5-3-1
Grades 2-12
Big Idea
This summarizing technique is a quick and useful tool to assess students' background knowledge or their level of understanding. Asking students to determine the most important concepts, facts, and points is a valuable skill.
Directions
1. Pose a question or topic related to the lesson that has many possible responses. Then have students individually brainstorm five possible answers or things they know about the topic.
2. Ask students to work in pairs to share their lists with each other and decide on three best answers or ideas from their two lists.
3. Instruct the pair to join another pair and choose the one response they think is best or most significant.
When to use
Use 5-3-1 at any point in the lesson to structure meaningful conversation.
- Used as a note taking device
- To quickly check for understanding
- Before introducing new material
- After reading a text to begin discussion
- When posting a guiding question for the upcoming lesson
- After a science experiment to summarize findings
- To assist in determining main idea
Variations
3-2-1
3 new facts, 2 questions about the topic, 1 idea they would like to know more about
Support with Evidence
To extend this activity students would need to support their final answer with evidence from the lesson
Compare and Contrast
After groups choose the one response they think is the best, have them pair up with another group. Compare and contrast answers from both groups.