Who Goes First?

What do I love? Partner work!

What do I hate? When I say, "Okay, begin," and hear students talking to each other about anything other than the topic, or, worse, when I hear nothing. No participation, no attempt, just an awkward silence.

The problem of focus in a middle school or high school class is age-old, and perhaps insurmountable. However, I have found that with a little more direction, I can get students to perform their tasks in a timely manner when working with a partner. 

I tell them who has to go first and I try to make it a little fun by basing who goes first on an arbitrary factor. 

I felt like I was using the same old factors to decide which partner or small-group-member went first, so I listed all my ideas out to cycle through with a little more variety.  

Who Goes First? 

1. Whoever is older/younger.

2. Whoever's hair is longer/shorter. 

3. Whoever's feet are bigger/smaller.

4. Whoever ate pizza most recently.

5. Whoever's name comes first/last alphabetically.

6. Whoever has the most letters in their name.

7. Whoever has the most pockets today.

8. Whoever's birthday comes next/ whoever's had their birthday most recently. 

9. Rock-paper-scissors for it.

10. Have each pair pick heads or tails then flip a coin for everyone. 

11. Pick a number 1-100 and have each student tell their partner their number. Then announce the number you picked and whoever was closer goes first. 

12. Whoever's wearing the most __________ <-- insert color here. 

13. Whoever has the most/least siblings.

14. Interest based: Whoever built the bigger structure in Minecraft; Whoever was the Imposter more recently; 

15. Whoever visited _____________ more recently (common locations here include places like East Landing, the store, Paradise, the dunes).

16. Whoever's cell battery has more charge left by percent (only if I'm in a class where everyone has their own phone).

Get Gross-- Cards Against Humanity says the person who goes first is the person who pooped most recently. 

17. Whoever pooped more recently. 

18. If kids have had a cold or the flu, whoever blew their nose or threw up more recently. 

19. Whoever needs to clip their toenails more. 

20. Let kids give you a criteria. Steer clear of anything that would make someone feel badly: no "who's richer" or "who's B.O. is the worse" or "who has fewer Instagram followers". 

I wanted a list of 20 because I have a 20-sided die. I have a list next to my materials and when it's time I can roll the die to tell students who goes first. 

Why I Think This Works

Knowing who needs to start the task eliminates that moment to feel awkward and not start, or that moment of freedom where friends will fill the space with whatever they've been dying to tell each other. 

Figuring out who goes first offers a little brain break. How many times have you said "begin" in class and had it met with a loud huff or sigh? Student brains get overwhelmed and asking them to move from instruction to practice can be overwhelming, leading some students to a little shut down or a bad attitude. Letting them focus on something else for a second gives them the pause they need to transition and bring their best efforts. I think it also makes their task feel more low-stakes: if I go first because I had pizza for dinner, I'm way less stressed about my performance than I would be if I had to go first because I'm feeling smarter/dumber/more prepared/less prepared, etc. 

The Danger

Figuring out who goes first can lead to a breakdown in concentration. When I say "whoever has bigger feet goes first" inevitably some pair has to take their shoes off to compare feet. Then they're talking about whose feet stink, whose shoes are cool/not cool, who has those same socks, and then those conversations lead to some other topic and further and further away from the task. 

I recommend buying in first and foremost. If you pair based on foot size, you've got to let them compare! It is okay at this point to step in with a little classroom management and remind them to get back on track. If you know you're trying to move things along more quickly or avoid any big/distracting break in concentration, use a factor that requires less interaction, like Whoever is older. 

How Do I Pair Students?

Sometimes we need people to work together because one partner can help the other partner. Sometimes we need people to work together because they're next to each other and we do not want to invite chaos. Sometimes it does not matter that much who works with whom-- and here we have an opportunity for movement and engagement. 

This NEA article makes some interesting points:

- Students get fewer than 5,000 steps on a non-P.E. day.

- Physical activity improves academics

- Physical activity improves mental health

- There are lots of strategies for incorporating movement into the class day

In a middle school and high school classroom, lots of the movement break ideas aren't effective: If the purpose is to move for the sake of moving, someone is going to take it too far and someone isn't going to want to participate at all. I like to incorporate movement that has a low-stakes task. 

One movement opportunity I like to use is the four-corners strategy to get kids thinking and moving. I put an option in each corner of the room and students pick a corner. This works with multiple choice review: Label each corner A, B, C, D and ask questions. Kids will rush to the right corner, or go with the crowd. I use four corners as a check in: Who's feeling Great, So-So, Not-So-Hot, I need a Personal Check-In Today. I use four corners as a warm up: Whose favorite food is Pizza, Fish Pie, Tacos, Spaghetti. This is so adaptable. This strategy is also social-distance friendly. We get a reminder every time we do it to keep our bodies to ourselves and to stay at least 3 feet apart. 

I also like to move students to pair them, especially if they are allowed to work anywhere in the room (another table, on the floor, etc.). They get the stay-distanced reminder and the chance to move with a purpose. 

Pair Off

Have students line up based on an arbitrary factor, then pair them up with whomever they're next to, or every other student is a pair. 

1. Students line up by height.

2. Students line up by age.

3. Students line up by birth order (all the oldest/only children at the front, second-borns next, youngests last)

4. Students line up by birthday order. 

5. Students line up alphabetically.  

Pair Up

Students find a partner based on an arbitrary factor. There can be parameters like "your partner can't be sitting next to you already" or "your partner can't be the same one as last time" to keep things spicy. 

1. Find someone wearing the same color as you/ a complementary color/ an opposite color. 

2. Find someone who was born in your same month/season.

3. Find someone who lives in your same neighborhood/outside your neighborhood. 

4. Write your favorite ____________ on a sticky note, find someone with the same favorite (food, color, show, musical artist, season, YouTuber, part of speech, mathematical principal, etc. <-- get nerdy with it).

Any way we can incorporate little successes (like celebrating your name starting with "A" so you get to go first, or being shorter so you get to go second), safe interactions among classmates who do not always engage with one another, and get students moving with a purpose in a classroom, we are making all of our content stick that much more and making students' days that much better! 

If you've got ideas for more ways to pair students or determine who goes first, let me know! I'm always down to try new ideas.