Report #3
FIPP Activity Report
Funded by the Basic Skills Initiative
Name Sheryl Kunisaki
Date November 4, 2009
FIPP Partner Lijun Wang
Section #6644
Activity /Strategy Pair Share
Category Classroom Activity
Briefly describe the activity/strategy.
1. Introduction For "Pair Sharing," I put students in pairs, and I assign one
sentence to each pair. For example, each pair is assigned one sentence with
a run-on or fragment.
2. Set up & Supplies This activity requires no extra preparation. Students use
information from their textbooks and handouts for pair sharing.
3. Directions Each pair is asked to identify what kind of grammar mistake appears
in a sentence and to correct the mistake. Then the pair comes to the front of
the class and becomes the teacher. They show their sentence to the class via
the document camera. The pair reads the sentence and identifies the
grammatical mistake that appears in the sentence. They must must also
explain why the corrections they've made are correct.
4. Conclusion Pair sharing is a wonderful activity for students because they
become active learners. By sharing ideas in pairs and in front of the class,
students have a better understanding of the grammar rules and other topics
covered in class.
What worked well? Pair sharing works well for shy students because they are working
with someone else. Early in the semester when a pair came to the front of the class,
the shy student in the pair would stand to the side and just listen. Little by little, even
the shy students would share their grammar corrections with the class.
What would you change? I tried to have pairs share by writing notes to one another, but
this didn't work very well. ESL students are very concerned about getting their spelling,
grammar, and punctuation correct, so they were too self-conscious to share by writing
their thoughts. When I asked them to discuss the grammar rules and their corrections
with their partner, ideas flowed easily and the pairs eagerly came to the front of the
class to be the teacher.
Would you use the activity/strategy again? Why or why not? I continue to use this activity
in my class this semester, and I will use it next semester. Sharing ideas with
classmates help students understand concepts better because they become active
learners. They know why a sentence is grammatically incorrect if they can verbally
explain the reason to someone else. I would also use this activity again because it helps
shy students feel comfortable with others.
Please describe any student learning outcomes/changes that you observed after the
implementation of the activity/strategy. As I write this report, my students are writing an
in-class narrative essay about a personal experience that they had during the second
half of their lives. As I walked around, I noticed many students have chosen to write
about very private experiences. I believe "Pair Sharing" and other FIPP activities have
made my students feel comfortable and safe with me and their classmates.