Pass-N-Praise

Materials:  Pencils and paper

Time:  10 minutes

Directions:

• The teacher needs to break the students into random groups of five.  Grouping can be determined by assigning the students colors, numbers, or stickers.  

• Each group is given a single sheet of paper and two pencils.  The teacher presents a critical thinking problem for each group.  The questions may be content related, related to social issues, or related to a current event.  

• One member from each group must write an answer to the group’s problem.

• Then, he/she passes the answer sheet on to another group member.  This member praises the previous answer and adds to it.  He/she passes the paper on to the next member.

• Once every member of every group has written an idea, praised another, and been praised by others, they will share their answers to the rest of the class.  This activity creates positive interactions and teamwork among students.