Similarity Groups
Grade K-12
Big Idea
Students group together throughout the classroom by the similarity of their responses. This Kagan strategy provides a structure for students to find commonalities in interests, their thinking and beliefs. It encourages strong class bonds as students feel mutual support in discovering other like themselves. This can be used for team building,facilitating discussions about reading, and planning writing.
Directions
- Teacher announces the topic/question.
- The students think of their specific response.
- Students write their response on a white board, tic-tac-toe board, or organizer.
- The students group with others who have the same response.
- Students share their choices.
Click here for a team building All About Me Tic-Tac-Toe
When to Use
This activity can be used as a ready activity with squares filled in specific to the book or theme. It can also be used for book talks and students engaging their classmates when talking about the book they are reading.
- Pass out Tic-Tac-Toe boards. Students read over the board and mark 3 in a row. Students write down a short (1-5 word) answer.
- Using the response in either the top most box or the left most box of their marked row, students form similarity groups and discuss their responses.
- At teacher's signal, students move into a similarity group for their second response (moving top to bottom or left to right) and discuss the response.
- Students move into a similarity group for their third response and discuss the response.
click here for a sample Reading Tic-Tac-Toe
Strategy Variations
This can be used a pre-writing activity. The form can easily be edited to fit the writing topic.
- Hand out Classmates Who... Have students fill out square 1 and them move into similarity groups based on their response. Students discuss with those closest to them and collect their signatures in the square.
- Students return to their seats and complete square 2. Students then move into similarity groups and once again collect signatures.
- Continue with boxes 3 and 4 if desired.
- Students return to seats and review the boxes. Each student selects a box and uses it for a writing activity with the goal of incorporating their own ideas with others heard in the small group discussions.