It’s obvious in the classroom when there are the same students always raising their hands to chime in a discussion, while the rest are quiet or disengaged. This disengagement is usually because most students need more time to process their thoughts before speaking. By the time they’re ready, the quicker participators have stolen the spotlight . . . yet again!
This is where the Think-Pair-Share strategy works really well, because it gives all students a dedicated chance to process their thoughts, practice speaking them aloud, and then confidently participate in the sharing component with the rest of the class.
The timing with this strategy is flexible depending on the topic and your class. Listening in on the partner conversations helps you determine when it’s time to wrap it up.
The teacher poses a problem (e.g., “Where do you see or use decimals in every day life?”). Students must first think independently about the examples. I usually set a timer for ‘thinking time.’ In a math class, 1 minute is often enough.
Students are instructed to turn to the person sitting next to them to discuss their ideas and examples with each other. This is a low-stakes environment where they can practice articulating their thoughts. Pro-Tip: Try to not spend too long on this phase (2 minutes is often enough) to prevent students from going off-topic.
Students share the ideas and examples they discussed with the rest of the class. Even the students who usually don’t participate are now ready to speak because they have already practiced their answer!
Teacher Tip: This strategy can also be used as an assessment tool! As students are in the “Pair” stage, walk around the classroom, listen to the partner discussions, and make observation notes about their conversations.
To see this strategy in action, here is exactly how I implement it in a lesson focused on making real-life connections with decimals:
I ask students to Think about: Where do you see or use decimals in every day life? (1 minute timer)
Students Pair up and discuss their examples. (2 minute timer)
Students then Share the everyday examples they thought of with the rest of the class. I write the examples given by the students on the board.
At the end, I reveal a pre-made list of examples and ask students to check if we need to add any to our class discussion list.
If you’re looking for high-engagement lessons that lend themselves perfectly to the Think-Pair-Share strategy, my Math Mysteries and Reading Mysteries are designed for just this kind of discussion.
Instead of asking a general question, the math mystery poses a high-stakes problem your students must solve, naturally leading them into rich discussions about the clues.
My Private Eye CSI Literacy Mysteries are perfect for this, as students must make inferences, analyze the text for clues, use critical thinking, and deductive reasoning to solve the case.
