10 Steps to Beginner ESL Lesson Plans That Get

Your Students Off the Ground

English has practically become a universal language.

10 Steps to Creating Beginner ESL Lesson Plans

1. Identify Your Students
Are you teaching children or adults? Teenagers won’t take well to learning nursery rhymes
and adults may need to study business English, even if they’re just starting to study the language.
It’s exceedingly important to have a clear focus on the needs of your target audience, because
you’ll need to consider these needs while developing your own ESL lesson plans.
Teaching ESL to Children
With children, use all sorts of games and activities. According to the British Council, young
children are natural language acquirers. All they really need is to see that English class is fun!

Another interesting point identified by the British Counsel is that boy’s and girl’s brains process
language learning differently. Girls tend to be somewhat more adept at picking up new
languages, so mixed-gender classes may result in having multi-level classes. Being aware of this
developmental process will make you more aware of why certain students may need additional
time to progress.

Teaching ESL to Teenagers

Teenagers are right in the sweet spot between childhood and adulthood. They may need to go
back and learn some basics, or they might be years into their English language learning.

They’ll mostly need material and resources that are relatable and engaging, like pop
music and technology. Don’t go easy on them—keep them challenged during class time.
Teaching ESL to Adults
When it comes to teaching adults, get them talking about themselves and asking questions with
other students.

In many business situations, they’ll need to be conversational and to have a vocabulary related to
their field. So if you’re working with engineers, incorporate relevant terms—including jargon, if
required—into your lesson plans. It may sound difficult, but oftentimes the words will be Latin-
based and will sound similar to the words in your students’ native language.

When beginning adult students start to recognize technical terms, it’ll encourage them to feel
more comfortable with language learning.
2. Develop a Plan
The big picture question you have to ask yourself before you start planning lessons for beginning
students is: What do you want them to be able to do by the end of the class? This
might include what they’ll be able to understand, say, read or write.
Remember that they’re beginners, so you’ll have to keep things in line with their newbie
perspective. Another question is: What are the skills they need to reach their language
goals? By having the answers thought through you can work backwards and divide the whole
lesson into key components.
Brainstorming is essential to get the creative process started. Jot down notes to yourself or open a
Word file to keep track of your ideas. Some ESL teachers may want to create a multi-colored
mind-map.

Another approach is to talk with other ESL teachers about their planning strategies. Even if your
school or college has a curriculum, you’ll still want to personalize it for the students you will be
teaching.

3. Create interactive classes

Make it your goal to get the students doing most of the talking. Absolutely nothing is more
boring than a teacher droning on and people—no matter what age they are—tuning out after
about five minutes.

This is most easily done in a one-on-one tutoring session, as you can just keep asking questions
and directing the conversation. In classes, have students work together or interview each other
and then present reports to the class.

Use technology to encourage interaction. Watch a YouTube piece to give students a discussion
topic. There are 58,906 clips specifically for beginner ESL students, so the most difficult part of
the task is deciding which one to use. Again, it all goes back to the age and interests of the
students you’re working with.
4. Include all four language components

Young children will start off with speaking. This comes most naturally to them.

With older students and adults, though, the general trend is that the first skill they’ll learn is to
read in a new language. Next they’ll be able to listen and understand. Television, radio, DVDs,
computer programs and music come in at this point.

The next step for adults is that they’ll start to speak. In some cultures, students of all ages are
horrified about making mistakes and will be reluctant to talk. If you can convince them that
making mistakes is acceptable, you’ll have accomplished a major step towards making them
willing to speak and interact.

Writing in another language is often the most difficult skill for students to develop. Unless
students become totally bilingual, chances are that they’ll never totally master the skill of
writing. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t encourage them and that they shouldn’t try.

One way to help students develop their writing skills is to have them keep journals or diaries.
The translation sites on the Internet may not be perfect, but they’re getting better all the time.
And they’re certainly much faster than using a dictionary.

5. Develop a vocabulary book

Again, this requires some planning in advance.

Developing vocabulary books will depend on the situation. With one-on-one adult tutorials it’s a
straightforward exercise. With young children it’s best done as a class activity so that everyone
is, literally, on the same page.

With beginner students about 12 or older, you’ll find that they may want to develop personal
vocabulary books to reflect their personal interests.

Do you want your students to write down each new word as they learn it or do you want them to
separate new words into categories? Do you want them to use cellphones, tablets or notebooks to
record words? While paper may be outdated in some contexts, it can still reinforce the written
word.

