I love elegant solutions, and that is the reason I love doing this. What seems on the surface to be just a different way to get some grammar done has a variety of things going on. First, I find out how your kids work together. I watch as one or two people take the leadership role and who follows along. And who does not. I watch as the new kids speak up and find their part in the group's goal.
Teachers know (or those who pay attention to research!) that kids learn far better from other kids than they do us.
sigh
All that talking we think is so important is, but when they can hear it from each other, they actually remember it.
double sigh.
That means that any time I can get them to teach each other, in a controlled situation, I am doing more for them than just telling them myself.
Hey, this isn't so bad. All I have to do is set it up so I know that they are teaching each other the right thing and then I can rest my weary voice!
Each group is unique, I find. Your group was eager to get started. One young lady was ready with her plan to organize the class well before I was ready to let them be on their own. After about three minutes of sharing organizational ideas in a polite, one person at a time manner, they had their plan.
Great kindness comes out in these kinds of exercises. When one student faltered, I saw two different people get up to go help. And bravery. To speak up and say, "I don't get it" takes guts. When the two go together, children learn that good teammates will have your back when you need it. While all this serious learning is going on, the kids may not know it, but they are also learning how to find their place in a group; that a group needs leaders and followers, that each role is important and that sometimes the roles are fluid.
Pretty big lessons for such a goofy looking batch of kids.
...or at least the chicken said so.
