Voting with Dots

Voting with Dots

1. Place a series of statements on sheets of paper and hang them on the wall. (This activity works best with open-ended statements that do not have one right or wrong answer.)
2. Place students in pairs.
3. Assign one of the statement sheets to each pair of students.
4. Ask student pairs to vote on the statement on the paper using a colored dot. For example – if the pair agrees with the statement, they post a green dot and if they disagree, they post a red dot. If pairs are unsure, they post a blue dot. Dots might also be used for classification of the statements into different categories (genres, etc.).
5. Student pairs move to the next statement sheet and vote again.
6. Pairs move from sheet to sheet until each pair has voted on each statement.
7. Lead a class discussion about the voting on the pages. Choose a sheet with a variety of responses and ask, "Could a pair who placed a green dot explain their thinking?" "What about this statement led you to vote with a green dot?"