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Sunday, September 11, 2016

Engagement Strategies: Four Corners


This is the second post in my blog series on quick & easy engagement strategies that can be used for any lesson, starting tomorrow! You can check out the first post here.

Engagement strategy #2 is four corners

What is it: In this strategy, number the corners of your classroom 1, 2, 3 & 4. *you don't have to physically number them - just tell the students which is which* Students will move to a corner of a room depending on their answer to a question.

How to use it: Pose a question and give 4 answers. Assign each answer a corner. The question can be unrelated to the lesson. Students then move to the corner that matches with their answer. Once they're there, give them something to discuss or do as a group or in pairs.

How I used it this year: I asked a random question and gave 4 choices. (What sport do you like best: (1) soccer, (2) baseball, (3) gymnastics, (4) other). They moved to the corner of their choice. Once they were there I posed a question related to our lesson on science tools. Example: which science tool do you like the most? Which tool have you used in the past? They discussed the question with someone in the same corner. I had a couple of students share out. Then I asked a new random question, they moved corners and I posed a different question related to our science lesson. We repeated this a few times.

Why it works: Students are standing and moving which helps with engagement. It also forces them to work with various people without you having to be the one to choose pairs. Finally, it allows the students choice in where they move and they love when the questions reveal new information about them.

Bonus tip: If you end up with only 1 student in a corner have them pair up with someone else. Give them a short amount of time to choose a corner and move. I would count down and they had to be in the corner by the time I finished counting or I chose a corner for them.

Your turn! Comment below how you've used this strategy. 

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