One of the most successful and engaging type review lessons I conduct in the classroom is playing Type Jeopardy. I start off by teaching first year students the history of type, and following up with short activites. Although I adore history and everything about it, not every student shares my exuberance. Naturally, my slides are filled with colourful photographs and I tell interesting stories about how art and type is influenced by the time and place in which it is created.
After the first class, subsequent classes begin with a review in the form of Type Jeopardy. I have categories to choose from (based on the previous class lesson). An early review week might consist of these categories: Movements and Eras; Terminology; Notable People; Type Styles; and Odds 'n' Sods. There is always a final question, as well.
So, as an example, under "Terminology", the questions might be:
100 The first letter or text is set as a larger or decorative letter used to introdue a section of type
200 Letters slanted to the right, distinct from Roman letters in their form, used for emphasis
300 Parts of lowercase letters that project above and below the boundaries of Capital letters
400 Connected letters or overlapped letters that scribes often made when handwriting, to save space
500 The Gothic lettering style was also referred to as this
Final Question: A publisher's emblem or inscription usually placed at the end of a book, giving facts about its publication is called what?
I break the class up into groups of 5 or 6 and they are allowed to collaborate. Each group has a group name and their scores are recorded on the blackboard, and added up in the end. One person from each group is given a bicycle horn to squeak when the group has an answer. Naturally, they have to state the answer in the form of a question. The winning group gets candy or dollar store prizes. It is truly amazing to see how hard they'll work for the prizes.
Do you have any successful and interesting teaching/learning methods? Please feel free to share them!
