Best for: Discussions where only a few students tend to respond or students may need processing time before speaking.
Pose a question and give everyone 1–2 minutes to think and jot down a response before anyone speaks.
Then:
Think — Consider the question independently.
Write — Capture an idea, question, connection, or example.
Share — Discuss with a partner or small group.
To bring ideas back to the whole class, try asking:
What came up in your conversation that would be useful for the rest of us to hear?
rather than simply:
Who wants to share?
Try this: Occasionally invite students to share something they heard from a partner rather than their own idea.
Reflect:
Whose thinking entered the conversation that I might not otherwise have heard?