6. Start with the pronouns

English is a pronoun based language: I, me, you, he, she, it, us, them.

With children you can use flashcards with pictures. Older students and adults will have written
materials before, so the focus is getting them to memorize the words. Pick key topics for fluid
conversation. For example, you could help them to create a pronoun chart.

Another essential set of words are the 5-Ws: who, when, where, when and why. Again, create a
chart and get them using the words regularly.
7. Introduce the most important verbs
The Oxford English Dictionary has identified the most frequently used verbs. Beginning students
can start working with common verbs like be, have, do, say, get, make, go, know, take and see.
The problem with verbs in most languages—and English is no exception—is conjugation. This is
where you link the verbs back to the pronouns.
8. Pick out the most important nouns or objects

Different students will have some nouns or objects that are most important to them. Again, this
goes back to your big picture planning.

Developing noun clusters is one way to start. Categories such as food, sports, clothes and
holidays fit nicely into this approach. Link it back to the vocabulary book and make sure
everything is recorded so that students can review it all later.

9. Speak in sentences

As soon as beginning students understand the very basics, move towards speaking in simple
sentences. Knowing things in isolation is of little value when it comes to understanding English.
Memorizing the names of all the colors is a waste of time if students don’t use the words in full
sentences.

“I see the book” may sound very elementary—which it is—but it’s a sentence. When beginning
students can start to put pronouns, verbs and objects to real use, they’re closer to being able to
move up to the intermediate level.

10. Begin each class with a review

Rather then launching into new material, take the time to review the material that was covered in
the last lesson. With children it might be getting them to identify the names of food from photos.
With adults it could involve asking them about what they learned in the last lesson.

The review is also a way to evaluate how much your beginner students are understanding. If they
can’t remember words or sentences you may need to slow down. On the other hand, if they can
rattle off everything from the last lesson, you may have to pick up the pace so that they don’t get
bored.

Repeat, repeat, repeat. This is the way babies learn to talk and it doesn’t differ all that much as
we get older. That’s where the concept of getting students speaking from the beginning comes
into play. With older students, all this is effectively reinforced with vocabulary books and
diaries.
So take a deep breath, follow the 10 steps and create some innovative ESL lessons for your
students!
Oh, and One More Thing…

If you liked these tips, you’ll love using FluentU in your classroom. FluentUtakes real-world
videos—like music videos, cartoons, documentaries and more—and turns them into personalized
language learning lessons for you and your students.
It’s got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking
world actually watch on the regular. There are tons of great choices there when you’re looking
for songs for in-class activities.

You’ll find music videos, musical numbers from cinema and theater, kids’ singalongs,
commercial jingles and much, much more.
Make It Happen: 5 Strong Strategies to Teach Different
Levels of ESL Students at Once
Why are ESL students of different levels in the same class?

That’s the million-dollar question! It doesn’t seem like a situation that a teacher should ever be
in, but there are some cases where it’s simply unavoidable.

Beginner classes
This is perhaps the most common case where students of various levels are placed in the same
class. By advanced classes, most students will possess a similar core knowledge of English. But
in a beginner class, some students will have never studied the language, while others might have
spoken English at home or with friends. A student interested in the language might have studied
it on their own by watching English media.

These activities will put some students far beyond their peers, even though it’s their first year
studying English in school.

Lack of resources

Especially with smaller language schools, sometimes there simply aren’t enough teachers or
classes to place students in their exact level. A school might only have two classes: beginner or
advanced. A general school might not have the time or resources to test students and place them
in an appropriate level. Instead, they’ll place students of the same grade in the same class.

There are many levels of language learning, so in institutions with less resources, teachers
often have to cover a wide range of students in one class.

Natural student variations

Even in an advanced class, there are some students who naturally grasp English and others who
struggle greatly.

Because of these natural variations, there will always be some students more advanced than
others. It’s important to be able to teach various levels at once so that no student is lost or bored.

What is the challenge of simultaneously teaching ESL students of different levels?

A multi-level class poses many challenges, not only for the teacher, but also for the students!
 Students bored or lost

Whether you’re aiming your lessons more for the beginner or for the advanced student, you’re
bound to lose someone! If you spend time teaching the beginner basics such as, “Hello. My name
is…,” the advanced student will be bored out of their minds!

