THINK/PAIR/SHARE
(Kindling)

OBJECTIVE: Students’ prior knowledge on an upcoming topic is activated so that students begin to relate social studies concepts and issues to their own lives.

MATERIALS:
For the teacher: a chart or bulletin board to record students’ answers
For the students: paper and pencil

PLANNING: There is very little planning needed. It can be done on the spur of the moment. The only real choice you have to make is how to assign partners. Think about using it when:

1. Students have some prior knowledge or experience about the concept or the information.

2. You have a picture, a poem, or an experience to provide students to think about.

STEPS OF THE MODEL

SET

For a #1 type of Think/Pair/Share, Say, "I think our class already knows some important things about today's topic, so I want you each to make a list that you will turn in to me at the end of the lesson for an automatic "A" for good effort(accountability). Do not outline the whole process for the students--that will just be tedious.

For a #2 type of Think/Pair/Share, Say,"I want to hear your thinking about this (picture, poem, experience) so that we can learn from all of the great thinkers in our class. Start by making a list of (questions, inferences, words, memories, colors, etc.) on your own and then we'll share. I will collect this list and everyone who makes a good effort will earn an automatic "A."

LESSON

  1. FOCUS: Ask students to list the words or phrases you want in answer to your question. For example, say, "Girls and boys, I want each of you to write all the cities that you have really visited here in California." or "What questions do you have about this picture?"
  2. INTERNALIZE: Give students time to think about the question.
  3. RESPONSE: Ask students to write multiple responses individually. If students aren’t used to doing this, circulate and read some students’ responses aloud with approval.
  4. EXCHANGE: Have students compare responses with a partner. Especially with older students, give them some task, such as underlining or starring similar responses to keep students on task. 
  5. SHARE: Call on every student or pair at least once. All students can give a new response, or say that their ideas are already recorded. List ALL ideas that students generate, within reason. After all have shared you can ask for more answers that no one has yet offered. This final sharing makes students want to do Kindling the next time, because everyone’s ideas are honored. It is a vital step.
  6. (Not always, but usually) Do something meaningful with your class list. Possiblities: students classify by grouping, they select their favorites and tell why, they write about the topic using the information or vocabulary, they are assigned to answer the questions that were generated, they create riddles or crossword puzzles, they use the information to create a sequence or time line, they pick some they knew and some they didn't know, etc.
  7. Collect the lists (and the work generated from #6). You might ask for a metacognitive response on their papers, such as, "What did you learn from this activity?" 

EVALUATION: For the Think/Pair/Share portion--the list--grade for process only. You collect the papers and give them all "full credit" if they have some number of ideas that you may have stipulated. The papers are just proof of each student’s involvement and thinking processes. Your real process evaluation is monitoring the quantity and quality of oral responses. If you do #6, you can assess and/or grade that in any way you think most helpful.

NOTE; I use this strategy instead of Brainstorming, because more students get involved and the result is even better. I also use it for the "K" part of KWL.

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