Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures- My Top Five!

Today I want to share with you some cooperative learning structures that I use in my classroom and absolutely love. They are great to use anytime, but they sure come in handy during testing season when you have a lot to review! 

If you haven't heard of them before, Kagan has come up with ingenious "structures" to increase engagement, practice social skills, and provide academic practice all at the same time. They use the term "structure" rather than activity or game because they really are very structured. Each one is designed to maximize engagement and provide a structured opportunity to use social skills. Rather than just "working together," each student has a role in the structure. 

My kids enjoy the structures and ask for them by name! How great is that? I truly would be lost without them! I've put together a list of the top five structures that I use most often to share with you. 

So here we go!

First up and my absolute favorite- Quiz-Quiz-Trade! 

(I have blogged about this before you can read about it more in detail here). 

Materials Needed:

 Quiz Quiz Trade Cards

You can make cards out of anything. I have some fancy ones that I have typed up and enhanced with clip art and some that are hand written and falling apart. Whatever works! The cards need a question on one side and the answer to the question on the other side. Each side needs to be labeled with 'Question' or 'Answer' for clarity.

How it Works:

Quiz-Quiz-Trade is an active structure in which students stand up, partner up, and quiz each other with questions. It seems simple at first glance, but social skills are embedded in the structure. :) 

1. Students find a partner, high five them and say, "Hi, partner!"

2. Student one quizzes student two using the question on their card. They hold the question side of the card to their partner and keep the answer side facing them. If the partner answers correctly, they receive a praise. If they answer incorrectly, they get a tip. 

3. Student two quizzes student one using the same process described above. 

4. When both students have quizzed and answered, they high-five and say, "Bye, partner!" and they find a new partner. 

This structure is my absolute go-to. It's easy, quick, gets the kids moving, and allows me to get some good informal data by listening and observing. It's also great to use in times of transition and when materials need to be passed out or taken up. I honestly could not live without it!  

I sometimes use this structure as a class builder. I throw in some get-to-know-each-other-questions and leave the answer side off. The students learn a lot about their classmates this way! 

Showdown 

Materials Needed: 

-Question Cards (1 set per team) OR 

-paper and pencil or dry erase boards and markers

Like the Quiz-Quiz-Trade cards, these can be simple or fancy. It's best to have some sort of answer key for the team to use to check for accuracy. 

How It Works:

Showdown is a team activity. Students work alone to answer a question and then have "show down" with their team to share their work and discuss. 

1. Teams stack their question cards in the middle of the table face down. 

2.  One partner is designated the Showdown Captain for the round. They flip over the top card revealing the quesiton to the team. 

3. All teammates read the question and record their answers on their recording document (dry erase board or paper). Students keep their recording documents hidden from their teammates' view and there is no talking during this time. 

4. When the showdown captain notices that all students are finished, they call "Showdown!" All team members show their answers to their teammates. 

5. Teams discuss their answers and must come to an agreement on one answer. (This creates some great conversation!)

6. The Showdown Captain checks the teams' answer for accuracy using the answer key. If correction is needed, the team corrects. If not, the team celebrates! 

7. The role of Showdown Captain rotates around the table so each team member has that opportunity. 

I love this strategy because all students are engaged and it creates some wonderful discussion. Because each team member must show their answers to their teammates, it creates a subtle sense of urgency and responsibility but still allows for coaching and correction. The teams are completely independent once they learn the structure, so it frees you up to listen in, observe, or correct and reteach as needed. 

This is also a great way to differentiate. You can easily create a different set of question cards for each group.

Before the students attempt this structure, it helps to discuss some phrases your students can use when they disagree. Phrases like, "Can you explain your thinking please?" or "What evidence do you have to support your answer?" can help students clarify their thinking and defend or sometimes change their answers. I never want a student to just write an answer and not give a genuine effort. My students know that their classmates and I will be questioning their answers- even if they are correct! 

Another bit of advice- if your students are lacking on social skills, this structure needs to be highly monitored. Be as proactive as you can and provide the students with words or phrases for problems you anticipate. Simple phrases like, "I disagree" or "I solved it this way" can help ease those tension-filled moments when students disagree. When you are just starting out, keep the questions basic. As the students  become more familiar with the structure and improve their coaching skills, you can increase the rigor.

Numbered Heads Together

Materials Needed: 

-Teacher-created questions to project to class

You can use written questions, oral questions, or questions or problems you have typed from the computer. PowerPoint is my best friend for this structure

-Something for students to write on

Dry erase boards work best for this, but pencil and paper works also

-Visible numbers for students

Arrange your students in groups and they will number off. So, in a group of 4 students you will have a number 1, a number 2, a number 3, and a number 4. You can use smaller or larger groups as needed. 

