Key Issues:
- How do you know a student is ready to work with a peer?
- What are the behaviors you see?
- How do you pair students?
Think-Pair-Share Activities: Think-pair-share is a relatively low-risk and short collaborative learning structure, and is ideally suited for instructors and learners who are new to collaborative learning. Handouts Directions | Adaptions for subject areas | Resources
- Likes and dislikes
- More of, Less of
- I-messages
- QUICK GRAPHS (unfair, chores, nonpreferred activities)
Write, pair, share: Many of us use the think, pair, share model, substituting
writing for silent thinking can improve both the quality of the conversation and
the number of students who contribute. As students write, I walk around, reading
over their shoulders and writing things like,“That’s good. Say that!” on the papers of
quieter or less confident students.You can also see which and how many students
are stuck, so I know if I need to add more scaffolding.Pairs and squares: I assign students a partner (pair) to work with for
three weeks, as well as a square (two pairs combined). I promote
camaraderie in pairs and squares by having students learn each other’s
names (with spelling and pronunciation), gender pronouns, and something
people can’t tell by looking at them. They also make up a handshake they
use each day to greet each other.
They talk in their pairs from bell to bell between direct instruction about
the topics of the day. Currently, my sophomores are engaging in a
nonfiction unit on happiness, so today we discussed the correlation
between money and happiness, and students worked in their pairs to
annotate an article, but when we analyzed some rather complex graphs
and charts, they moved into their squares so they could have more brain
power.
After three weeks, each student thanks their partner for something they
did for them and shares what they think was the pair’s best moment
together. By the end of the year, every student has worked with every
other classmate—either in pairs or squares—which promotes a strong
classroom community and helps students feel more comfortable
participating.- Journal prompts
- Pair Communication Activity
- Teaching Children How to Converse
- Perception pictures (pictures that foster an open interpretation)
- Describe and draw or put together with a partner
- Tangrams or geometric triangles Use Tangram, geometric pieces or a puzzle either commerical of a cut up magazine picture. Have the pair put it together without talking.
- Task cards (manipulatives, drawings) in pairs
- Paper Toys. Paper Toys is a website providing free, printable templates and directions for making paper models of all kinds of buildings, cars, hats, and landmarks. The directions are PDFs that you can download and print. The templates range from simple hats and dolls to complex structures like the White House, the Great Wall of China, and the Eiffel Tower.
- Building Trust
- What's the News? Articles of Deception
- Focus Groups: Before a video, lecture, or reading, have students brainstorm what they already know about the subject and come up with questions they have about it.
- Drill/skill Partners
- Group problem solving
- Five step play: see conflict resolution
- How Well Do Your Students Know Each Other? activities to help students get to know each other.
- Template for interviewing your pair mate Together Book p. 9 For example, what is your favorite ...? Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are you good at?
- Responsible Youth in the News
- Responsibility The Story of Harvey
Nonverbal agreement or disagreement: I have my students use the American Sign Language signs for “yes” and “no” in whole class discussion to show their agreement or disagreement with the speaker. This keeps students engaged, gives the speaker immediate feedback on their ideas, and gives all students a nonverbal voice.
For their qualitative goal, they consider whether they need to ask more questions and whether they should do things like build on others’ ideas or use text to support their points.
Throughout class, students take notes on their own contributions to the discussion, write down what they said (and didn’t say), and tally the overall number of times they talked. They end class by reflecting on their participation. Did they meet their goals? Why or why not? Can they set some new goals for themselves? This card is their exit ticket for the day.
Metacognitive goal-setting: Every few weeks, I have students reflect on their participation habits and set goals for a particular discussion. Students get an index card at the beginning of class and write a quantitative and a qualitative goal for their participation for the day. As they set their quantitative goals, I encourage them to think of “stepping up and stepping back”—what would be a healthy number of times for them to speak that day? Should they talk more frequently, or refrain from talking in order to make space for others to talk?