Sometimes your students need to get up and move around, so I suggest the four corners activity. For this activity, you designate each corner of the room as strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. There is no neutral because you want the students to make a choice that is going to push them. It is also important to talk to students about making the choice that they believe and not where they see their friends going. In addition, I also remind students that we need to be respectful of one another’s opinions, ideas, and thoughts.
The organization of four corners is that everyone starts in the center of the room. Then you read a statement, and the students then to walk to the corner that they identify the most with. An example of a statement that you would read is “all humans have the same rights.” Once all of the students decide on which corner they want to be a part of, they have 1 minute to discuss why they feel that way as a group. At the end of the minute, you will have each corner share their perspective. Once all of the corners have shared, you have the students respond aloud or on paper whether you think they would change their corner choice. After the response/reflection time, you can have a whole class discussion or you can continue with another statement.
This activity is a great way to get the students moving, to get an understanding of where they are with the material, and to learn their beliefs. Four corners can be used anytime throughout a unit or book study. Sometimes it’s even fun to do this before and after the lesson or unit to see how and if students change their perspectives.
Please feel free to make any adjustments or changes to this activity to meet the needs of your students.