How it Works:

This structure is very similar to Showdown, but is a whole class activity. 

1. The teacher gives a question or problem to be answered. 

2. All students in the team answer the question on their own recording document making sure no other teammates can see their answers as they are working. No talking during this time! (We hold our boards in our arms)

3. When all teammates have recorded their answers, the teacher says, "Heads together!" 

4. All students share their answers and discuss, correct, coach, or celebrate. The team must agree on one answer. 

5. When an answer has been decided, all students erase their answers or flip their papers over if writing on paper. 

6. The teacher calls on a particular number. The student with that number from each group stands. The teacher decides how they want the selected students to respond. All students can answer at the same time, one of the students can answer, the students can rewrite their responses on their recording document, it's up to you! 

7. A new question is given and the steps repeat! 

This structure is great for those concepts that the whole class needs practice with.  It's different than Showdown because it adds the additional layer of sharing answers in front of the whole class. Even if a student originally gives an incorrect answer, they can still correct it during the team discussion and it takes away the anxiety of sharing wrong answer with the entire class. 

Because this structure requires students to agree, they will need some phrases to use when they disagree. These structures are wonderful teaching moments for politeness, handling frustration, expressing disagreement, etc. Lots of teachable moments! 

I love using this structure with vocabulary- especially shades of meaning and choosing precise language. We have had some very deep discussions! I also love that you can use this structure any time. We keep our dry erase boards and supplies in our desks so they can be pulled out in a few seconds. I can give a question orally and we are off! It's a great time filler when you have those awkward five or ten minutes when an activity finishes up faster than you anticipated. 

Fan-N-Pick

Materials Needed:

-Question cards with an answer key

-Optional: role cards with descriptions for students

How it Works:

Fan-N-Pick is a card game teams of students play together. Each member has a very specific role, so until the students feel comfortable with the roles, it helps to have them visible. We use a mat that came out of the Kagan Cooperative Learning Book.

1. Student #1 fans the cards to student #2 and says, "Pick a card, any card!"

2. Student #2 chooses a card and reads the card aloud. 

3. Student #3 answers the question aloud to the group. 

4. Student #4 checks the answer for accuracy and gives coaching if needed or a praise if the answer is correct. 

5. The roles rotate clockwise. Student #1 gives the cards to student #2 who fans for student #3 and so on. 

This structure does take some practice. Kagan developed these handy Fan-N-Pick mats that give brief descriptions of each role and then can simply be turned when the roles rotate. 

The students love this structure mostly because they get to use a silly voice to say, "Pick a card, any card." It's the small things! I love it because it provides great practice and everyone is engaged!  Each member has a specific role, so no one can sit out. 

This is another structure that's great to use as a class builder. Use generic get-to-know-you questions and change the role of the checker so they have to restate what the student who answered said and it serves a new purpose!

Rally Robin

Materials Needed: 

None- just an oral prompt given by the teacher!

How it Works:

Rally Robin is a partner activity that is similar to an oral tennis match. 

1. Pairs of students face each other.

2. The teacher gives an oral prompt or question. 

3. Students alternate giving answers as quickly as possible, back and forth, back and forth. 

This is one of my favorite structures to review math skills. I can simply say, Rally Robin- start at 50 and count by fourths and off they go! It's great for skip counting, rhyming words, giving examples of words with a certain prefix or suffix, synonyms, etc. It gets students talking, they love to challenge themselves to see how fast they can go, and it's great practice. Best of all- it's no prep, quick, and easy! 

Well there you have it! These structures are truly a part of our classroom culture. We use them every single day. I can guarantee that when we do a structure the whole class is engaged and that makes my heart happy! I honestly cannot imagine teaching without them!

If you would like more information about Kagan, check out THEIR WEBSITE. They even have a new mini-book focusing just on their structures!

(This picture is not linked to the website. Click HERE 

 HERE to be taken there)

Have a great Thursday!

Place Value Quiz-Quiz-Trade... and a Bit of Blog Sickness

Hiiiii!!!!

I'm sure you are super surprised to see my blog name pop up on your blog reel- it's been weeks- WEEKS- since I have blogged and I miss it terribly!! My living situation at the moment is less than ideal, and the internet connection is spotty, which means most nights I can't read my blogs and I especially can't blog myself. I'm learning to cope with my blog sickness, but of course I had an all-out meltdown first! 

This weekend I'm hangin' with some awesome friends who totally understand my addiction and I'm bumming their internet for a few minutes to quickly post about something I whipped up for my kiddos to practice place value for the next three weeks. 

