It’s always a thrill for me when two unrelated ideas merge in my brain and then out pops an idea I wasn’t expecting. This happened to me the other day! The idea has to do with using pairs of picture cards or word cards for quickly partnering students. For the younger crowd, you could use cards showing opposites, rhyming pairs, beginning sounds, and so on. For the older crew, you could use cards featuring synonyms, antonyms, separated compound words, states and capitals, and the list goes on. In addition to a quick pairing of students, a bit of skill review takes place too!
What are your favorite ideas for partnering students?
Have a great Monday!
Diane
I like splitting the boys and girls into two groups. The boys turn their backs, and the girls write their name on a piece of paper, crumple it up and throw it to the middle of the room. The boys then go and grab one of the pieces of paper. I have great success with this, it creates random grouping and the students are generally happy to work with someone they don’t have to choose, or be chosen by.
I like to split the class in half, then have the students find their match. Depending on the theme, we match apples, pumpkins, gingerbread men, hearts, etc., with different designs on them.
I also like to have half of the class hold index cards with numbers while the other side holds index cards with dots — like the numbers on a die.