Monday Made It: I Have, Who Has How-to

I am FINALLY getting somewhere with making things! I can join 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It where you will find LOADS of great ideas for things to make.

It seems like my creativity (what there is of it) has been on hold for the past month or two. Actually, all those end of the school year activities and responsibilities took precedent, plus I needed to do some MEGA reading for next year's classes. Now that all that is finished I have some time to create and of course what I'm making is for school. I've been working on a several I HAVE, WHO HAS activities. Are you familiar with this fun, engaging, game-like activity?

Sometimes called a looping activity, I HAVE, WHO HAS provides students practice with not only content area information but also with listening skills. Students are given a card on which is written an answer (the I HAVE part) followed by a question (the WHO HAS part). Students must listen to the questions so they can provide the particular answer they have. Play continues around the room until all the cards have been read. If done correctly, the last question leads back to the first card.

It sounds a lot more complicated than what it is. Take a peek at this video of my sixers from a few years ago as they complete an I HAVE, WHO HAS for the Stations of the Cross. You'll notice a few students have more than one card, one student who makes a mistake and the class corrects him, and students encouraging their classmates.


I HAVE, WHO HAS lends itself to multiple readings thus improving reading fluency, bolstering listening skills, and reinforcing content area skills. LOVE it!

I've most recently begun making I HAVE, WHO HAS sets for books my students are reading for class assignments. My junior high English students participate in a countywide English Festival each spring wherein they are required to read six novels. See this post and this one for more information about this event. I HAVE, WHO HAS will be a great way to review the details of each of the novels prior to participating in the festival.

So, how do I make one of these activities?

First I decide on the size/format of the cards. I like to use a 3 x 3 table in Power Point for this type of activity. It leaves enough room for graphics and provides space for plenty of information. I choose colors that coordinate with the book's cover, and select two pieces of clip art that represent key elements in the story. Here's what the Power Point slide looks like for the most recent IHWH that I made (Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan). The main character, Willow Chance, is obsessed with counting by 7's and loves plants so I chose clip art to represent these characteristics. These two items are offered free for teacher use by My Cute Graphics.

Next, I plan on the text, the questions and answers, for each card. This part ain't pretty, folks. I simply draft the information (with novel in hand) on unlined paper in my clipboard. Here's what one of my planning pages looks like. I'm almost embarrassed to show you.

I start with creating the list of all of the answers (answer key). This helps me keep organized as I enter the information on the cards. If I do it correctly, the last answer will lead back to the first card.

Then I fill in all of the information (in order to help keep me organized) on all of the cards. Here's what the actual Power Point slide for the above planning page looks like when it's completed, sooooo much neater and clear!

And there you have it, an I HAVE, WHO HAS for Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan!

I recently made one for HOOT by Carl Hiassen, as well.

Both are available in my TpT Store by clicking on the links provided above. Soon also will be available  I HAVE, WHO HAS for the following four books, completing this year's English Festival titles. Look for them in the coming weeks.