Planning a Class

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• Contemplate how many groups you'll need and how many students you'd like in each group. Have students choose their own groups or form groups by counting off numbers or some other means (everyone who's wearing red in group one, etc…). Or arrange groups prior to class, based on your knowledge about students' personalities or writing abilities. Either way, anticipate student absences.
• Decide how much time to allow for each part of the activity.
• Determine how to present the activity. Will you distribute instructions on paper? List tasks on an overhead or board? It's best to provide visual as well as oral instructions for activities to help students stay on task.
• Think about whether students should turn in the work they do in groups.
• Decide if students should meet with groups outside of class and how they can facilitate this (in person, over e-mail, by phone, etc…).