Teammates put their heads together to reach consensus on an answer. Everyone is alert as their number may be called to have to give the team's answer.
- Activity goal
- Activate prior knowledge | Brainstorm | Exchange knowledge | Recap / Summarize
- When
- In class
- Where
- Offline
- Duration
- < 10 minutes
- Group size
- Small | Medium
Step-by-step
Step 1
The students are counting down.
Step 2
The teacher asks a question and gives students thinking time.
Step 3
Students individually write down their answers.
Step 4
Students stand up and ‘put their heads together’; they show each other their answers, discuss them and coach each other.
Step 5
Students sit down again once everyone knows the answer or has something to share.
Step 6
The teacher calls a number. The students with that number, answer simultaneously using:
- Answer with board discussion
- In chorus
- Finger answers
- Board answers
- Answer cards
- Visual-spatial material
Step 7
Teams praise their groupmate.
Numbered heads per pair
Students form a pair with the person sitting next to them. When the teacher has asked their question, the students come together to correct the answers they have written down. Then the teacher asks the A's or the B's to exchange the best answer with the person sitting opposite them.
Numbered heads on trips
This starts just like numbered heads, but when the teacher names a number, the students with that number get up and travel to another team to exchange their answers.
Class confused
The teams are lined up along the wall of the classroom, with space between them. The teammates stand shoulder to shoulder. The teacher asks a question, after which students write down their answers individually. The teammates come together to agree and stand again when they have reached that point. The teacher chooses a number and tells those students how many teams to rotate to exchange their answer.
