from their notebooks with the person closest to them. If they find a connection, they say “Chócala” and give each other a high-five.
Important: The drawings in their notebooks don’t need to be the same. They just need to share a common interest or have the same birth month or date to make a connection and give a high-five.
Also, students are not allowed to have the same partner twice, which encourages them to interact with different classmates.
My students love this activity, and it has been a great way to build community, find connections, and establish our classroom routines for the school year.
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