Teachers - masters of finding new tricks each year because the group of kids and their needs change each year!
This year's trick: Taking turns to solve math problems!
Example below: Long division
The students are holding their markers up so you can see what color they had - this is because they took turns in solving the problem on their group white board. They can see what part they did by looking for their color.
My favorite part: this game was done in complete silence!
Rules:
1 - you must watch the members of your group solve their part of the problem so that you can catch any mistakes and so that you know what you are doing when it is your turn.
2 - if you catch a mistake, you cannot speak, so you must fix it when it comes to your turn.
3 - you must check your work with multiplication when you are finished
4 - you must take turns
5 - if someone is stuck when it is their turn, the next group member may help them by doing one part of the step to get them started.
I could NOT believe how successful this was in my class this year! Long division was like torture for this group, until they were responsible for a part of a problem in a team and they knew their team would be expecting their work to be done right! Amazing how hard they work when their team depends on them! They actually took responsibility for their learning because their team members were holding them accountable!
Sometimes it's okay if it is not always the teacher holding everyone accountable for everything...sometimes we can let them hold one another accountable! Just like we, as adults, care about doing our work properly around our peers.
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