Easy Zoom Annotation Activities

The annotate tool in Zoom is an easy way to engage learners in familiar classroom activities from a distance.

Teachers and tutors can share ready-made worksheets that they have downloaded onto their computer through the Screen Share option, and learners can use the annotate tool on their computer or phone to “write” on the worksheet. Activities can be done in one-on-one tutoring sessions, together in a larger group Zoom class, or in small group breakout rooms (send materials to breakout room volunteers ahead of time so that they can share the materials through the screen sharing tool in the breakout rooms).

Teachers and tutors can also create activities from scratch in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Google Docs or Google Slides to use during class. Read below for seven class activities that learners can complete using the annotation tool.

Pro Tip: Many learners will be using Zoom on a phone, so make sure that the font size is 20 or higher, and make sure there is plenty of space for learners to annotate. Break up longer activities between two or three slides when necessary for larger fonts and to cut down on crowding.

See examples of the following activities here: Sample Zoom Annotation Activities https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11XRJ8mbcfjrNE1jvEGz4lVzq23VfRCev88gnBzmNXfs/edit#slide=id.g8b89762967_0_15

Word Search

Go to https://tools.atozteacherstuff.com/word-search-maker/wordsearch.php and follow the instructions to create a word search puzzle.

Share your screen with the online puzzle, or take a screenshot of the puzzle and paste it into your preferred platform.

As learners find words in the puzzle, they circle or underline the words with the annotate tool, and cross them off of the list. This can be done with all learners annotating at once, or call on them to take turns.

Matching

Create two columns of words to be matched together (you can also do a limited number of words with pictures).

Read through the columns of words together to make sure that learners understand all of the words. Start with the first word. Call on a learner to use the annotate tool to match the words between the columns.

Multiple Choice

Create questions with multiple choice answers.

Ask the learners to read the questions quietly to themselves. Go through the questions one by one. Ask a learner to read each question out loud, and then read the answers. Call on a learner to circle the correct answer. If the questions are challenging, decide on the correct answer as a group before asking a learner to circle it.

Fill in the Missing Letter

Create a list of words with missing letters.

Example:

__reen

r___d

Encourage learners to look at the letters around the missing letter, and guess what the word is. Prompt as needed by helping learners sound out the surrounding letters. If learners struggle to figure out the word, say the word and help them sound it out to discover which letter is missing.

Call on a learner to fill in the missing letter.

Fill in the Missing Word

Create a short list of sentences with missing words.

Example:

Carrots are ____________.

___________ are yellow.

Ask learners to read the rest of the sentence to figure out the missing word. Prompt as needed by asking guiding questions. If learners struggle to figure out the missing word, say the sentence out loud, and help them to discover which word is missing. Then help them sound out the word.

Call on a learner to fill in the missing word.

Circle the Picture

Create a slide or document with pictures of vocabulary words.

Say a word. Call on a learner to circle the picture of the word that they hear.

Circle the Word

Create a slide or document with a list of vocabulary words.

Say a word. Call on a learner to circle the word that they hear.

Expansion: Create a slide or document with a short reading that contains the target vocabulary words. Read the story together. Say a word from the story. Call on a learner to circle the word where they see it in the story.

How to Use Zoom Annotation Tools YouTube Tutorials and Support Article:

Zoom Support: Using Annotation Tools on a Shared Screen or Whiteboard https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005706806-Using-annotation-tools-on-a-shared-screen-or-whiteboard

Zoom Markup Tools: Annotation and Whiteboard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YM-_x3SCLw

Annotating from Zoom on an Android Smartphone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coDEWMS6z50