Repost: Round Table Discussion - Small Group

Link to Lesson

I must give credit to Education Scotland for the original lesson plan called "Clipboard Quiz". I have used this for years, but I call it Round Table Discussion. It is one of my favourite ways to review and prepare for an assessment, project, discussion, or final exam. Most often I use it to review and discuss a story at a variety of levels of thinking. Some questions may be vocabulary questions, some are comprehension questions, others are culture or deeper thinking questions. The key to each question, however, is that it is open ended and has the potential for a variety of answers. You can also ask for quotes from the story to show students' abilities to work with the story directly. 

Today, however, I want to mention a variation one can do with this to target various small groups or help students who need things like:

• individual instruction
• small group work
• extended processing time
• reassurance
• frequent check ins

Essentially this works the exact same as described in the original plan, but you create 1 or more small specific groups. For example, you might create groups like:

• a group of students who missed the original reading of the text or who need more individualised instruction with the text. A mix can also be good. Students can benefit from each others' experience and questions. 
• a group of students who process a little more slowly that you can check in with each time to answer questions and suggest ways to quicken their process. 
• a group of students who might need frequent check ins to ensure they are all on the same page. 

As each group looks at their questions, you can focus your time on the main small group of students who need individualised instruction and, as they become more comfortable with the material, give them more and more independence through the period while you check in with others. This worked very well in a class of Latin I students and ~30 kids. I was able to work directly with one group, keep an eye on another, and do quick check ins to make sure everyone else was on the same page.