10 Activities for Deeper Understanding

#1 Self-Assess
Tell why you thought you used your time well or not so well as you learned.  Tell what made learning easy or not so easy.  What will you do differently the next time you learn something new?

#2 Reflect
Write a reflection of what you have just learned in a journal, a letter to someone, or a story.

#3 Big Concepts/Ideas
In what ways do or could you use what you learned?  How would the world change if we did not have this knowledge?

#4 Ask Your Own Questions
Base your questions on what more you want to learn or what you don't understand. When you are finished, try finding answers to your questions. 

#5 Find Patterns and Theories
What patterns do you see?  If you find a pattern, can the pattern be put into a theory? (A theory predicts or explains how something works.)

#6 Invention
Find new ways to use this knowledge in new or novel ways.  Draw a picture of a new invention that needs or uses it.

#7 Find Connections
In what ways is this knowledge connected to you?  In what ways is it found or used in the world?

#8 Compare and Contrast
How is this knowledge similar or different to other things?  (Try using a Venn diagram for this activity.)

#9 Summarize
Summarize what you learned in as few sentences as possible.

#10 Make a Game
Make a game that uses or is based on the knowledge.