If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you probably know that I LOVE quiz-quiz-trade. It's just about the BEST thing ever and I use it daily.  It’s one of the very first things I teach my kids the first week of school and we use it at least twice a day, every day after. It’s perfect for getting kids up and out of their seat, reviewing whatever skills you want them to, AND as an added bonus, it’s a great way for them to practice social skills. If you have never heard of quiz-quiz-trade, check out my post about it here. 

Because I am self-contained this year (YAAAYYY!!!!) after only teaching language arts for the last three years, my supply of math-related QQT cards is limited. Enter: Place Value Quiz-Quiz-Trade Cards!

Normally, I don’t like to advertise products with the risk of my posts sounding commercial-like, but seeing as I’ve already missed out on blogging about my classroom set-up, meet-the-teacher night, and all of our first week goodness (and how long it would take me to cover all of that in a post), I’m skipping right to this!

I made five different sets of cards so we can start with the first set, which is just two-digit numbers, and work our way through the sets and up to the last set, which uses six-digit numbers. Then I'll mix up all the cards from the different sets so students get practice with small and large numbers. The cards could also be used as task cards and students could self-check or the cards could be used in a scoot-like activity with the answers cut off or folded out of sight. I love the versatility! 

The cards provide practice with determining the value of an underlined digit in a number,

naming the place of an underlined digit, 

and also converting a number from expanded form into standard form. 

I’m sure I’ll make more cards that cover other skills later in the year.

If your students could benefit from this product, leave me a comment below! The first two who comment will get this for free!! Make sure you include your e-mail address.  

If you miss out on getting it free, it will be on sale in my store for the next few days! 

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Labor Day weekend. Hopefully I'll be back soon! 

Teacher Fail Turned Victory... Sort Of!

I just have to share this funny story from today!

In May, I was lucky enough to visit the Ron Clark Academy and see the amazing Hope King in person. She taught a great session about games in the classroom and explained how she uses a game called Headbands. I just have to post the picture my friend and I took with her again. I was in complete teacher heaven!

The game is based on the popular board game, Headbandz. Hope adapted it to be used with vocabulary words and when I first heard her explain it, I had one of those, "Why didn't I ever think of that?" moments. Each small group had a large stack of index cards with vocabulary words written on them and one person would wear a headband. That person would load their headband with one vocabulary word at a time by putting the card in their band with the word facing the rest of the group. The other group members worked together to give clues so that headband wearer could guess the word they were showing. Hope set the timer for one minute and we tried to get our headband wearer to guess as many words as possible within that minute. It was a blast! I was so excited to try the "Headbands" game and but never had a chance at the end of the year last year.

Fast forward to this morning. I had the great idea to use the headband format but infuse it with Quiz-Quiz-Trade, one of my absolute favorite Kagan activities that we do each and every day. So I walk around and pass out one card to each student and explain how it will work. I tell them that they will put their word in their headband facing out and then they will stand up-hand up-pair up like normal, but instead of quizzing their partner with a question card, they will listen to their partner give them clues so that they can guess the word they have in their band. They won't trade cards like normal, but just leave their card in their headband and find a new partner. And I'm excited y'all. Like too excited. I've been waiting all summer to do this activity and I was pumped.

So, the kids put their one word in their headband and get with a partner. Then it hits me. Once they have guessed their word, they know what's on their card. And they know their partner's word, so they can't trade cards because the whole point is that you don't know what is on your card. I didn't give them any other words. Duh!!! The whole point of Quiz-Quiz-Trade is that it is a continuous process, where kids meet with multiple partners. So essentially, the whole essence of the Headbands idea was lost! I just had to laugh. I was so embarrassed!

After they figured out their words with their first partners, I had to quickly change my directions. The only thing I could come up with at that moment was that since they already knew their word, their new partners would have to give the definition of the word, which is just like what we do with a normal quiz-quiz-trade card anyway! However, it did turn out better than I expected. The kids still got good practice with our vocabulary words and used more language in the process because our normal cards typically provide the sentence frame or stem. It was just so stinkin' cute to see them walking around with those words on their heads, though! Check them out!

Reflecting back now, I could have had the kids go ahead and trade cards with their partner so at least they had a different word in their headband. Next time, though, I think I will give the kids a stack of at least five or six words so they can carry the words with them and switch their cards out after they meet with each partner. I'm sure there are more ways to make this work, but it was just so funny in the moment!

You live and learn!!!

Happy Wednesday!

Hello Engagement!!

After seeing Rachel's post on Facebook, I decided to write a quick description of one of my all-time favorite activities that works well for any subject at any part of the day.