But if you teach the advanced student the difference between “they’re,” “there” and “their,” the
beginner will be completely lost! It’s hard to find a happy medium with vastly different-leveled
students.

Students not learning

Being bored or lost eventually defeats the entire purpose of a class: to learn. Teaching the basics
means the advanced student isn’t learning anything new, just hearing what they already know.
But teaching more difficult topics means the beginner isn’t learning those basics that will allow
them to progress. A conundrum indeed!

What to teach
How will you even go about planning a lesson for this multi-level class? You’re only one person!
You can’t teach two things at once! Do you resign yourself to the fact that you’re simply going
to lose someone? Or is there a way to include everyone?
What are some resources that can help you teach different levels
of ESL students?
 FluentU. This English Educator Blog has great resources for teaching all levels of English and mastering
the art of differentiation. And the FluentU English teaching program itself is designed to handle this sort
of situation, with a variety of videos and exercises at different difficulty levels and built-in scaffolding.
Plus, you’ll be able to track the progress of each individual English student as they journey through their
chosen videos and exercises.
 Test levels of English. The Cambridge English exam will allow you to accurately gauge the English level
of each student in your class.
 Webinars on mixed-level classes. The International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign
Language offers many webinars, some of which are specifically about teaching mixed-level classes, such
as “Practical ideas for teaching mixed level groups” by Agi Orosz. Check them out!
 Standards for each level of English. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages has a set of
five standards that will help you to understand which level your students are at.
 Differences in learning styles. North Carolina State University has a useful study on learning styles
called “Understanding Student Differences” by Richard M. Felder and Rebecca Brent.
 Strategies for mixed-level classes. AP Central has an insightful article on teaching combined-level
classes called “Strategies for a Combined-Level Language Class” by Keiko Abrams, Michiko Sprester
and Yoko Thakur.
The Top 5 Ways to Teach Different Levels of ESL Students in
the Same Class
1. Use strategic seating.

Since you can’t be everywhere at once, have your students help one another by placing them in
an effective seating arrangement.

Buddy system

Seat the advanced student next to the beginner. This way, the advanced student will be able to
help the beginner. By forming these pairs, you’ll be able to include more challenging material in
each lesson because your students can help each other.

The advanced student will learn more too by having to explain what they know to the beginner.
If you have some students who are at an intermediate level, seat them together. You can’t
individually help each student throughout the lesson, but your students can help each other so
that everyone understands the material.

Mixed-level groups

You could also place students in a small group of four or five. In each group, you can have at
least one advanced student and at least one beginner. By mixing the levels in these groups,
students will be able to rely upon each other.

This is especially effective in a large class. Students can ask members of their group questions
and try to solve problems together. You can then divide your time between five or six groups
rather than trying to bounce around and help 30+ students.

Same-level groups
You can divide your students into groups by their English level. You could simply do beginner,
intermediate or advanced based on your initial interaction with your students or the quality of
their first few assignments. You could also test your students to get a more exact level, using a
test such as the Cambridge English exam.
TESOL, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, divides students into five levels
based on these standards. You can divide your groups as officially or unofficially as you choose.
But same-level groups will help you to address the same level of student all at once, which will
allow you to give level-specific assignments.
2. Provide multiple levels of each activity.

Even if you’re teaching from a specific book or workbook, there are always ways to expand an
assignment to challenge the students who need it.

Beginner

Start any assignment with the lowest level student in mind. If your class includes a few students
who don’t know any English, then make sure your assignment starts at a beginner level so that
they can learn the basics.

Perhaps your book has a lesson on basic conversation. This is useful information that every
English speaker must know. They have to know “hello” and “goodbye” before they can discuss
business negotiations! Don’t skip these basics just because some students will be bored; instead,
expand these basics for those at a higher level.
Intermediate

After covering the basics, make the assignment a bit more difficult for students at the next level.
Any student who already knows basic conversation can do something more challenging than the
original assignment.

Teach them a few colloquialisms to complement the basics. Have them write down at least 3
ways of saying any basic conversational term. For example, “How are you?” can also be “How’s
it going?” or “What’s up?” or “What’s going on?” or “What’s new?” To motivate students, you
can even offer extra credit to those who complete the more difficult assignment.

Advanced

To challenge this group, you can make the assignment even harder. If they already know basic
conversation and colloquialisms, have them write a conversational script for a certain scenario
that you will give them. For example, you could have two advanced students write a script that
shows business colleagues greeting one another and making small talk outside of work. This will
challenge them and teach them a specific conversational tone.

