1. Blind/Team Sequencing Deal out cards so that each person gets at least two cards. Individually, the students put their “hand” of cards in sequential order. The first person puts a card down and tells WHY it is the first one out of the cards in his/her hand. The next person does the same by placing one card down either before or after the first-played card and tells WHY. Go around the team (working together) until all the cards are placed in order. Finally, the teacher models the correct sequence, and students check their work. Fan N Pick Student One fans cards Student Two picks a card & reads it aloud to the team. Student Three gives an answer after 5+ seconds of think time. After another 5+ seconds of think time, student Four paraphrases, praises, or adds to the answer given. Student rotate roles.

2. ABC Summary At the end of an explanation or demonstration, give each student a different letter of the alphabet & ask them to think of one word or phrase beginning with that letter that is connected to the topic. Use the responses for a whole class discussion review or as a lead-in to a writing assignment. Inside Outside Circle Students stand in concentric circles, with the inside circle facing out and the outside circle facing in. Teacher asks a question. Students take turns responding. Teacher rotates circles after every question.

3. Draw A Picture At the end of a segment of teacher-directed instruction, ask participants to work in pairs to create a graphic summary of how they would organize information, reach a conclusion, or interact differently based on the demonstration you provided. Jumbled Summary Write key words or phrases from an explanation in random order. Ask students to “unscramble” the terms and reorder them in logical sequence as a knowledge check.

4. Passing Notes Students write topic on card. Students pass card to person on right. Student adds an idea. The cards are passed again. Process continues until the assignment has enough ideas. The cards are returned to the owner who has the task of completing the assignment based on the ideas from their classmates. 3 terms or ideas you want to remember 2 things you want to learn more about 1 thing you think you’ve mastered 3-2-1

5. Ticket to Leave Give the students a question just before lunch, recess, or special area time. After they answer it, they hand it to you on their way out. Review the answers and either respond in writing, use them as a starting point for the next lesson, or as a basis to re-teach misunderstood information. Turn to Your Neighbor Teacher poses a question. After writing as many thoughts as you can, students turn to their shoulder partner and share ideas. Pairs share with the class.

6. Whip-Around Everyone in the room will stand up and share one thing he/she learned about… You may sit as soon as you’ve contributed a new idea.  -  -  One thing that squares with my beliefs. Three points that I want to remember. One question that is still rolling around in my head.

7. Tic-Tac-Toe Numbered Heads Together Students number off in their team. Teacher poses a question. Students discuss the question. Teacher calls a student number & a team number. The student shares what his or her team discussed. Students choose questions to answer in an effort to complete a vertical or diagonal row, thereby answering a question at each of the different levels of thinking. Synthesis Evaluation Application & Analysis

8. Find Someone Who... Students mill around the room trying to find someone who can answer a question on the activity sheet. The student who knows the answer initials that question. Debrief as a class. Ask a student “Who knew the answer to #1 on your sheet?” Student tells you the name. Call on that new student to answer (to ensure all are correct.) Then ask him/her, “Who knew the answer to #2 on your sheet?” Continue in this fashion until finished. Pairs Check/Rally Coach Each partner pair gets a set of question cards. Student A reads the question out loud to student B. Student B answers (you may want students to record their answers.) Partners take turns asking and answering each question.

9. Think-Pair-Square Problem is posed. Students think alone about the question for a specified amount of time. Form pairs to discuss the question. Turn to another pair of students. Students are then called upon to share the answer with their team of four. Think-Pair-Share Problem is posed. Students think alone about the question for a specified amount of time. Form pairs to discuss the question. Students are then called upon to share the answer with the class as a whole.

10. Roundtable Teacher poses question. Team members take turns answering in writing. Round Robin/Rally Robin Teacher poses question. Students take turns answering verbally (can be in group or pair).

11. Four Corners Teacher announces corners. Students think & write. Students go to corners. Small groups discuss. Line-Up Teacher describes the line. Students line up. Pairs or teams of 4 discuss.

12. Mix-N-Match Students are given a card that has a “mate.” Student mill around the room until they find their “mate.” Pairs discuss why they belong together. Students take a seat with their partner. Mix-Pair-Discuss Students are given a character to wear on their back (they don’t know who they are). Students wander the room attempting to find out who they are. They seek help from their classmates by asking up to three yes/no questions. Once a student discovers who they are, they wear their identity on their chest & continue to help others who have not yet identified themselves.

