Classroom Grouping Strategies for High School Teachers and Business Meetings

Gone are the days of students sitting on straight rows for an entire class of lecture. The modern classroom uses date-backed instruction centered on small group and partner activities. Classroom teachers, especially those on a block schedule or 90 minutes class sessions, need effective grouping strategies to move students seamlessly from one activity to the next.

But "numbering off" the old-fashioned way just doesn't cut it anymore. Students need to be engaged with different experiences and using the same techniques and procedures relentlessly just ups the boredom factor. Often, teachers use groups and partners as classroom management tools to keep problem students away from other trigger students and focused on their work with helpful classmates. If you give students a simple color card, they usually smell a group activity coming and easily swap around to ensure they get their chosen partners.

Catch your students off guard with some new classroom grouping strategies. Business leaders can also use these classroom management strategies to group employees for ice-breakers, office department meetings or conference sessions. The key is to do something novel and unique.

Playing cards are a versatile tool no teacher's classroom should be without. Playing cards come in a plethora of designs, so look for one that matches your classroom theme, a current curriculum unit or school mascot colors. I have used Alice in Wonderland themed cards with the original artwork for my Literature students and Twilight playing cards for writing classes. Before class, count out the number of cards you will need for each student. Try to use the royalty cards first because they usually have the prettiest artwork. You need a good idea of how you want to group your students before they arrive so you don't haphazardly pass out cards. Without a good plan you will end up with a lot of odd cards with no partners.

If I have 26 students in my class, I'll need exactly half a deck of cards. I would lay out four of each royalty card from King down to the 10s. I will also need all four 9 cards and two 8 cards to make a total of 26 cards. Now, I can pass the cards out randomly as my students enter the room or let them draw a card once class begins. It is essential to change your sorting strategies so students have a hard time predicting how you will group them. Playing cards offer a lot of criteria.

For a think-pair-share activity, I might say, "Ok, guys. I need you to find you matching partner with the same color and number or person as you." All my red Jacks, black Kings, etc will group up. They will complete their partner activity. Then, I might say, "Ok, guys, now find the other partner group that matches your cards." My 8 card-holders will have to split into two other groups as extra people, but everyone else will be in groups of four. After they complete a small-group activity, I might ask them to form larger groups of the suite. All my hearts would go to one corner, etc. With a simple playing card, I can seamlessly group my students in three different ways throughout the lesson.

Sports trading cards are a great variation on playing cards, but be prepared not to get them back. Even high school students get excited about a simple football card to change up their day. Trading cards require more planning on the front end, but are completely unpredictable to the students. I often use these in classrooms where my students always choose the same groups and are rarely productive. If I write down their names in groups, they may refuse to go or be belligerent when they do. However, if I "randomly" place a baseball card face-down on their desk, they accept new groups easier. I might say, "Ok, if you are a pitcher from the Braves, go to the board. If you are a catcher with a red hat, go to the back wall. If you are a Dodgers player of any position go to the right wall, etc." What my students don't realize is that I have already looked over my cards, found groupings of similarities the students can recognize, assigned students to specific groups and made sure the right students got the right cards. With a little practice and five minutes of pre-planning, this will be a no-brainer before long.

I Spy cards are another easy grouping tool. This child's card game is based on the book by the same name. Each card has a photo detail of a collage with several different toys, colors and paper scraps showing. The same small toy bee might be on four different I Spy cards. Tell students to find the other person or people in the room with the matching cards. The cards don't exactly match, so students have to think just a little bit about these.

Silly Bands are a new fad, often used as party favors. These cheap, plastic bracelets come in a multitude of shapes, from religious themes to animals, and different colors. They fit on the wrist as bracelets, but retain their funky shapes when you take them off. Purchase a set of Silly Bands, usually sold in sets of 24 for about $4. Let each child choose a band on his way into the classroom. Then you can easily group by shape or color. Good luck getting your Silly Bands back-even 250-pound senior quarterbacks get a kick out of wearing a silly blue bracelet shaped like the school mascot tiger. Because Silly Bands get pricey if the students keep them, I recommend using this as a special-occasion grouping activity. Use this to separate kids for a biology final project, and let them choose matching animal bracelets. The bracelet can then be used as a reminder about the upcoming project and to help build classroom unity.