Hexagonal Thinking:
Using Google Slides & Diffit
Session 2 (10:20 – 11:10)
Facilitator: Amanda Hale
Social Studies~ SMS
bit.ly/HexagonalHale
Hexagonal Thinking: Using Google Slides & Diff-it
In this session, educators will delve into the power of hexagonal thinking, a creative strategy for organizing ideas and fostering critical thinking skills among students. Participants will learn how to integrate this approach seamlessly with Google Slides, leveraging its collaborative features to enhance engagement and facilitate dynamic classroom discussions. Additionally, the session will explore the utility of Diff-it, a tool designed to compare and contrast student-generated hexagonal maps, providing valuable insights into individual and collective understanding.
Session 2 (10:20 – 11:10)
bit.ly/HexagonalHale
Presentation adapted from:
Act 48
In order to receive Act 48 Credit, participants must:
**If you do not complete an evaluation, you will not receive Act 48 credit; however, you will receive your Flex hours.
Summer Professional Learning
Flex Hours
Your attendance today will count as 4.5 hours towards your 9 required hours for the year. Please make sure you’ve signed in at the Learning Lab Kiosk.
WCASD | Summer Spark 2024
WCASD | Summer Spark 2024
District Priorities:
Today’s Goals
Goal # 1
You will understand the practices of Hexagonal Thinking
Goal # 2
You will practice utilizing the AI tool: Diffit for Hexagonal Thinking
Goal # 3
You will create an assignment using Diffit to use in your classroom.
WCASD | Summer Spark 2024
WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
Students need to talk more and connect ideas!
We need some critical thinking, vocabulary building, and authentic assessment!
bit.ly/HexagonalHale
Connections
BEE
awesome
Hexagonal Thinking can be used:
Students should keep rearranging until they feel they’ve created the strongest web of connected ideas.
Let’s try
SLIDESMANIA.COM
PD
teachers
students
How are these terms related or connected?
Try it with a group:
Use words from the list on the right to make connections.
Each hexagon can connect to up to six others. Arrange and rearrange until you feel you have the strongest hexagon web in place that you can.
Then begin explaining your connections with connection arrows, writing in why you have created intersections between key hexagons.
Zombie
Hospital
Graveyard
Infection
Farm
Weapons
Brains
Bite
Animals
Resources
Forest
Friends
Town
Compound
Night
SLIDESMANIA.COM
What did you notice?
What did you wonder?
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Model the process
Give them word lists to start
Give a minimum sentence length for connections
Do with groups of 2 or 3 before any independent
Advanced students can create their own word lists from reading
Gallery walks or presenting from each group gives more perspectives
Can be the basis for a longer writing
Hexagons can hold a single idea, character, historical figure, event, picture, quote
Keep a stack of pre-punched hexagons. Get kids to do it!
If students write the words, you don’t have to cut out hexagons by hand
Laminate a set of hexagons for dry erase
Create on paper, Slides, or Canva whiteboard
Examples
SLIDESMANIA.COM
From: Activehistory
SLIDESMANIA.COM
Made using Canva
Modifications
Hexagonal Thinking
Mao Zedong
Red guards
Gang of four
communist
4 olds
Little Red Book
education
Capitalism
Rebellion
Mao hired the Red Guards to make posters and destroy culture, customs, ideas, and habits. They also beat up teachers and government officials.
Mao Zedong wrote the Little Red Book so people would think of him as amazing and great.
The Gang of four was created to support Mao and help protect him and his power when people were rebelling against him.
Both of these things were destroyed or forgotten when Mao was incharge.
revolution, rebellion, Mao Zedong, Red Guards, Little Red Book, capitalism, 4 Olds, communist, Gang of 4, Great Leap Forward, education
Instructions: Place the vocabulary words below onto the hexagonal thinking map by making clear connections between terms. In the white boxes, explain the connections in your own words.
Word Bank:
Using Diffit
app.diffit.me
Use your @wcasd.net Google account- Free district subscription!
(Secondary Teachers)
Practice!
**Generate Resources!
Benefits of Using Diffit
It will save you time and generate documents that you can see in Google Drive- export to Slides, Forms or Doc.
Resources
SLIDESMANIA.COM
Inspiration
01 | Cult of Pedagogy
02 | Pictorial Hexagons
04 | Spark Creativity
05 | Uses in Math
03 | We Are Teachers
06 | Edutopia
Resources
to get you buzzin’ right along!
engagetheirminds.com
Resources
to get you buzzin’ right along!
Canva Whiteboard Template Link
Link
Word Bank
Connection #4
Connection #3
Connection #2
Connection #1
Directions: Write 2-3 sentences for each connection. Be detailed in your explanation.
Connection #1:
Connection #2:
Connection #3:
Connection #4:
Hexagonal thinking is a simple method that yields big critical thinking results. Kids take a set of hexagons with varied terms, concepts, themes, real-world connections, etc. that relate to your current unit of study, and then link them together into an interconnected web. In pairs, groups, or even alone, they must use their critical thinking skills to decide which hexagons link best to which others.
This can be done with paper hexagons or with hexagons online.
The key, in the end, will be that students are able to explain and argue for the order they have placed their hexagons in. They can write about key connections, fill in and place connection arrows, or present back to the class about their choices.
In this toolkit, you’ll find the moving parts you need to get started with digital hexagonal thinking in your class.
To use this template, create your list of terms by clicking into each term box and changing the moveable text. Your students will drag and drop the terms, but not the hexagons. Then copy the instructions, template with terms, and explanations slide into a new series of slides for your students - individually, in pairs or groups. If you wish, you can choose to have groups copy their final webs into a collaborative slideshow in the last few minutes so everyone can see everyone else’s webs. You could take time for them to present briefly as well.
To use this template, create your list of terms by clicking into each term box and changing the moveable text. Your students will be able to drag and drop the terms, as well as move and rotate the hexagons and connection arrows. Then copy the instructions, template with terms, and explanations slide into a new series of slides for your students - individually, in pairs or groups. If you wish, you can choose to have groups copy their final webs into a collaborative slideshow in the last few minutes so everyone can see everyone else’s webs. You could take time for them to present briefly as well.
To use this template, create your list of terms by clicking into each term box and changing the moveable text. Your students will be able to drag and drop the terms, as well as move and rotate the hexagons and connection arrows. Then copy the instructions, template with terms, and explanations slide into a new series of slides for your students - individually, in pairs or groups. If you wish, you can choose to have groups copy their final webs into a collaborative slideshow in the last few minutes so everyone can see everyone else’s webs. You could take time for them to present briefly as well.
Terms
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
TERM
Connection #1 (term + term):
Connection #2 (term + term):
Connection #3 (term + term):
Connection #4 (term + term):
Connection #5 (term + term):
How easy can it bee?
“Replace an image” with visuals that will align with your lesson, your story, your standards!
** You can use a Google doc to create images students can make connections with **
Practice and let me know what you think!
My contact is: ahale@wcasd.net
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!