Think, Ink, Pair, Share
This is a great co-operative strategy for getting students to access prior knowledge, think out loud, and work collaboratively with a partner to brainstorm ideas. This works well as a follow up to a lecture or activity, or as an opening activity that tests student attitudes and prior knowledge. The teacher gives students a time limit for each step and watches the clock to ensure that the activity goes quickly and stays focused.
1. Think: Students brainstorm ideas based off of any prompt you would like to give them. Possible examples include: What would you have done differently in that situation? What do you know about Christopher Columbus? How many different ways can you think of to say hello? Compare the pros and cons of..." and almost any other prompt you would like to pick student's brains about.
2. Ink: Students jot down a list of the ideas they came up with in step 1. This can be done on a post it note, scrap paper, or a laptop. It is a way to keep track of ideas, not a finished product.
3. Pair: Give students a minute or two to compare their list with their neighbor. Then have the students make a master list that has all of the ideas they came up with, plus any new ideas that they inspire in each other.
4. Share: Go around the room and have each group contribute one idea to the class discussion. Make a list of all the ideas the class generates. Then see if this leads to even more brainstorming as students respond to their peers' ideas. Use the results of this activity as a segue into your next activity, or a whole group discussion.
1. Think: Students brainstorm ideas based off of any prompt you would like to give them. Possible examples include: What would you have done differently in that situation? What do you know about Christopher Columbus? How many different ways can you think of to say hello? Compare the pros and cons of..." and almost any other prompt you would like to pick student's brains about.
2. Ink: Students jot down a list of the ideas they came up with in step 1. This can be done on a post it note, scrap paper, or a laptop. It is a way to keep track of ideas, not a finished product.
3. Pair: Give students a minute or two to compare their list with their neighbor. Then have the students make a master list that has all of the ideas they came up with, plus any new ideas that they inspire in each other.
4. Share: Go around the room and have each group contribute one idea to the class discussion. Make a list of all the ideas the class generates. Then see if this leads to even more brainstorming as students respond to their peers' ideas. Use the results of this activity as a segue into your next activity, or a whole group discussion.