Whew! Is anyone else feeling as if the new year is progressing at warp speed? After several weeks of madly finishing fall semester, celebrating the holidays, and building courses for the winter semester, classes have started and I can take a breath again. Fortunately, along came Google Doodle to make me smile–and perhaps provide just the thing you need to bring some creative sparkle to cold winter days. (Yes, I live in Michigan, where the view out my window looks like a dreery black and white photo.) Google has just announced the winner of its annual Doodle for Google contest, and brought it to animated life. Take a look.
Of course, you could encourage your students to enter the Doodle for Google contest for 2019 Next year’s theme is, “When I grow up, I hope. . . .” Focusing on hope right now seems like a wonderful idea.
But why not try a little doodling now? How about one of these options?
- Imagine your students were entering this year’s content, with the theme “What inspires me…” Have them create a doodle, then expand it with either a written or oral explanation. It could be a fine opportunity to practice clear written explanations or oral presentation skills in a non-threatening manner.
- Or, create a doodle with the same theme, but from another person’s point of view. What might inspire a historical figure you are studying, a famous scientist, a particular artist, or a literary character? What would they draw? How would they explain it?
- Perhaps you’d rather design a theme of your own to fit your disciplinary content. What might be a Google doodle that would help students focus on key ideas in a French class, physics class, or algebra class? I’d love to hear your ideas.
If you’d like to read a bit more about the 2018 Doodle for Google winner, here’s the CBS News report.