5.1 7S

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Everyone needs to move their bodies, including older people, and especially children and youths. Unfortunately, most of the time in class, students are sitting. Typically, CL activities are also done seated at desks or around a table. The 7S CL technique gives us one way to add some movement to group activities.

As with all CL techniques, 7S can be done in a variety of ways. Here is the basic procedure.

Step 1: Stand – Everyone stands up.

Step 2: Slide – Students push their chairs under their desks to provide more classroom space.

Step 3: Stretch – Everyone stretches in whichever way feels comfortable.

Step 4: Sip – Everyone takes a sip of water (as hydration is essential for health and thinking, the hope is that students regularly bring a water bottle to class).

Step 5: Stir – Students move around the classroom individually, not with their groupmates.

Step 6: Stop – When the teacher or someone else says “Stop,” everyone stops stirring and forms a pair with whoever is nearest. If the class has an odd number of members (e.g., 49 students in the class), there can be one group of three, or the teacher can join with one student to form a group of two.

Step 7: Speak – The pairs discuss whatever topic the class has prepared for.

Variations

  • The class can do multiple rounds of Stir, Stop, and Speak. For example, for the second round, students can tell their new partner what their first partner said. Instead of walking regularly, students can walk like animals (e.g., kangaroos or elephants).
  • For virtual learning, most of the 7 steps can be done in the same way, with the exception of Stir.
  • In classrooms without enough space to perform Stir, students can do the other steps and talk to students who are seated next to them. Once paired, the seated students can Stand, Stretch, and Sip.

Reflective Break

In a normal day, do you mostly sit or do you have chances to stand? What about drinking water? How much water or other beverages do you usually drink in a day? How does moving around affect your ability to concentrate and be more productive?

 

Sample Response

I try to stand some of the time every day. For example, when talking with someone, I may stand and encourage the other person to also stand. When using my laptop, sometimes I look for a place to put the laptop that lets me stand while I’m reading or typing. As to drinking water and other beverages, I should probably try harder to drink more water.  I drink a cup of water before eating lunch.

Last modified: Thursday, 6 March 2025, 6:51 AM