Partnering

I've gotten into the bad habit of letting my students pick their own partners for assignments and projects over the past few weeks.  Here's what happens.

• The high-achievers pick other high-achievers and end up finishing a full half-hour before the others.
• The low-achievers pick other low-achievers and never get started.
• Trouble-makers pick other trouble-makers and prevent everyone around them from starting and/or finishing.

So - here are some successful solutions I've come up with.

PARTNER CARDS - At the beginning of a unit when I know we'll be doing a lot of partner work, I copy THESE onto cardstock and have kids fill out partner cards. It takes a little bit of time and a LOT of explanation to get set up, but it makes finding partners really easy when it comes time for an assignment.

Instruct the students to find a partner they would like to work with at some point during the unit/month/year. Students trade cards and write their own name on their partners card in same space . It's important that the students look for partners one space at a time.  Kids get excited and they tend to rush into chaos if not explicitly instructed.  Here's how I do it to make sure each student gets a good mix of kids on their partner lists.

1. "Find someone who you consider a friend in class for space #1. You have thirty seconds. Go!"
2. "Find a partner who is someone you don't know very well for space #2. You have thirty seconds. Go!"
3. "Find a partner who you've never worked with before for space #3. You have thirty seconds. Go!"
4. "Find someone who is wearing similar colors to you today for space #4. You have thirty seconds. Go!"
5. "For space #5, find a partner who has the same eye color as you. Thirty seconds. Go!"
6. "For space #6, find another friend who is not already on your list. Thirty seconds, as usual and then back to your seats. Go!"

After everyone has picked their six, all you need to do to pick partners is roll a dice! The kids will mix it up, but still feel ownership over their partner. After all, they DID choose them...

FIND THE MATCH - Sometimes it's fun just to mix it up. I copied and laminated THESE cards and pass them out randomly for partner tasks.  Students have to find their "other half".  Spongebob/Patrick, Hammer/Nail, Timon/Pumba, etc.

This usually comes with a few moments of confusion and laughter, but the kids love looking for their new friend!

Buddy Test Prep

Is it just me, or did end-of-year testing come WAY too early this year? Since when is May 3rd the end of the year? And if it is ... what am I supposed to do for four more weeks? 

When I received the news - I immediately went into panic mode trying to squeeze the rest of my required math curriculum into my schedule. Through some miracle - I had FOUR DAYS left for review.

Two days were set aside for the MATHEMATICAL DECATHLON and I chose to spend the other two days with a practice test.  I used UTIPS to create a practice test with problems that would be similar to those found on the end-of-the-year Sixth Grade CRT Test.

CLICK HERE to download a copy of the 6th Grade Practice Test.

I used the BUDDY TEST PREP system that I downloaded from TpT online to make the Practice Test seem a little more interesting.  I don't know what it is, but kids seem more excited when crayons or markers are involved...


Here's how it works: (credits to Laura Candler)

1. Students take a multiple choice test (any subject will work!) on their own.  They check their answers and circle their answers in BLUE. 
2. Students meet with a partner to review their answers.  Students can use notes and references and tutor each other.  If a student wants to change his answer, he can - as long as marks his changes in PURPLE.
3. As a class and directed by the teacher, students check their own papers.  They use GREEN to mark correct answers and RED to mark incorrect answers.  
4. Students review their tests in terms of how many items they were able to answer correctly ON THEIR OWN, WITH HELP, and how many items they answered incorrectly. 

CLICK HERE to download the Buddy Test Prep documents.

This worked fabulously because my students took responsibility over their own learning without the discouragement or pressure of answering incorrectly.  Most of my students only missed three or four out of 45 questions - but most of them changed answers after meeting with a partner.