A Dozen Ways to Form Groups in Class

1.  Have students count off by the number of groups you want to create. If you want three groups, students count off, “one, two, three, one, two, three…” Students who counted off the same number form a group. Tell them where to meet. “I want ones in this front corner, twos in the back corner, …”

2.  Put student names on index cards. Shuffle the cards and deal them out. Make as many piles as you want groups. Students whose cards are in the same pile form a group. Save the cards to make new groups another time.

3.  Look back to the last test or previous grading period. Select students from different performance levels. For groups of three, use one high, one middle, and one low. For groups of four, use one high, two middle, and one low.

4.  Write consecutive counting numbers on index cards or pieces of paper. Have each student choose one. Then, have students divide the number on their card by the number of groups you want to create. Those students with the same remainder are in the same group.

5.  Have students line up by the day of the month they were born (from 1 to 31). For extra fun, have them do this without talking. Start at one end of the line and put the first 3 (or 4) students in one group, the next set of 3 (or 4) in the next group, and so on.

6.  As students walk into the room, assign them to groups. Assign the first student to group one, the second to group two and so on. When you reach the last group, start at group one again with the next students. This also will likely separate buddies, as they tend to walk in together.

7.  Have students each select a playing card. (Only use a number of cards equal to the number of students.) Assign groups by the cards they select. You can put all jacks together, all tens together, and so on. Or….mess with the students and mix things up. Make groups such as the ten of spades, the three of diamonds, and the ace of clubs are one group.

8.  Get some postcards and cut them into pieces. The number of pieces should equal the number of students per group. Pass out pieces of postcards to students. Have students find the others who have parts of the same postcard. They will be a group.

9.  Print a report from the tutor listing student placement in the tutor. Place students in groups by choosing in different places in the tutor to form each group.

10.  Put a sticker on the bottom of each student chair with a number, color, or other identifier. Move all of the chairs around. When students sit down, have them look on the bottom of their chairs. Students with the same thing on their stickers make a group.

11.  Have students line up by birthday (with or without talking). Pull students off of the line in groups of three or four to make working groups. Or fold line in ½ to make pairs.

12.  Create index cards with different math skills to practice and find their “match”. For Example: If you want a group of 3, make a set of cards that has equivalent fraction, percent, and decimal written on each card. The students get a card and they find the match.