Whenever you feel like the kids need a break, you need to transition, or you just need a breather, it's time to bust out the quiz-quiz-trade cards!

Quiz-Quiz-Trade is a strategy that was created by Kagan Cooperative Learning. You can check out their website here. They have written several grade specific and content specific books with loads of ideas on how to use cooperative learning in the classroom- and LOTS of resources already made! They are AMAZING!!! Every strategy is created with engagement AND social skills in mind.

Here's how it works:

Every kid in the class gets a card. One one side of the card is a question of some sort. You can really make this in any form. I have used elaborate cards with typed up questions with answer choices and I have also used cards with just a single vocabulary word - the choice is yours. On the other side of the card is the answer the the question or the definition if you choose to go the vocabulary route.

On your call, students stand up and hold their hands in the air. They find a partner and high-five them. They greet their partner by saying "Hi, partner." Did I mention this a great way to incorporate social skills??! Give students a cue about which person will quiz first- longer hair, taller partner, etc.

The partner who goes first holds the question side of their card out to their partner. The partner reads the question (or whatever information is included on the card) out loud and answers the question. If they answer the question incorrectly, I tell my students they must tip before they tell the answer. They must use phrases like, "Good try, try again, " or, "that was a good try, try again." When the partner gets the answer correct, the partner asking the question provides a praise. We made a poster of "Ways to Praise" that lists different ideas the students can choose from to praise their partner. The next partner then repeats the process by holding up their card, tipping if needed, and praising after an answer is provided.

After both partners have quizzed each other (hence the "quiz-quiz" part of the title), they trade cards. They then high-five their partner again, tell them "Bye, partner," put their hand in the air and move to find a new partner, taking their new card with them and repeating the process over and over until the signal is given to stop.

I cannot tell you how amazing this strategy is. The kids are 100% engaged and they can go at it for several minutes at a time. It is PERFECT for those pesky transition periods where you need to pass out materials, take up papers, or just take a second to breathe! You can do this with any content. It is so versatile!

I wish I had more pictures to share- I will try to take some tomorrow and share more resources!

I'm Back! Plus Place Value FREEBIES!

Happy Back-to-School!!

Wow, have I missed this little ol' blog of mine! It's crazy that it's been so long since my last post. If anyone is still reading this, here's what's been going on in my world!

I HAD A BABY!

I know, I still can't believe it. My little guy, Connor, is 6 weeks old and has just turned our world upside down- for the better! He was born on July 12 and our hearts have been so full ever since. I mean, isn't he just the cutest little thing you have ever seen?????!!!

I'M ON MATERNITY LEAVE!

This is even more crazy to me than having a baby, LOL! I'm sitting here, in my pajamas (and yes, it's 1:30 in the afternoon- don't judge) writing this post while my long term sub is holding down the fort at school. I'm not going to lie, I'm missing school. But, holding my sweet Connor and looking into his blue little eyes is the best thing in the world. Of course I had to go to Meet the Teacher Night and meet my new kiddos and help my sub get things set up, but other than that, I've really tried to keep my mind off of the day-to-day happenings at school. The control freak in me is chained up tightly, but she's a fighter and has to be constantly talked down. LOL. Each day gets easier and I'm learning to let go... slowly.

So, I thought now that I have some time on my hands- you know, those short little naps Connor takes during the day- I could get back into blogging! Maybe. We shall see.

I'M ONLY TEACHING MATH, SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES THIS YEAR!

Again, CRAZY! I never would have thought that I would not teach reading, but I had a tough year last year and needed a change. I LOVE teaching math and I love that it is much more concrete and visual than reading. Because I am focusing more on math, I'm really digging in and trying to learn more about how to develop number sense and teach more conceptually. I'm very excited!


Right now I'm reading the book Number Sense Routines by Jessica F. Shumway. It's full of awesome routines that are quick and powerful and I'm excited to try these when I return to the classroom in October.

I also found this awesome cursive math alphabet from Life in Room 406 that I love! It has great words for the letters and great visuals. I didn't have a chance to get it up in my room before the year started, but it will be up soon!

I obviously have been away from the blog scene for quite some time, so I don't have much new to offer. However, because place value is a concept commonly taught at the beginning of the year, I thought I would share some resources with you! Hopefully you can find something to benefit your students!

Place Value Quiz-Quiz-Trade- These cards cover naming the value of digits, naming places digits are in, and converting from expanded to standard form. They can be used as self-checking task cards as well! Pick up yours HERE! This will be on sale until I remember to change it! LOL!

Place Value Relationship Pack- This small resource has a recording sheet for students to use to record a number they are given and fill in the relationship statement, a lame little chant I made up :), and a set of 6 task cards. Get your FREE copy HERE!

