Strategies for forming groups
Use the following techniques to form groups. Don't forget to establish
a "Lost and Found" for students who can't find a group; this will speed
up the grouping process and eliminate potential embarrassment.
• Apps: Team Shake and Who's Next.
• Barnyard: Students are given a list of
animals to imitate. Students imitating
the same animal become groups.
• Blind Draft: Captains pick teams but do
not know which team they will captain.
• Canoe: Students form groups by sitting
single file as if they were in a canoe.
• Categories: Use categories or
questions to create groups such as
height, birth month, eye color, etc.
Repeat until you are happy with the
groups.
• Corner Up: Students stand in two lines
which create an "L" shape. Fold the
lines to assign partners.
• Criteria: Give students specific criteria
for choosing their own groups.
• Deception: Students are in two lines
facing each other. Instead of partnering
with the person across from them,
assign them the 1st person to their
right/left (or 2nd, 3rd, etc).
• Goes Together: Students are given a
list of words that go together, with each
student choosing 1 item. For example:
peas and carrots, peanut butter and
jelly, etc. Students who yell out peas
must find the carrots and so on.
• Half and Half: Each student picks a
partner and then the teacher combines
pairs to form larger groups.
• Popsicle Sticks: Write student names
on popsicle sticks. Randomly pull sticks
to form groups.
• Matching - Stickers, Name Tags,
Colors, Cards, etc: Use objects to
create groups. For example, students
are grouped by the suit on their poker
card.
• Mingle Mingle: When the teacher says
"mingle mingle," students circulate in a
small space. The teacher then calls out
a grouping such as "Toe to toe with 2
other people." Repeat until you are
happy with the groups.
• Scenarios: Students first pick a
partner. Then give them a scenario
such as "You and your partner have to
cross a river but only one of you can
take a boat. Who will swim and who will
use the boat?" Group all of the students
who chose boat together and all of the
students who picked swim together.
• Splitting Groups: Ask students to
get into groups. Then have 1
student from each group raise their
hand and combine those with their
hands raised. Repeat with the
remaining students in each group.
• Stand or Sit: Students pick a
partner. They then choose one
person to stand and one person to
sit. All sitters are a team, all
standers are a team.
• Team Switching: You can easily
change already formed groups by
switching students from each group
that have something in common.
For example, "Who has a birthday
in March?" Students who have that
birthday switch place.