Fun and creative ways to partner students

I use cooperative learning every single day in my classroom. Sometimes in every subject.I always set up my classroom so that each student always had a partner. However, sometimes I liked to change things up and pair them up differently. I mean wouldn’t you get tired of working with the same person day in and day out?

What I LOVE about these ways to partner students is that it gets them all up out of their seats and moving around the classroom. Anything that gets students up and moving is a win in my book.

Basically if you have 20 students, then you would need 10 pairs. 24 students, then 12 pairs. Pass out one card to each student. When you say “GO”, students stand up and walk around the room trying to find their partner. When they find their partner, you can have them stand together, high five each other, or sit down.

If you have an odd number of students, then you get to play too. And when it’s time for them to sit down and get to work with their partner, then either they can pick which partner pair to work with or you can pick for them.

I’ve included several different ways that you can do this.

You can use index cards….

 

You can use playing cards and have students find their matching number. If you wanted a group, then find four Kings, Aces, etc.

I created these Pick a Partner Cards for my classroom since my students were so visual. They absolutely LOVED them and requested that I use them all the time. I included 108 card pairs so I could easily rotate them and they wouldn’t get bored. I also included holiday ones to use during the holidays. One of my favorite things about them is that I included places from around the world, and they often had to ask about it and where it was. For this teacher who has traveled to many places around the world, it made me heart smile.

What are your favorite ways to pair up students?

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