Fluency Circles
Preparation: Photocopy and cut up the fluency strips, making sure that you have one strip for each pair in the class.
- To start, divide the class in half and demonstrate to students that they should form two concentric circles.
- Each student in the outside circle should face a student in the inside circle, thus forming a pair. Give each student in the outside circle a fluency circle strip that you have prepared in advance. (If you have an odd number of students, one student can wait on the outside for one round. At the end of that round, that student enters the outside circle and another student comes out for one round, etc.)
- When you tell them to start, the students in the outside circle begin the task by asking the questions on their fluency circle strip one by one.
- The students in the inside circle respond and the pairs continue to talk until you tell them to stop.
- When everyone has stopped talking, ask the students in the outside circle to rotate one place, repeat the process and rotate again. After they have spoken with three partners, ask them to rotate again, switch roles, and begin again. Generally the students in the outside circle will rotate three times and then the students on the inside circle will rotate three times. However, if the content is difficult for your students, you can ask them to continue for several more rounds.
