Random (and not-so-random) Groups

• Appointment Clocks

Group Size: Partners (2)
Preparation
Have students draw a circle on an index card and mark off 4 lines to represent 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 appointments.  Allow time for students to circulate the room, making an appointment for each of their four time slots.  For example, John and Mark both have 12:00 available.  Mark writes his name on John's card on the 12:00 line and John writes his name on Mark's 12:00 line.  They then each find other people to fill the remaining appointments. Double check that everyone has a partner for all four appointment times.  (Teacher can assist if a few students are missing partners.) When complete tape inside a notebook or store in another safe place.
Use
Select a time (12, 3, 6, or 9) and announce to the class.  Students check their appointment cards and work with their partner for the announced time.  If an uneven number of students, make one group of 3 or assign another job to a volunteer.
 
• Grouping Cards

Group Size: 2, 3, 4, or 5
Preparation
NOTE: This can be geared to any subject or grade level.  I teach math so all of my symbols and words relate to middle school math.  I know a 2nd grade teacher who used sight words.  You might use countries or famous people or dates if you teacher history; authors or novels or parts of speech if you teach English.  It's not so important what you use, but it can be just another little lesson waiting to happen.  It's helpful to make a list of your symbols or words before beginning, to avoid duplication.  You also have the opportunity for 5-6 different group situations/possibilities, so if you use partners frequently, you may use two of these spots for partners; or if you use groups of four more often, you may want two spots for quads, rather than just one.

You will need as many index cards as you have students.  (When I made my set, I made it with 35 cards, well more than I'd need that year, but more than I thought I'd ever need.)  Start with two cards.  In the upper left corner of both cards, make the symbol (I used a +).  Take two more cards, this time putting a different symbol in the upper left corner of both cards (I used a -).  (So now you have two cards with + and two cards with -.)  Continue making pairs of cards until your pile is exhausted.  (I color coded mine, so that all my pairs were in red ink, my trios were in blue, quads in purple, etc.)
Shuffle the pile very well.  (The ultimate goal is to have each card be unique from every other in the pile.)

Take three cards and make a symbol in the upper right hand corner.  Take three more and make a different symbol. Continue until all are used.

Move to the lower left, and do four cards at a time.  Then the lower right, and use five cards at a time.  The center of the front and back can also be used.  I found it helpful to make a key as to which corner is which sized group.  (I also made a note to myself about how I handled "left overs."  For example, when I did the quads, since my set has 35 cards, I noted which symbol will make a group of five.)

Laminate for durability!!!
 
 
 
 

Sample Cards

½                                 + Euclid >                                  a	½                                  - Pythagoras !                                   b
¼                                 - Aristotle >                                  c	¼                                  / Euclid !                                   x
¾                                 * Pythagoras >                                  x	¾                                  ÷ Eratosthenes !                                    a
fractions (pairs)                                 operations (pairs) mathematicians (5's) symbols (3's)                                             variables (4's)

Use
Decide upon a group size.  Sort through the deck and select enough cards for each student to have one.  Be sure to pick cards all the cards from a particular group.  As an example, using the cards above, if I had four students and want them in pairs, I might pick both ½ cards and both ¼ cards. Shuffle and distribute randomly.  Announce to the class which symbol to look at and match up with their groups.  *If there are students in your class who can not work together, hand cards to students individually, keeping as  random as possible, but be certain that the warring kids end up in different groups.

Students can hold on to their cards, but it's more fun to get a different card each time.  Students learn to work with all types of people!
 
 

• Color Coded Binder Clips

I purchased a pack of five color binder clips at Staples for about $3.  Since I teach 5 classes a day, each class is color coded (I do it in rainbow order so I don't have to think! White is first period, red is second, yellow is third, etc.)  There are also several of each color, so it's easy to have multiple assignments on my desk at once.  They keep papers secure and at a glance I can identify which class belongs with which pile!  (For elementary teachers, you might give each subject a color.  Red for reading, blue for math, etc.)
 
• Journals

Each class has its own crate for storing journals in my classroom (less chance they'll be left in lockers!)  Students use marble composition notebooks for their journals.  I wrote last names on file folder labels, color coding by class.  These labels were placed on the spine of the notebook and covered with packing tape for durability.  At the bottom of the spine, I placed one of five colored stars (gold, silver, red, blue, or green, randomly assigned to each journal by taking the next one on the sheet and putting it on the next one in the pile.)  The star was also covered in packing tape for durability.

This system allows students to quickly locate their journal by narrowing down the pile according to star color and then looking for their name.  Since the books are stored spine-up in the crates, there is little movement needed.

The stars are also an efficient way for me to read journals.  Instead of being overwhelmed with 120 journals at a time, I am able to take a cross section for each entry and give immediate feedback.  For example: On Monday, I will read all the red stars in each of my five classes.  I don't get to everyone that day, but I get a sample from each class and know if they understood the lesson.  On Tuesday, I will read all the green stars, but will read two entries (one from Monday and one from Tuesday).  In the long run, I am still reading all entries for each student, so it's the same amount of work.  This just seems to be a more efficient way to manage "the pile."








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