HTML Basic Structure Cards

Today I tried something new with my Web Mastering I class at school. We are just beginning to go over HTML and are discussing the basic HTML structure of any web page. Last year I just drilled typing the thing over and over in notepad or had them write it down on notebook paper. I don't know about you, but I love flashcards. I have found myself having a desire to use them more and more this year because I want to incorporate more learning that is not based off the the computer--learning about the stuff without having to use the computer. My hope is to get my students to pay closer attention to the task at hand without them wandering around the computer about the information I'm trying to get across.

Some people don't understand why I try to shy my students away from the computer once in a while. I want them to understand that learning can still happen without the up to date technology--even though we are learning about it. I also want to vary my instruction. Although the students are in my class and I think it's awesome, not all students are there because they want to; some are there because they "gotta get a Technology credit" and they think my class is an easy excuse to play computer games. Unlucky for them, they got a teacher that actually wants to do more than gather a paycheck. :)

So anyway, I made up these mini flash cards to get my students to memorize the order and get the idea behind opening and closing tags of a basic HTML structure.

Here's some of the images from today:


You cut index cards in half and use the blank side to write the different tags. I'm a color coding sort of person, so each group of cards was a different color. Then, the kids can use them in their group, and you can also use them on your magnetic chalk board and do things like order races and whatnot. (Kids love competition---especially if you bribe them with a prize--such as a pencil or pen.)

I'm not quite sure why I didn't think of this earlier, but I'm glad I did this year because it seems to have worked well.