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Five
Fun Ways to
Form Small Groups
Small group
work can be an effective way for students to actively participate in their
learning. Groups of two and three students work well for activities which
deal with sensitive topics and for encouraging quiet students to participate.
Larger groups of four or more are effective when the activity involves
collecting a variety of input like list making and brainstorming.
Once you
have determined the small group size you want, divide the total group
size by the small group size. This will give you the number of small groups
you want. For example, if you have 30 students and you want them in groups
of five, divide 30 by five to find out you want to create six groups.
Whether
you want to create pairs or groups of seven, here are some fun recommendations
for you to try the next time you assign students to small groups.
1. Stack the Deck
Playing
cards is a great tool for creating groups of two, three and four. Prepare
ahead of time by creating your own stacked deck of cards with one card
for each student. Stack your deck with two, three or four of a kind cards,
corresponding with the number of students per group, two, three or four.
Make sure the deck is shuffled. Pass out cards to each student. Ask students
to find the other students who have the same numbered/face card.
Using playing
cards to form small groups is particularly helpful when you want to have
students work in pairs and then combine the pairs to create groups of
four. With playing cards, you can create groups of two (grouped by like
numbered/face cards of the same color) and have them combine into groups
of four (grouped by like numbered/face cards of any color).
2. Sing-a-Long
Names
of popular singers and musical groups can be used to create groups of
any size. Once you have determined how many students will make up each
small group, generate a list of that many musicians. Back Street Boys,
Brandi, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, N'Sync, Will Smith, Brittney Spears
are possible choices, and you can solicit more ideas from your students.
Prepare strips of paper with the musicians' names on them. Hand the slips
of paper out randomly to the students and ask them to create groups of
like musicians. For some added fun, encourage students to sing a song
(or hum a tune) from their assigned musician while they seek their other
small group members.
3. Wish You Were
Here
Postcards.
If you want to create groups of two, postcards are great fun. Prepare
by collecting a set of postcards which all have unique pictures on them.
Cut the postcards in halves. Pass out the postcard halves to each student.
Ask students to pair up with the students with the other half of their
postcard.
4. Talk Show Hosts
Names of
talk show hosts can be used to create groups of any size. You might want
to start out by asking the students in advance which talk shows they watch
most often and using the names of those hosts. Or you can simply choose
the most popular talk show hosts such as: Rosie O'Donnell, Oprah, Jerry
Springer, Leeza, Jay Leno, Conan, and David Letterman. Decide on how many
students you want in each group and create that number of 3 x 5 index
cards for each talk show host. For example, if you want four students
in each group, you will need to have four index cards with Rosie O'Donnell's
name on them, etc. Mix the cards up and distribute them randomly to the
students. Then ask the students to find the others with the same index
cards.
5. Birthday Line-Up
The birthday
line-up can be used to create groups of any size and does not require
any materials or preparation. This grouping process may take a bit longer
than the others but it is a good team building exercise in itself.
Ask students
to form a line in chronological order of their birthdays. Once in a line,
count off the appropriate number of students into groups. For example,
if forming triads, inform the first three people in line that they are
a group, and continue until all students are grouped.
For skill
building information on managing small group activities, check out the
September 1999 Educator Skills edition.
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