1-3-6
Use this 1-3-6 protocol to create a forum for students to develop their own ideas and opinions about an article(s) or real life problem and share their ideas and opinions with a group.
- Give students an article to read or real world problem to solve.
- Have students write their responses to the article or solution to the problem.
- Have students move into groups of three where they share their ideas with the group. Have each group cluster their ideas together and write a list of them on chart paper.
- Join groups of three together to make groups of six. Again, have the students share their ideas in groups of six.
- Have the group of six write a list of their ideas and bring them together and clarify the list from the groups of three.
- Ask each group of six to share their list with the whole group.
The Wagon Wheel
Use the Wagon Wheel to stimulate powerful thinking among students and to create vivid images of a new idea in action.
- Based on the articles or real life problems you want the students to discuss, create 4 questions about the topic to explore.
- Depending on the number of students, place an equal amount of chairs in the center of the wheel back-to-back and the same amount of chairs on the outside of the wheel facing the chairs in the center. (see graphic)
- Before students get into the wheel, have them read the article or the real-life scenario.
- Have students fill in the seats in the wheel. Provide them with a note taking form to write their ideas as well as their partners.
- The students on the outside of the wheel will be moving one seat to the right at each rotation; students on the inside will remain in their seats.
- Explain that they will be discussing the questions with each partner for about 10 minutes.
- Have students begin the discussion with their first partner. Have participants in the outside rotate every 10 minutes.
- Once the students in the outside wheel return to their first partner, stop the rotation and bring them back to the whole group. Ask them to write to summarize their discussions from the wagon wheel.
- Have a whole group discussion about the topic and the questions explored during the wagon wheel.
Collaboration- One of the 4 C's
While collaboration is one of the 4 Cs for 21st-century education, it doesn't happen overnight. Here are 5 tips to get you started:
- Model what you expect- Model good listening, paraphrasing, compromise and asking questions.
- Teach them to be active listeners- Show them what good listeners look like and set expectations from the beginning.
- Establish group norms- Having students develop the norms adds buy-in and accountability.
- Teach them how to ask good questions- Brainstorm a list of questions and decide as a group what makes a question a good one.
- Start small- This type of work takes time, patience and practice.
As testing fast approaches, take a moment to reflect on all the progress your students have made this year and celebrate them! We cannot wait to celebrate our scholars at school as we plan for the First Quarter Honor Roll Assembly in the upcoming weeks! Stay tuned for more information in the near future.
