The ABCs of
Cooperative Learning

The ABCs of Cooperative Learning is a favorite cooperative-learning activity in Bonnie Slipke's sixth-to-eighth grade classroom.

The project usually works this way: First, students discuss cooperation and its importance when working on activities together. The teacher then organizes students into pairs and provides each pair with a letter of the alphabet. Each pair of students develops a trait of cooperation that begins with their assigned letter, positions the letter on a designated bulletin board, and writes the corresponding trait next to it. The project then becomes a bulletin board that can remain on display during the entire school year.

Slipke does the project a little differently, however: She starts with a blank 26-piece puzzle. After the discussion on the importance of cooperation, each student is assigned a letter of the alphabet and provided with a puzzle piece. (Depending on class size, some students might be assigned more than one letter or, in larger classes, students might work in pairs.) Students then write their assigned letters on the puzzle pieces and decorated them as they wish. When all 26 pieces are done, students work together to assemble the puzzle, glue the pieces on white paper, and sign their names. Slipke laminates the puzzle and uses it as a permanent display in her classroom.

Source: Lets Cooperate

09/14/2010