Textbook Scavenger Hunt

A textbook scavenger hunt can be a fun activity that engages the student in discovering the ins and outs of their textbook, and assists with mastering the print convention clues that facilitate comprehension.  Of course the hunt can be teacher - designed to meet the needs of your objectives, but the authors have suggested the hunt be either within a group or individually where the students locate specific conventions of print within the textbook as well as sections or images, such as graphs and their captions, within the chapters.  The template provided below will guide in the selection of items to include in your search.  Textbook or core content readings can have specific characteristics, such as the differences between novels and scientific readings and this strategy can be an effective tool to highlight these characteristics.

Scavenger Hunt Graphic Organizer Questions from Solution Tree, Inc. - Power Tools for Adolescent Literacy, Rozzelle and Scearce 2009, page 66

Scavenger Hunt Graphic Organizer Questions (fillable PDF)

Word Scavenger Hunts (vocabulary)

Students can be asked to engage in this activity as a pre-reading vocabulary task.  Student can be asked to locate words within the text or they might be asked to find objects that represent the vocabulary provided.  With this activity, cooperative groups can be formed to complete the hunt.  Meeting times need to be scheduled and a deadline provided.  This could provide an excellent vehicle for creating non-typical groups for your classroom.  The activity engages student interest, and can then motivate them to sustain interest in the reading.

From:  50 Content Area Strategies for Adolescent Literacy, Fisher, Brozo, Frey, and Ivey 2007, page 134