Links To Help You

These are some great links that can assist you with using cooperative learning. I have read a lot of articles about it and these are some that really stood out to me. Some of these talk about certain strategies and some just talk about the benefits of cooperative learning. I encourage you to read these and learn more about cooperative learning and as always if you find resources please post them in the comments so I can check it out.

Jigsaw

4 Corners

Cooperative Learning in Math

Benefits of Cooperative Learning

Why Is Cooperative Learning Important?

Cooperative learning is so important. In first grade students need to learn how to work together as a team to accomplish goals. In almost every workforce you have to work with others. I think it is important to teach students at a young age how to work with others. Even if it is just a work sheet that they work together to complete or a huge project anytime students work together is very beneficial.

In my classroom for a big project my students write their own nonfiction book about an animal. I put them in groups base off of the animal they choose. They research together in their groups and discuss everything about their animals. It is great to have that extra support they can go to if they have a question about something.

4 Corners Strategy and How I use it

Another GREAT cooperative learning strategy that I use for my first graders is the four corners strategy. This is another one that gets the kiddos up and moving. This can be done with so many different subjects and lessons. The way 4 corners is set up is you make a statement and then the students move to one of the corners. The corners can be labeled strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. But as I said it can be modified to assign certain answers to each corner. You can do it as a get to know you activity in the first week of school or ask questions and have the students move to the correct answer. You can post signs in each corner with numbers 1-4 or the letters A-D. I usually begin everyone question with what is your favorite color to start it off. What you do is you ask a question with 4 possible answers. So for example, what’s your favorite color blue, pink, red, yellow. You point to the corners as you say the answers and the students move to the corner of their choosing. You can also just do this activity with 2 answer by just splitting the room in half and saying move to this side if you like blue better than pink, and this side if you like pick better than blue. As you can see it’s pretty flexible and can be done with any questions you would like to ask. I love doing this on the first day of school to get to know what the kids like and don’t like. 

How I Use Jigsaw

For my first post I would love to share one of my favorite cooperative learning strategies I use in my classroom, Jigsaw. The jigsaw strategy is such an easy way to get everyone involved in the class discussion without having to speak in front of the class. As a child I was very shy. Speaking in front of the class was my biggest fear and it took away from my learning. If I knew I had to speak in front of the class that’s all I thought about the whole time instead of learning what I needed to be learning. This is why I love cooperative learning strategies that get the student up, moving, and teaching each other. Keep in mind I teach 1st grade so I have to modify it to fit the needs of my students as you have to do with everything you do as a teacher. My students don’t read lengthy articles and teach each other about what they learned while reading. Instead we do this strategy more with math. 

I give each “expert” group a different problem to solve with a certain strategy to use. I give them all individual time to solve the problem and then I allow them to get back with their expert groups and check with each other to make sure they got the answer correct and used the strategy they correct way. After this they divide up into groups with 1 person from each expert group in the group. They all go around the table explaining/teaching how they solved their problem. 

Welcome To My Blog!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. Here is a little bit abot me. My name is Kaylie Rothdiener. I am a first grade teacher at Bolivar Primary School in Bolivar Missouri. I graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education. I am currently working on my Masters in Literacy at Missouri State. This blog is full of helpful tools, resources, and tips on how to use cooperative learning strategies in your classroom. I talk about some of my personal favorites and how I modify them to fit the needs of my kids. I love seeing me students working together to solve whatever problem is in front of them. In my classroom teamwork is a huge part. We spend the first few weeks of school learning what it means to be a good teammate and how working together is important for everyday life. I hope you enjoy this blog. Leave me comments of any ideas you have in regards to cooperative learning.