This zero-prep activity facilitates a lot of interaction in a short amount of time. An added benefit is that gets everyone out of their seats.

 

1. Divide the class into two groups of equal numbers. (If you have an odd number of students, participate in the activity yourself.) Students form two lines facing one another.

2. Students exchange information. Then one line shifts position so that each student has a new partner. (The person at the end of the moving line moves to the beginning of the line.)

3. Students exchange the same information with their new partners. (Having students recite the same lines with each partner, like actors in a play, keeps the activity–literally–moving along. The activity doesn’t get boring because students hear new information from each partner.) Then they shift positions again.

4. The students in the moving line continue to interact with new partners and then move on. The activity concludes when the students in the moving line are back in their original positions.

Variation: The Moving Circle. Students form two concentric circles. The inside circle faces out, and the outside circle faces in. After each exchange, the outside circle shifts position; the inside circle remains stationary.