You could even have them perform the skit for you to practice their pronunciation! By taking
one assignment and adding onto it, you can ensure that the basics are taught and more advanced
students are appropriately challenged.
3. Teach the same concept several ways.
This is important in any class because there are many types of learning styles. But this is
especially important in a multi-level class so that no one is left behind.
Tell

You can start your lesson by giving the information verbally. Even if you have students who
don’t understand much English, it is helpful for them to get used to hearing a native speaker.
They’ll gradually be able to pick out words and understand sentences.

If you know your class has beginners, make sure to speak very slowly and to pick out important
terms. For example, if they don’t understand very much, you can repeat a key word a few times
and have them say it too. Maybe you said the sentence, “I want you to finish this for homework”
and you want them to become familiar with the word “homework.” Repeat this word as you say
the sentence and make sure they know its meaning by motioning to the worksheet or by having a
more advanced student translate. This way both beginners and advanced students can benefit
from hearing you speak.

Write

A chalkboard, dry-erase board or overhead projector is very important because it will allow
students to see the lesson. Some students simply learn more visually. This is useful for both
beginners and advanced students. Beginners need to become familiar with spelling, and while
they might struggle to understand what you’re saying, seeing the word will allow them to learn
it. But this will also help advanced students, especially those who have learned English by
speaking it at home, but have not learned proper spellings.

A beginner might need to see the word “homework” so that they can look it up in the dictionary
and memorize it. An advanced student might need to see the word “homework”
because while they know the word, they might be inclined to spell it as “homwirk!” English
spelling is difficult to learn, so it will help all levels of learners to see and write the words.

Show

You can use visual aids to help your students or even have your students show something by
acting it out! For example, if you’re teaching sports, you could bring in some different
equipment from each sport like a soccer ball, basketball, baseball, football and tennis ball. By
showing the equipment when saying the word, beginners will be able to understand it.

You could quiz your class by holding up a ball and having them name the sport so that your
advanced students can practice their pronunciation. You could even have students act out the
sports and guess which one it is. This encourages student participation and makes the lesson
more meaningful to all levels.

4. Play games.

Games are a great way to involve all levels of English learners. Even a game geared towards
beginners can give advanced students a chance to practice speaking and listening. Plus, all
students are more likely to learn when they’re having fun!

Pick teams

Choose teams strategically. Make sure that one team doesn’t have all of the advanced students
while another team has mostly beginners. Everyone will be challenged and included when the
teams are mixed.

You could let students choose teams too by selecting team captains and having them alternate
picking teammates. The teams will likely be mixed because advanced students will probably be
chosen first and then beginners, so each team will get some of each level of student.

Active participation

Games help students learn by requiring active participation. You could even offer an award for
the winners, like a point of extra credit. This will encourage a competitive spirit so that everyone
is motivated to participate. It’s this participation that is helpful to all levels of English learners.

Choose a game that requires speaking so that students get to practice, such as “I Spy” if you’re
teaching colors. To get more participation, you can choose games that can be played in pairs or
small groups, such as “Twenty Questions,” so that each student is sure to get a turn.

Have fun

When you choose a game that your students enjoy, even if it isn’t the most challenging for your
advanced students, they’ll still have fun and practice English. Enjoyment is a powerful motivator
for learning! The chance to do something a bit goofy or competitive will make your students
want to practice English. It is this practice that will make all levels of learners more comfortable
with new vocabulary and grammatical constructs.

5. Give personal attention.

While students are working on an assignment, make sure to go around and interact with your
students. Take a look at their work to make sure the beginners are understanding it, and use the
opportunity to challenge more advanced students.

Reach out to beginners

These students will need the most help! Make them a priority when going around the room.
While your communication may be limited, take a look at their assignment and see if they’re
understanding it. If not, go over the information with them again and try to show them what
you’re looking for.

If several beginners are struggling with a worksheet, invite them over to your desk and do a few
exercises with them. This will help you to make sure that no one is lost.

Challenge advanced students

Once you’re confident that your beginners understand the assignment, visit the more advanced
students and try to challenge them further. You can ask them some harder questions or ask them
why they chose a specific answer or give them another scenario to try.

If they’re breezing through an assignment, you can give them a special challenge question for
when they have finished. You can even have them ask you something that they’re unsure about
and give them an extra assignment about that topic. This will help ensure that no one is bored.