Place Value Roll-Its These games use dice and playing cards. Students roll the die and follow the directions to practice a variety of skills. Two different versions of the game cover writing numbers in words, expanded form, and expanded notation, rounding to the nearest ten and hundred, comparing numbers, and decomposing numbers in different way. Get your FREE copy by clicking HERE!


Hopefully I will be able to post again soon!

Happy Beginning of a New Year!!

Playing Catch Up: What We've Been Up To PLUS Place Value, States of Matter, and Language Arts Products I LOVE!

Hi! I bet you're surprised to me pop up on your blog roll! 

I swear I am still alive and still teaching!  Life has just been crazy! After three years of only teaching language arts, diving back into math and science has been so much fun, but a lot of work! I’m enjoying every minute of it, but this little ol’ blog of mine has had to take a backseat.

I miss blogging and having the opportunity to look back over what we’ve done and share the things I’ve really enjoyed. So, because I have so much lost time to make up for, I’m going to attempt to hit the highlights over the last month. To make it a bit easier to navigate, I’ll divide up the sections into math, science, and language arts so you can jump right to a section that interests you and you can skip all the rest!

Math

I am absolutely in LOVE with teaching math! It’s a nice break from the world of language arts and my kiddos love it.

Several weeks ago we began our place value unit. We are now on to addition and subtraction, but I want to share a few things that I loved.

First up, to wrap up what we learned about place value, the kids went car shopping! I gave them newspaper ads for cars and they chose the car they wanted. Then they filled out this sheet to hit all those place value skills. The kids learned just how expensive cars are and some kids even expressed how surprised they were. This activity was a hit and one that we could repeat again. Click  HERE to get the recording sheet!

I also created a little place value review that we worked on before our unit test. I printed out the slides, hung them around the room, and the kids went on a scavenger hunt around the room to complete all the problems. If you are interested in this, send me an e-mail and I will send it to you! My internet is not letting me upload this and it's driving me nuts! 

I have some kiddos who were in need of a challenge. This Place Value Detectives Activity 

from Teaching With a Mountain View kept my kids challenged for several days. It was one of my favorite activities!

We have also been getting LOTS of use out of my Place Value Quiz Quiz Trade Cards  to review word form, standard form, and expanded form.

Science

Oh how I love teaching science!! I have been jealously observing the other teachers on my team for the last three years and anxiously awaited the day I would be able to teach it again! It has been so much fun!

We started out with a review of the states of matter. We used Hope King's As a Matter of Fact bundle and the kids ate it up!

We also did viscosity races one day to explore the property of viscosity. This wasn’t in Hope’s unit, but was great to add to our exploration!

 

And the highlight to wrap up the unit was the gas fireworks from Hope’s unit. I was shocked to see just how high that soda shot up in the air!!

Language Arts

I have been blessed with a class full of thinkers this year who just devour books. I have yet to have a class who loves reading the way that they do. It’s so refreshing, but challenging to find activities that will keep them engaged and thinking critically. Thankfully, I have my trusty Amanda Nickerson from One Extra Degree to help with this!

We have been using her Just Glue It!  journal prompts to respond to our reading and the kids have been doing a fabulous job. I love how the prompts are multi-question and use all of those higher-level thinking skills most products and activities lack. If you’re looking for a way to get some juicy responses from your kids, this is what you need!

I wish I would have taken pictures of some of the kids’ entries. They just made me smile! They especially enjoyed writing a letter to Prudy from Prudy’s Problem and How She Solved It (it’s in our Reading Street series) and giving her some “friendly advice.” She collected everything and eventually her room exploded from all the clutter! She solved her problem by creating a museum to showcase her collections, but to hear what the kids had to say to her about her choices to collect dog hair and gum wrappers just cracked me right up! I loved that the prompt also made them give Prudy credit for her good decisions, too. J

We have been knee-deep in our fiction unit and we've been using pieces from Nicole Shelby’s Interactive Reading Notebook and Interactive Language Notebook. The added element of cutting, gluing and coloring has done wonders for engagement! The kids actually look forward to taking notes when there's a little somethin' to glue in first!! 

 I didn’t even touch writing or social studies, but those things will have to wait for another day! My internet is really testing my patience! I have so much more things to share with you!!! 

I’m going to try to be better about blogging more often. I really do miss it, but my kiddos and my classroom have to come first! Hopefully I can find a way to better organize my time so that I actually have some time to blog! Suggestions anyone??! Any advice would be much appreciated!

I hope you all have had an amazing first of the year! I’ll be back soon (fingers crossed)!!