The Tea Party Strategy {Student Engagement}
As you well know by now, I am a big fan of using activities that engage and/or hook my students. Scoot, Find Your Partner, and I Spy are just a few of my favorites. But, back in my student teaching days, my mentor teacher shared the idea of a "Tea Party" with me.Don't worry, there isn't any tea involved. And, it isn't really even much of a party. Ha!
What is a Tea Party, you ask? It's essentially a mingle. Kind of like Find Your Partner, but this time, you can interact with anyone you encounter.
In any event, this is how it plays out in the classroom:
- Print, laminate, and cut out the information cards.
- Give each student a card.
- Set a time limit (2-4 minutes) and task students with reading their fact to as many classmates as they can in the allotted time.
- Regroup and review the facts that the students learned.
I like to "host" my tea parties at the start of a unit, as unit opener. This allows the students to get some background knowledge, and it also allows for some good discussion. Of course, one could host a tea party whenever they'd like!
Click the image below to grab a free copy of the newly updated tea party from Google Docs. Enjoy!
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