Strategy #1
Give and Go
Basics:
Number of participants: Any number
Time Needed: Five minutes
Room Arrangement: Any
Materials: Paper and pen or pencil
Process Directions:
1. On your form, list two ways in which you _______________(How do you complete the task?).
2. Meet with another person in the classroom. Share one of you ideas. Record his or her idea on your form.
3. Continue meeting with different people around the room until you have six ideas.
When/Example:
This strategy could be used when teaching a lesson where there is some concern about the student not fully understanding what is being taught. This would be a great way to do team building while students are teaching each other. I would have my students do this in the middle of a reading lesson and have them describe the ways that they sound out a word.
Resource:
Dunne, F., Nave, B., & Lewis, A. (2000, December). Critical friends groups: Teachers helping teachers to improve student learning. Research Bulletin, 208.4
Hill, S. & Eckert, P. (1995). Learning communities of learners. Adelaide, Australia: Management and Research Centre.
Reid, J. (2002). Managing small group learning.
Number of participants: Any number
Time Needed: Five minutes
Room Arrangement: Any
Materials: Paper and pen or pencil
Process Directions:
1. On your form, list two ways in which you _______________(How do you complete the task?).
2. Meet with another person in the classroom. Share one of you ideas. Record his or her idea on your form.
3. Continue meeting with different people around the room until you have six ideas.
When/Example:
This strategy could be used when teaching a lesson where there is some concern about the student not fully understanding what is being taught. This would be a great way to do team building while students are teaching each other. I would have my students do this in the middle of a reading lesson and have them describe the ways that they sound out a word.
Resource:
Dunne, F., Nave, B., & Lewis, A. (2000, December). Critical friends groups: Teachers helping teachers to improve student learning. Research Bulletin, 208.4
Hill, S. & Eckert, P. (1995). Learning communities of learners. Adelaide, Australia: Management and Research Centre.
Reid, J. (2002). Managing small group learning.
Strategy #2
Four box Synectics
Basics:
Number of participants: Small groups (3-4 per group)
Time Needed: 10 minutes
Room Arrangement: Any
Materials: Four box synectics organizer and pencil.
Process Directions:
1. Have students select four items from a assigned category ( e.g., commonly found household objects, animals, things found in a forest, recreational activities, and foods).
2. Have students place each of the items into one of the four boxes. 3. Once all items are in a box then have the student complete as many sentences of the following " A ______ is like a ______ because..." in 8 minutes. Allow 2 minutes for brainstorming. Each of the items must be used at least once.
4. Once groups have finished these sentence have each group choose their two best sentences to share.
When/Example:
This strategy could be used when teaching a science lesson about animals. I would have the students use four different animals to compare.
*See example worksheet below*
Number of participants: Small groups (3-4 per group)
Time Needed: 10 minutes
Room Arrangement: Any
Materials: Four box synectics organizer and pencil.
Process Directions:
1. Have students select four items from a assigned category ( e.g., commonly found household objects, animals, things found in a forest, recreational activities, and foods).
2. Have students place each of the items into one of the four boxes. 3. Once all items are in a box then have the student complete as many sentences of the following " A ______ is like a ______ because..." in 8 minutes. Allow 2 minutes for brainstorming. Each of the items must be used at least once.
4. Once groups have finished these sentence have each group choose their two best sentences to share.
When/Example:
This strategy could be used when teaching a science lesson about animals. I would have the students use four different animals to compare.
*See example worksheet below*
Resources:
Lipton, L., & Wellman, B. (1998). Patterns and practices in the learning-focused classroom. Guilford, Vermont: Pathways Publishing.
Instructional Strategies for Engaging Learners.
Guilford County Schools TF, 2002. Retreived from http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/act/strategies/Four_Box.htm.
Strategy # 3
Rotating Trio Exchange
Basics:
Number of participants: Groups of three
Time Needed: 20 minutes
Room Arrangement: Chairs for groups of three
Materials: Timer
Process Directions:
1. Have a variety of questions ready for the trios to answer. Use questions with no right or wrong answer.
2. Give each trio an opening question to discuss. Each person should have a turn talking.
3. After 6 minutes (giving each member 2 minutes to talk), have students assign themselves 0,1,2. The 1's will rotate one group clockwise. the 2's will rotate two groups clockwise. The 0's will not move. Have the 0's raise their hands so the other group members know who is staying.
