LDK #8-Use Grouping to YOUR Advantage  

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Students in our classes usually have mixed abilities.
Using small groups well allows, and challenges, the students who know the material to teach the students who don’t know it yet.  The higher level students thus become teachers, and review and refine what they know.  The lower level students also feel less stress and anxiety from being instructed by a peer, rather than by a teacher.
Some groupings used in EigoNoto.com activities include:


  • all-class
  • seat partners
  • small groups (usually 3 or 4 students)
  • paired rows
  • moving pairs.
There are many considerations when choosing a group size. Some of these include:
  • How much time will students actually get to use the language, both productively and receptively?
  • Will one grouping work better than another to motivate students to use the target langauge (pairs will often do this better than whole group).
  • Will students become unfocused and off-task if given too much freedom? Having a clear pattern of movement and another student waiting can help a lot in this situation (paired rows).

(See also Making Group Work Work.)

Go to the last post in the Lesson Development Keys series.

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