Give additional opportunities

You can only do so much during one class period. If you get the sense that some students are still
either lost or bored, offer to meet in the classroom after school. You could even start an English
club to further challenge your students.

Besides helping with your current lesson, you could do some special activities like going over
the lyrics to popular music or watching a TV show with subtitles. After school English clubs or
extra help sessions are a great way to challenge those who want to learn more.

Next time you walk into a class and one student greets you fluently while another doesn’t
understand a word, you can smile and tackle the challenge.

Those students are lucky to have you!

10 Rules of Engagement
1. Start Class with a Mind Warm-Up

A classic warm-up is to ask students to find the mistakes planted in material

written on the board. (You can use this idea in any subject area.) But instead
of asking them to work silently and alone, and then debrief in a classic
question-and-answer session with one student at a time (while many sit
inattentively), use a mix of collaboration and competition to eliminate what
could potentially become dead time.

Here's how: Organize teams of three students and ask them to work together
(quietly) and raise their hands when they think they have found all the
mistakes. After the first team signals it's done, give a bit more time and then
have teams indicate with their fingers -- together on the count of three -- the
number of mistakes they found in the work. The team that found the most
describes its answers until another team disagrees politely or until they are
finished.

2. Use Movement to Get Kids Focused

Ask all students to stand behind their desks and join in simple choreographed
physical movement. Because most kids find it invigorating and it's easy to
monitor full participation, it may become one of your favorite ways to get kids
focused and kill dead time.

Here's how, for the primary grades: Teach hand-clapping patterns to

accompany a chanted verse or a set of math facts. Add foot stomping or hand
clapping with a partner to create variety.

Here's how, for the middle grades: Create a rhythm with finger snapping
and hand clapping, which you model and they echo back. Vary the rhythm
and pattern in intervals of 15-20 seconds to challenge them to pay attention
and join in.

Here's how, for any grade, including high school: Offer a seventh-inning
stretch, or the cross crawl. To do the cross crawl, stand up and begin
marching in place, raising the knees really high. As you raise the left knee,
reach across your body with your right hand and touch the left knee.

Then do the same for the left hand on the right knee. Continue this pattern for
a minute or more. (You can also vary it by, say, having kids clap their hands
over their heads between each set of knee touches.)

3. Teach Students How to Collaborate Before Expecting Success

Doing project learning and other team-based work without prior training can
lead to lots of dead time. You can nip much of it in the bud by teaching
collaboration skills before projects get started. You don't need to use an
activity related to your subject area to teach teamwork.

Here's how: One way is to give teams of students a pair of scissors, two
sheets of paper, ten paper clips, and a 10-inch piece of tape, and ask them to
build the tallest free-standing tower in 20 minutes.

Prior to the activity, create a teamwork rubric with students, which reviews
descriptions of desired norms and behaviors. While half of the teams are
building the towers, have the other half of the students stand around them in a
circular "fishbowl" as silent observers.

Debrief afterward, and train the observers to give a positive comment before a
critical one: "I liked that they [blank], and I wonder if they could have also
[blank]." Switch the observers with the tower builders and see if they can do
better, then debrief again.
4. Use Quickwrites When You Want Quiet Time and Student Reflection

When interest is waning in your presentations, or you want to settle students

down after a noisy teamwork activity, ask them to do a quickwrite, or short
journal-writing assignment.

Here's how, for primary-grade students: Ask, "What was most interesting
about [blank]?" "What was confusing about [blank]?" "What was the clearest
thing you understood?" "What was boring about [blank]?" "What did [blank]
make you think of in your life?"

Here's how, for intermediate-grade students and above: Try prompts such
as the following, or develop your own: "Summarize what you have heard."
"Predict an exam or quiz question I could ask based on this material." "Defend
one of the positions taken during the prior discussion."

Teachers often avoid giving this type of assignment because assessing them
regularly can be overwhelming. Manage this load by having students use a
green (or other color) pen to circle one entry from the week you guarantee you
will read.

Occasionally, have them write a few sentences next to their entry explaining
why they want you to read that particular one. Let them know that you will
read the passages marked in green and that, time permitting, you might read
the rest if you have time.