13. Jigsaw Groups Each student on a team works to complete a portion of an assignment. When the entire team is confident that all members are experts on the content, they separate to form new teams with other members of the class. Each “expert” shares their work with their new team members until all parts of the assignment are complete. Role Play Students are given role cards with directions for acting out a concept. Other students can serve as the audience or can participate by trying to guess what the “actor” is acting out.

14. Window Pane Lecture As the teacher instructs the class, students listen and participate. After the first part of the lecture or activity ends, students draw pictures and jot down words and phrases (in panel) that capture the essence of the content. The process continues until all “panes” of the “window” are complete. Russian Roulette Divide class into groups of 3-4 students. Rep from each group draws a card from a deck of HOT questions (or spin a wheel, then pick the card that corresponds with number on the wheel.) Group can choose to accept or decline. If group accepts, they get to work. If group declines, they may choose the next card but they MUST work on that one. When groups finish, teacher either collects work, students post work for others to view, or groups send a rep to other groups to explain their work.

15. Group Reporters Divide class into groups of 3-5 students. Each group elects a “reporter.” Give a different task to each reporter. The group works to solve the problem for 4-6 minutes. When time is called, the reporter moves to the next group, so they have a chance to solve the problem. Process continues until all groups have dealt with all of the tasks; all reporters have visited every group. Solution Sort All students get two pieces of paper and a pencil. Divide class into groups of 4-5 students. Each student writes a question on one piece (or given a question from the teacher) and writes its corresponding answer on the other piece (check with group for correct answers). Throw question papers in one box, answers in another. Students pick one from each. Go around the room, having a student read the question. Students examine their answers to see if it fits. If it does, he/she shares it with the class. Discussion ensues if more than one person (or no one) thinks their answer fits.

16. Bean Bag Press Conference Students are placed in mixed ability groups and given a complicated task to analyze (similar task for each group …possibly different content.) Members of all groups brainstorm questions to ask other groups in an upcoming “press conference.” One group goes to the front of the room. The teacher gives a bean bag (or other soft object) to one member and the press conference begins. A student from another group asks a question. The student with the bean bag answers or tosses it to another teammate if he/she doesn’t know. When group finishes, next group goes to front of room and process begins again. Fishbowl Discussion Put discussion questions on overhead, chalkboard, butcher paper, or PowerPoint display. Inner circle = discussion participants. Outer circle = listen and take notes. When one person on inner circle gives a response, he/she trades seats with someone in the outer circle. A student in the outer circle may ask an inner circle person to trade with them if they have something to say. The teacher may not add to the discussion unless in the inner circle.

17. Gallery Walk Students form pairs or trios. Teacher poses a series of questions on butcher paper (posted around the room). Pairs/trios talk about the questions, write answers on post-it notes or scraps of paper, then circulate around the room recording their answers on the large paper. Other answers may spark more ideas, so they may continue to add answers. Debrief class by asking them to synthesize what has been recorded. NOTE: for a more structured activity, assign each group a “station” and give them an allotted time to write. Then each group rotates to the next “station” where a new question awaits. Poster Sessions Before the poster session, require that all students submit 2-3 higher order questions about their project (to serve as a scavenger hunt). After a research project, a number of students set up their displays around the classroom. The student or team of students stands beside the poster ready to interact with those who rotate by. Other students rotate through the displays, looking for answers to their scavenger hunt. They may question the creator and/or read the display.

18. Tasks Using Fancy Thinking Skills Skill #1: Observation; Gaining information about an object or an event by using your senses. Skill #2: Inference; Making statements about an observation that provide a reasonable explanation. Skill #3: Classifying; Sorting objects or ideas into groups based on similar properties. Skill #4: Measuring; Determining distance, volume, mass, or time by using instruments that measure these properties (such as centimeter sticks, graduated cylinders, scales, stop watches). Skill #5: Recording Data; Writing down (in words, pictures, graphs, or numbers) the results of observations of an object or an event. Skill #6: Predicting; Guessing what the outcome of an event will be on the basis of observations and, usually, prior knowledge of similar events. Skill #7: Comparing & Contrasting; Discovering similarities and differences between objects or events. Skill #8: Planning an Investigation; Determining a reasonable procedure that could be followed to test an idea (listing the materials needed, writing out the procedure to be followed, and identifying which variables will be kept the same and which will be changed). Mix-Freeze-Group Teacher creates a key with a list of answers with numerical values; example: –legislative branch = 2 –executive branch = 3 –judicial branch = 4 –none of the above = 5 –all of the above = 6 Teacher poses a question. Students mix around the room until the music stops. Then they form a group that corresponds to the appropriate number of the answer. (ie. Q. They make laws. A. Students form groups of 2.)