A progressive brainstorm is a great way for students to preview or review knowledge of a topic. Students enjoy the process of collaboration with a small group. I have added this activity in an effort to ensure that my English Language Learners are thinking, talking, and actively engaged while using advanced language in dialogue.
I start by giving each group a large piece of poster paper. Once students have written down their ideas about a topic on their poster paper (2-3 minutes), they rotate to another group’s paper, and add their ideas to that poster. This process continues until all the groups have visited all the posters.
I recently added an additional step to the process. Once the brainstorms are complete, two groups combine to compare and contrast their brainstorms. This can be done on a large Venn diagram. Finally, each member uses a complex sentence to compare or contrast the two topics. Take a look at the video below:
What are some strategies or activities that you use to get your ELL students talking and actively collaborating during class?