OTHER STRATEGIES
Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up-Use this activity when you want your students to discuss/share/solve a problem. The students stand up, put their hand up, find a partner, and then discuss/share/solve a problem.
Talking Chips-Each student is given a certain amount of chips/tokens (2-3). They use these chips/tokens when they want to speak. Once the chips are gone, the student can't speak again until all other chips have been used. This is so everyone has an equal opportunity to talk. When all chips are used, students collect their chips and continue discussion until the teachers says stop.
Thumbs up, down, sideways-Quick way to assess students and check for understanding. There are many ways you can use this. One example is: 1) thumb up-I understand/teach someone else, 2) thumb sideways-I understand part of it, 3) thumb down-I don't know/understand. It can be used as true/false, yes/no, agree/disagree.
Circle the Sage-Students who have special knowledge or experiences or those that really understand the content are the sages. The sages go to different parts of the room. The rest of the class is put into groups of 3-5. Each student in the group will go to a different sage. The sage shares the information while the students listen,ask questions, and take notes. The students go back to their groups and share what they learned from their sage.
All Hands Up!-This is one of my favorites! The teacher asks a question and all students' hands go up. If they know the answer, they have an open hand. If they don't know they keep their hand closed while arm is raised. This allows for quick assessment and to get everyone involved. You can call on any student, but if the student has their hand closed they can do one of three things: 1) Ask for more information, 2) Ask their team? or 3) Ask a friend. Those that are antsy and want to give the answer immediately can write it down.
5-2-1 Rule-5 min. teacher talk, 2 min students process and share, 1 min. assess (good time to call on unresponsive students)
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