Cooperative Learning

Our class has been working hard in cooperative learning groups.  These are flexible groups, which means that size and students differ each time, depending on the work we are doing.  Some of the rules to follow when working in a cooperative learning group are: 1. Make sure that everyone understands the problem; 2. Make sure that everyone's voice and ideas are heard; 3. Work together and check each others work.  Two great recent examples of excellent group work happened in math and in reading last week. 

In reading, we just ended a unit that used "Silly Stories" as a springboard for learning.  To culminate the unit, groups were formed to respond to questions that compared and extended stories, as well as prompting students to form opinions about the characters we met along the way.  The resulting products are in the process of being shared with the class, and will be on display on the hallway bulletin board.

 

The other fantastic example of team work was some tricky problem solving in math.  It was quite interesting to listen in on all of the conversations, as each student brings his/her own understanding of math to their respective group.  Students did a great job of listening to each other, explaining their thinking, and working together to reach a solution.  We will revisit these problems after the long weekend.

Looking forward to more teamwork in second grade!