4. Now that new groups have been created provide the trios with a new questions that is more of a challenge or deeper thinking.
5. The trios can be rotated as many times is needed for the number of questions.
When/Example:
This strategy could be used when teaching a language arts lesson. The questions that would be asked would be specific to a story that was just read. Early Childhood: This could be done in early childhood to have the students talk about a story that was read and have them talk about the characters or favorite parts.
Resource:
Silberman, M. L. (1996). Active learning, 101 strategies to teach any subject. (pp. 59-60). Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.
Number of participants: Groups of three
Time Needed: 20 minutes
Room Arrangement: Chairs for groups of three
Materials: Timer
Process Directions:
1. Have a variety of questions ready for the trios to answer. Use questions with no right or wrong answer.
2. Give each trio an opening question to discuss. Each person should have a turn talking.
3. After 6 minutes (giving each member 2 minutes to talk), have students assign themselves 0,1,2. The 1's will rotate one group clockwise. the 2's will rotate two groups clockwise. The 0's will not move. Have the 0's raise their hands so the other group members know who is staying.
4. Now that new groups have been created provide the trios with a new questions that is more of a challenge or deeper thinking.
5. The trios can be rotated as many times is needed for the number of questions.
When/Example:
This strategy could be used when teaching a language arts lesson. The questions that would be asked would be specific to a story that was just read. Early Childhood: This could be done in early childhood to have the students talk about a story that was read and have them talk about the characters or favorite parts.
Resource:
Silberman, M. L. (1996). Active learning, 101 strategies to teach any subject. (pp. 59-60). Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.
Strategy #4
Comparison Matrix
Basics:
Number of participants: Individual or small group
Time Needed: 20 minutes
Room Arrangement: Tables and chairs for small groups.
Materials: Comparison matrix worksheet
Process Directions:
1. Decide what you are having the students compare.
2. Have the students fill out the matrix worksheet by deciding how the item are or are not alike.
3. After the students have completed the worksheet, have them talk within their groups why they chose the answers they did.
4. Have one person from each group share with the class.
5. Go over the worksheet as a whole.
When/Example:
This strategy could be used during a science lesson on living and non living things. The students would fill out the matrix based on the pre-determined characteristics that they possess that are alike and not alike.
Example of comparison matrix:
Resource:
Marzano, R., Pickering, D., Pollock, J. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Marzano’s instructional strategies. Retrieved from http://www.tltguide.ccsd.k12.co.us/instructional_tools/Strategies/Strategies.html#similar
Marzano, R., Pickering, D., Pollock, J. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Marzano’s instructional strategies. Retrieved from http://www.tltguide.ccsd.k12.co.us/instructional_tools/Strategies/Strategies.html#similar
Strategy #5
Venn Diagrams
Basics:
Number of participants: 1 (individually) or small groups or whole class.
Time Needed: 20 minutes
Room Arrangement: None
Materials: Venn diagram worksheet(individually/small group) Venn diagram draw on board for whole group.
Process Directions:
1. Choose items/characters in a story that the students are comparing. 2. The Venn diagram is usually labeled on the left with one character, on the right circle another character and in the middle what they posses that is similar. 3. Have students work in pairs or individually to fill out the diagram. Allow 10 minutes. 4. Have each group share with the whole class something that they wrong in each part of the diagram. The teacher should complete one on the board for the whole class to see.
When/Example:
See Example Lesson
Resource: Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. E. (2001).Classroom instruction that works, research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. (p. 18). Alexandria, VA: Ascd.
Number of participants: 1 (individually) or small groups or whole class.
Time Needed: 20 minutes
Room Arrangement: None
Materials: Venn diagram worksheet(individually/small group) Venn diagram draw on board for whole group.
Process Directions:
1. Choose items/characters in a story that the students are comparing. 2. The Venn diagram is usually labeled on the left with one character, on the right circle another character and in the middle what they posses that is similar. 3. Have students work in pairs or individually to fill out the diagram. Allow 10 minutes. 4. Have each group share with the whole class something that they wrong in each part of the diagram. The teacher should complete one on the board for the whole class to see.
When/Example:
See Example Lesson
Resource: Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. E. (2001).Classroom instruction that works, research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. (p. 18). Alexandria, VA: Ascd.