Spatial Requirements: Regular classroom setup: little or no space required
Activity Type: Movement/group
Grades: 2-12
Group Size: 8 or more
Time: 10 minutes
Introduction: Getting plugged in can be as simple as working together and combining our efforts to accomplish more than we could individually. The phrase, “Two heads are better than one” is especially true when brainstorming for solutions to problems. This activity will help students see that much more can be accomplished when we combine brainpower.
Materials:
- Timer
- 1 piece of paper per student
- 1 pen or pencil per student
- Lists of words (These can be found at the link above.)
Activity:
Print the three lists of words ahead of time, or prepare your own to match the age group of your students. The first list should have fifteen words, the next list twenty words, and the last list should have thirty words on it. Make sure the lists are on separate sheets of paper to display on an Elmo. You might also copy them onto large pieces of chart paper.
Give students a piece of paper and explain that they will have thirty seconds to study a list of words. They are not allowed to write during that time. After the time is up, the list will be taken away, and they are to write as many of the words as they can remember. After giving students time to write, put the list back up and have them count how many words they remembered.
For the second list, have each person find a partner. Each partnership will have one piece of paper and one writing utensil, but both team members will give input.
For the third list, repeat the process but have them work in groups of four. They will still only use one piece of paper with one person doing the writing, but everyone will contribute.
Processing the Experience:
- What techniques did you use to remember when you worked alone? With a partner? With a group?
- In which setting were you most successful?
- How does this activity show that working together helps increase our abilities?
- How does working together improve our results?
- What can we do if we want to complete a job faster or better?