Hexagonal Thinking

 

This small group strategy helps students think deeper and make connections.  You start with a series of hexagons (you can do this on paper - ClassTools.Net has a hexagon generating tool - or with Google Slides) and the students work in groups to organize and build connections.  I recently joined two fifth-grade classes (thanks to Sandy and Tracey) where the hexagons were labeled with types of candy.  I also gave each group a few blanks so they could add their own favorites.

In my demonstration, I mentioned the connection between Skittles and M&Ms. I reminded the students not to go to the obvious answer (i.e., they are both round) but rather to dig deeper.  This is the list we generated:

1. They both come in multiple colors and in different flavors.

2. They come in different packaging sizes.

3. The outside is different from the inside.

4. They don’t melt in your hand.

5. They both have letters on them (I must admit, I think I eat the M&Ms so quickly, I might have missed those letters!)

6. They both are high in sugar.

They worked in groups of three or four for about fifteen minutes. Each group glued their hexagons (using construction paper) and shared their strongest connection. We did a gallery walk to view the results.  Here are my implementation suggestions:

1. Start with a low-content topic (I did popular candy- they were amazed I could find links between Peeps and Hersey Kisses) and I would start on paper first. Once they have the process, I would move to academic content (vocabulary words, character traits, historical events, and people).

2. Organize first and then glue- I would hold off on the glue until you have seen their work and provided some feedback. I had some students who couldn’t tell me the connection.  But since they had already used the glue, it was hard for them to change the arrangement.

3. Walk around and listen to the conversations- that’s where the learning is happening. Some of my students wrote their connections on the construction paper as well.

4. While many of the students found it easy to put pairs together, I would encourage them to try and join these pairs and build a longer chain. From the yellow samples, you can see this provided more connections.

5. If you are going to use hexagonal thinking frequently, I would make laminated sets and then use dry-erase markers to add the text.(While we have lots of Ellison blocks, there were no hexagons!)

6. For younger learners, replace the text with an image.

7. For my classes I cut the shapes- an option would be to have your students cut them out.

If you are looking for additional information, please see Betsy Potash’s blog.TeachersFirst also did a webinar you can access the recording and resources here. This post demonstrates the Google Slide applications.