Project 2: Total Participation Techniques

Angie Carty
Grade 2
Domain 3: Instruction
3c. Engages students in challenging learning tasks supported by scaffolding; pacing is
appropriate
Total Participation Techniques (TPTs) allow you to maximize the amount of learning that
can take place by getting every student involved, instead of just calling on a few kids. This keeps
students engaged, but also gives the teacher an idea of whether each individual student is
understanding or not.
1. Green Card, Yellow Card, Red Card
• Through this technique, students are able to go at their own pace. The way it works is each
student keeps a ring with 3 colored cards on it; green, yellow and red. The cards are kept on
the students’ desks and after the teacher explains something, she will ask where each student
is with their understanding. The green card means “I understand and am ready to move on,”
the yellow card means “I am confused and need some more time,” and the red card means
“Woah, I am lost and I need that explained again.” Each of these gives students their own
voice. For example, if the teacher is explaining something, and all 20 students have green
cards held up, that gives the sign to the teacher that what he/she explained made sense to the
students. Another example is, if the teacher finishes explaining something, 6 students have
green, 10 have yellow and 4 have red cards held up, that gives feedback to the teacher that
he/she needs to go over that topic again. This gives nonverbal feedback to the teacher
because he/she can look around the room and quickly see where her students are at. This also
works well for some students who are afraid to ask questions, they are able to give a signal to
the teacher without feeling looked at or nervous around their peers. This is a similar
technique to that of the “thumbs up, down or sideways” technique. I prefer this because it
gives a tangible item to the students and a visual representation of where they are at. It good
to mix things up as well. I tend to find that students are less likely to be honest when they are
holding up their thumbs because they can see everyone else’s thumbs and feel embarrassed
to put their thumb sideways or down.
2. Echoes and Rhymes
• This technique utilizes verbal cues to get the attention of students. If the class is working in
groups, and the classroom is filled with conversations, if the teacher says “Class, Class
Class?” the students respond with “Yes, Yes Yes?” This specific phrase is an echo which is
very popular in classrooms. The older students get, the less likely they are to sing or do
rhymes. The echo technique is great for grades 2-4. For grades pre-K, K and 1, students are
still developing, so the way to get all of their attentions at once is rhymes, songs and simple
echoes. For example, in a kindergarten classroom, if it is time to leave and line up at the
door, the teacher might sing (in the tune of Farmer in the Dell) “We’re lining up at the door,
were lining up at the door, if you want to hear some more, please line up at the door!” or
another is “My hands are by my side, I’m standing straight and tall, my eyes are facing
forward, I’m ready for the hall.” The students get the repetition of that tune, so they sing
along with the teacher. This type of rhyme is done with younger grades because of their
developmental level. This type of song wouldn't be done with 4th or 5th grade students,
because they have matured and need other ways to stay engaged.
3. Stand and Stretch
• This technique is great for all grades, especially little bodies that have so much energy. So,
during a lesson or instruction from the teacher, she will tell the students to stand up, stretch
and keep their brain awake. This is a simple and effective technique for students to get some
energy out and stand up. Many students at young ages, prefer to stand up and do their work,
so this gives them that chance to stretch their legs.
4. 1, 2, 3, 4 Table Groups
• Students in a class would be broken into table groups of preferably 4 students. They would
be given a notecard to write their name on, and between the group each student decides their
number but it can only be 1, 2, 3 or 4 and each student needs a different number. When in
table groups, when students know they are going to share an answer, all four student must be
ready to share to the class, so it keeps the students motivated to participate because they don't
know what number 1-4 the teacher is going to pick. Once the teacher does pick, they will say
“Can my number 2’s stand up and share what they discussed with us all?” The 2’s from each
table will stand and take each turn to share. I personally love this technique because it gives
the students to stay engaged and prepare for the time to share. I also like this technique
because it is easily dividable new groups. For example, the teacher could say “Were going to
get into number groups. All the 1s together, all the 2s together, all the 3s together and all the
4s together!” This is fast and efficient group making and by the end the students get to know
their table groups and number groups really well.
5. Think, Pair, Share
• This technique is used quite frequently in the classroom. It can be used during read aloud to
discuss the story. It is a full class engagement technique to get students to talk to their
 neighbors about what they think an answer to a question might be. It helps students to think
individually about a topic or answer to a question and helps focus attention and engage
students in comprehending the reading material. TPS can be used across the board of content
areas in the classroom, in language arts, we use think-pair-share to deepen discussions about
specific characters in books the class is reading together. In math, think-pair-share can be
used for math problems with more than one correct answer, such as estimation, patterns, and
logic. This strategy can also be used when students are deciding how to approach a math
problem. With TPS it is important to prep the students if they are going to be asked to share
or not. She students might not feel confident or comfortable answering the question, so be
sure to prepare the students whether it will be shared with the class or just the partner.

•
6. Journal Writing
• I am personally a firm believer in journal writing. I think that
children need to reflect on themselves and it is important for
a teacher to know they are safe and how they are feeling. The
3-minute reflection journal engages all of the students and
are kept safe and confidential between the student and
teacher only. I bought a 3 minute gratitude journal, which I
photocopied and was planning to use in my 1st grade
classroom. This technique asked the student for 3 things they
are thankful for, a person who brought them joy, how they
are feeling, and what was the best part of their day. This is an
activity that is done silently and individually for the students
to have a moment to themselves. Gratitude journals are kept
in a 3-clip folder, and is given to the teacher. This is an
engagement activity but is also an activity to provide safety,
security and simply reflection on their feelings.

Interactive Read Aloud Lesson Plan (With Total Participation Techniques)

Learning Goals/Objectives: • Student will identify the theme (lesson) of the story.
• Students will sequence the important events to tell how the
lesson was learned.
• Students will be able to answer text dependent questions.
• Students will be able to summarize the story using vocabulary.
Before Reading: • Introduce Story Vocabulary: impress, fretting, relieved,
distraction, contagious, embarrassed, cure
• Set Purpose: Did you ever do something because you didn’t
want people to make fun of you? Let’s see what happens when
one girl tries to impress her friends.
During Reading: Teaching Points/Text Dependent Questions
• Begin reading to the students
• Stop on page 4. Emphasize how Camilla is turning into what
everyone talks about. “It’s not nice to laugh at our friends,
right?”
• Stop on page 5. “Does Camilla look happy?”
• TPT: Think, Pair, Share
• Stop on page 6. “Do you know what contagious means?”
• Stop on page 7. “What do you think will happen next?”
• TPT: Think, Pair, Share
• Stop on page 8. “What did Camilla turn into in this picture?”
• Stop on page 12. “The Therapist told Camilla to become one
with her room, why did Camilla say ‘I wish you hadn’t said
that?” Talk about the picture.
• Stop on page 13. “How do you think the old lady will help?”
• Stop on page 14. “What is going to happen to Camilla when
she eats the lima beans?”
After Reading: Comprehension Focus: Discuss the lesson that Camilla learned
and how the students could use that lesson in their lives?
Vocabulary Review: Ask students to use each vocabulary word
in a sentence to tell something about the story.
• Students will get into table groups to discuss the meaning of
the story and what lesson did Camilla learn?
• TPT (Green Card, Yellow Card, Red Card)
• Give the students 5 minutes to discuss with their groups
• At 3 minutes ask students to hold up the green, yellow or red
card if they are ready to move on, confused, or are not ready.
• Repeat at 1 minute to judge if more time is needed.
• Teacher will walk around and listen in on the students
conversations.
• TPT (1, 2, 3, 4 Table Groups)
• “Okay, my number 3’s can you stand up, and share?”
• Students will have the chance to share their ideas and
discuss.