Can we PLEASE make some connections?

I have a difficult time getting my students to make connections between past units and the unit we are currently working on. I have been working on my students' ability to think critically and solve problems through connecting content. We are six months into the school year and finally I do not have to give my kids the death stare for ten minutes for them to make some connections. It was a long and tedious six months, but it brightens my day when I can see the light bulb and they make this profound discovery that what they learned two weeks ago about soil relates to what they are learning right now about plants!!!! : )

In my animal science class we have been progressing through the systems of the animal for a few months. As we reached the third system (nervous) I began to realize that my kids really had no idea as to why and how all of these systems work together. I decided we were going to spend a whole class period making connections. I made the activity worth 20 points and everyone in the class had to participate at least once or EVERYONE in the class will fail the assignment.

Each student had to draw a picture on the board and explain how their picture connected with another picture already on the board. They had to use the information they learned from the different systems we discussed. Not only was this activity great for getting their minds geared for making connections it was also a great review for the test.

Here is a picture of the board. It looks a little convoluted, but it did the trick : ) Plus, they had a blast. The kids talked about it for weeks and wondered when we were going to do it again.