Resource 5: Ideas pupils may have about working in a group

Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

Choose one of these methods to help your pupils to talk about how they worked together in a group.

1. Write each of the following words on to a card or on the board. Give each group a set of cards to help them develop three sentences to describe how they worked. They should try to use some of these words in their sentences:

decide,              persuade,          tell,                  ask,  

argue,               describe,            agree,               opinion,­

listen,                share,                organise,            lead,

2. Write these statements onto a set of large cards (keep these for different group work activities). Display the statements around the room and ask each group to choose the statements that describe the way they worked.

Encourage your pupils to add further statements.

  • Everyone in the group had a chance to speak.
  • Everyone in the group was encouraged to speak.
  • Not everyone spoke during the activity.
  • We reached agreement in our group.
  • We listened carefully to each other.
  • Sometimes we found it hard to listen to others without interrupting.
  • Not everyone in the group agreed with our way of drawing the poster.
  • Not everyone in the group contributed to the poster.
  • Everyone in the group was able to add to the poster.

3. Choose one or more of these questions. Read it/them out to your class and ask each group to discuss the question(s) in their group for five minutes. Ask for feedback from some of the groups.

  • How did sharing your ideas help you?
  • Did everyone have a chance to speak?
  • Did we encourage each other to share our ideas?
  • Did we listen carefully to each other?

Resource 4: Black rhino

Resource 6: Thinking globally – acting locally