Differentiation Tip: Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share is a quick and easy way to tap into student's prior knowledge or to allow students time to process information.  Think-Pair-Share can be used at any point during a lesson.  

Think-Pair-Share Procedure:

• Give a question or vocabulary word to think about

• Allow a few moments (usually about 30 sec to a minute or so) for students to think about the question or problem

• Have students share their thoughts with a partner.  They should also come to an agreement about what they want to share with the class

• Have pairs of students share their thoughts on the question or problem

 Using Think-Pair-Share before a lesson:

• allows students to tap into their prior knowledge.

• allows you to gather formative data about what students already know about a topic before starting instruction.  You can adjust instruction based on student responses.  For example, you may discover that students already know a lot about this topic and only need a short review rather than a complete lesson.  Or,  you may notice that students have some misconceptions about the topic that need to be addressed during instruction. 

Using Think-Pair-Share during a lesson:

• allows students time to process their learning.

• allows you to gather formative data about what students are getting from the lesson.  You can then adjust instruction based on what you see.  If students seem to understand what they've just learned, you can move on.  If they seem to have some misconceptions, you can address them when instruction continues.  This could also be a perfect time to break students into groups based on understanding of the concept.

  Using Think-Pair-Share at the end of a lesson:

• allows students time to process and reflect on their learning.

• allows you to gather formative data about what students got from the lesson.  You can then adjust instruction for the next based on what you learn.  You could use this information to assign small groups the next day.  Some groups may be ready to practice the skills being learned and others may need more small group instruction.

Think-Pair-Share Graphic Organizer:

Think-Pair-Share Graphic Organizer  - This graphic organizer will help students keep track of their thoughts during a Think-Pair-Share.  They could keep it in their binders and keep adding to it each time you do Think-Pair-Shares.