5. Run a Tight Ship When Giving Instructions

Preventing dead time is especially important when giving instructions. There

are a lot of great ways to ask for your students' attention, but many succeed or
fail based on how demanding you are of the final outcome.
Whichever method you use, before you begin speaking, it is critical to require
(1) total silence, (2) complete attention, and (3) all five eyeballs on you (two
eyes on their face, two eyes on their knees, and the eyeball on their heart).
I've done this approach with every class I've ever taught, and it makes a big
difference. Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) middle schools include
detailed SSLANT expectations: Smile, Sit up, Listen, Ask, Nod when you
understand, and Track the speaker.

Here's how: When you introduce this routine to students, do it five times in a
row: Announce that in a moment, you will briefly let them talk among
themselves, and then you'll give them a signal (you can count out loud from
one to three, ring a bell, and so on) and wait until they are perfectly ready for
you to speak.

In the first two weeks after starting this routine, remind students often what's
expected. To hold everyone accountable for listening the entire time, make it
clear that you will never repeat your instructions after you have finished going
over them.

6. Use a Fairness Cup to Keep Students Thinking

The more you can manage your classroom to be a supportive environment,

where students are encouraged to take risks without fear of being put down or
teased, the easier it will be to use your fairness cup regularly, without feeling
that you are setting students up for failure.

Here's how: Write each student's name on a Popsicle stick and put the sticks
in a cup. To keep students on their toes, pull a random stick to choose
someone to speak or answer a question. Important: When you begin using
your fairness cup, prepare a range of questions, some of which all your
students can successfully answer. This strategy allows the bottom third of
your class to get involved and answer questions without being put on the spot.
7. Use Signaling to Allow Everyone to Answer Your Question

To help ensure that all students are actively thinking, regularly ask questions
to which everyone must prepare at least one answer -- letting them know you
expect an answer. Then wait for all students to signal they are ready.

Here's how: For example, in math, you could ask, "How many ways can you
can figure out 54-17 in your head? (Subtract 10 and then 7, subtract 20 and
then add 3, and so on.) Or, to review a presentation, ask, "How many key
points of this presentation are you prepared to describe?"

By asking questions that allow for multiple answers or explanations, you are
differentiating instruction; everyone is expected to come up with at least one
answer, but some may come up with more.

To convey the number of answers, students can use sign language, such as
holding a hand to the chest (so their hands aren't visible to their neighbors)
and displaying one or more fingers to represent how many answers they
have. This technique precludes students from bragging about how many ideas
they thought of or how quickly they are ready. You can then call on volunteers
who want to share their answers with the rest of the class.

8. Use Minimal-Supervision Tasks to Squeeze Dead Time out of Regular

Routines

Tasks that require minimal supervision add purposeful activity during

moments that might normally revert to dead time. They come in handy when
passing out papers, working with a small group of students, handling an
unforeseen interruption, addressing students who didn't do their homework, or
providing work to those who have finished an assignment before others.
Here's how: While you pass out papers, ask students to do a quickwrite (see
#4) or to pair up and quiz each other on vocabulary words. Also, train students
to fess up if they didn't do their homework. That way, during class homework
review, these students won't automatically be in dead time. Instead, they'll
immediately move to these prearranged minimal supervision tasks.

For example, you can ask them to study a review sheet, summarize a reading
passage, read the day's assignment ahead of time, or create and study
vocabulary words or other content. You might find students suddenly doing
their homework more often rather than face this extra work.

9. Mix up Your Teaching Styles

To keep students involved and on their toes, try to move from teacher-
centered learning to student-centered active learning, and vice versa.

Here's how: Introduce a presentation by having students pair up, talk to each
other about their prior knowledge of the presentation, and generate a list of
four questions for which they'll want to know the answers. Make quick rounds
to remind all students to stay on task.

To encourage active listening, provide students with a list of important

questions in advance. Interrupt the presentation with a quickwrite (see #4),
and then have students "pair-share" by asking them to compare their entries
with a neighbor. Pull sticks from your fairness cup (see #6) to choose pairs of
students to present their thoughts to the class.

10. Create Teamwork Tactics That Emphasize Accountability

By insisting that students "ask three before me," you make it clear that they
are expected to seek assistance from all members of their team before they
turn to you.
Here's how: To reinforce this rule, when a student on a team wants to ask
you a question, you, the teacher, always ask another person on the team
whether she knows what the question is. If she doesn't, politely walk away,
and the team will quickly understand what you expect.

Another way to emphasize accountability might be to say, "When you think

your team is done with the task, find me within 30 seconds and tell me." This
strategy shifts the accountability to the team for being on task.