Last week we tried out a new class builder called Seeing Spots. The students were each given a color on their back and they had to form groups based on the color. Seems easy, but what made it challenging was that students couldn't talk. They had to be creative in how they helped their classmates know what color they had and the group they needed to join. I was so impressed with how my students worked together, stepped up into leadership roles, and silently encouraged their classmates. They completed the task in around five minutes.
After doing this class builder, I began thinking about other ways that I could use this idea. Cue math class! We have been working with fractions and have recently begun adding fractions with different denominators. In order to do that, students need to be able to create equivalent fractions with different sized parts. I decided that I was going to challenge my students to form groups using a similar idea to Seeing Spots. The students were each given a different fraction on their back. Each fraction was equivalent to 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, or 3/4. The students were tasked with getting into groups of equivalent fractions. Once again, they could not talk. This time, they were allowed to use a white board or notebook so that they could model their partner's fraction. No one was allowed to tell their partner what there fraction was, they were only allowed to model it on an area model or number line. I was so impressed with what I saw!
The results were just as successful as with the original class builder. Students stepped up to help others, leaders emerged, and EVERYONE was excited to see their class succeed. In fact, the students were ASKING for us to do this activity again using a different math task. I might just have to give them what they've asked for :).
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