Building a Thinking Classroom Together: November

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From Becky R. in Southern Minnesota, 

I understand the idea of visible random grouping. What is the best way to manage new groups every day? Do you still recommend random grouping when a sub is there?

Random groups can seem overwhelming, but there are ways that you can help manage it. 

I like to use cards to randomly assign groups. From a standard deck, I have a card taped to the board indicating which group is stationed there. The remaining three cards are in a deck that I use to hand out to students. I also have a “pocket” on each board to collect their cards. (I found it annoying to waste time collecting cards from students while they were working on the tasks). 

Once I take attendance and know how many students I have in class, I remove the necessary cards from the deck, shuffle them, and then hand them out. I have also spent the last couple weeks training selected students to do this, which has its benefits. First, it means I can have them do it while I am busy with other things. Second, I can have them do it when there is a substitute teacher. 

There are other ways to assign random grouping, flippity.net is one popular one I hear often. Online ones are popular, especially for large class sizes, because you can quickly select attendance and then post it immediately, with much less movement around the class to distribute the cards. 

I definitely still do random grouping and work at the boards when I have a substitute. I make sure to leave a way for students to be able to check their work and maybe even a solution key for the students to reference if they really get stuck. Having a substitute doesn’t allow for all of the teacher moves, but it still keeps them engaged and learning. I might do half the class at the boards and the other half working on check-your-understanding questions.

***If you have a question about the Thinking Classroom, or if you have a story or success that you would like to share, please:

  • Email me at jstrom@win-e-mac.k12.mn.us. 
  • In the subject line, please put “Building Thinking Classrooms Together” or “BTCT”. 
  • Let me know 
    • how to refer to you (name, location, anonymous…)
    • what grade level you teach 

Until next time, keep on building! Together we will build a generation of thinkers.

Jessica Strom
Win-E-Mac School
MCTM High School Vice-President