Four Corners with WIDA Example
Incorporating Movement and Thinking in Any Subject
I was chatting with a colleague recently, and she told me she needed something to make classes more engaging and interesting. She emphasized that it wasn’t just for the students but for her also. I shared this idea with her. It is so amazing that it works for any level; it just depends on what prompts you share….which makes it excellent for a class with Multilingual Learners.
Before class:
Preparation: Prepare a statement, question, or topic related to your lesson that can be answered in various ways on a PowerPoint presentation or large enough poster that all can see it. This statement should be open-ended and thought-provoking.
Physical Arrangement: Create simple posters that say "Strongly Agree," "Agree," "Disagree," and "Strongly Disagree” and tape them up in the four corners of the classroom.
During class:
Statement/Question Presentation: Project the statement or question to the class and ensure all students understand it. For Multilingual Learners, provide translation or graphics.
Positioning: Set a timer for 15 to 30 seconds so students have time to think about their perspective on the statement/question. Tell them to physically move to the corner of the room that corresponds to their viewpoint. For example, those who strongly agree with the statement would gather in the "Strongly Agree" corner, while those who strongly disagree would gather in the "Strongly Disagree" corner. *This is why it’s essential to have statements that could be answered in various ways.
Discussion: Once students are in their chosen corners, they discuss their perspectives with their peers in that group. This discussion phase allows them to share their reasoning and hear others' opinions. You can encourage students to provide evidence or examples to support their views. I usually ask a student from each corner to share a reason or two for choosing that corner.
Repeat: Repeat the same process for the next statement you’ve prepared. It’s important to allow students to share their experiences with each other and the whole group about their reasoning, but you also don’t want to stay too long.
Rationale for the Four Corners Teaching Activity:
Kinesthetic movement: The physical movement allows students a change of pace.
Critical Thinking: It promotes critical thinking skills as students evaluate their views and consider alternative perspectives.
Classroom Interaction: It encourages peer-to-peer interaction and allows students to learn from one another.
Differentiated Instruction: It accommodates various viewpoints.
Conflict Resolution: It provides an opportunity for students to practice respectful disagreement and conflict resolution.
Example for a High School Geography Class with WIDA Level 2 & 3 Students
Topic: Climate Change and Its Impact on Geography
Before activity: Prepare four statements about climate change and its impact on geography. Use simplified language to ensure understanding at WIDA Level 2. Add large, easy-to-understand visuals or symbols for each statement. Make sure students can clearly see the labels. *I use Google Images to quickly insert a visual on the slide (see example below).
For example:
Statement 1: "Climate change makes the Earth hotter."
Statement 2: "Climate change causes more floods and storms."
Statement 3: "Climate change is not a big problem for geography."
Statement 4: "Climate change affects where people can live."
Create large, easy-to-understand visuals or symbols representing each statement. Make sure students can clearly see the labels.
During activity:
Introduce each statement one by one, and use simple language to explain what it means. Point to the visual aids or drawings to add comprehensible input.
After presenting each statement, instruct students to move to the corner of the room that corresponds to their response to the statement. Add a visual for each corner poster also.
For example:
Corner 1: "Agree" - If they agree with the statement.
Corner 2: "Strongly Agree" - If they strongly agree.
Corner 3: "Disagree" - If they disagree.
Corner 4: "Strongly Disagree" - If they strongly disagree.
Discussion: Once students are in their chosen corners, encourage them to discuss their reasons for agreeing or disagreeing in small groups. Allow them to speak in their dominant language but translate back to English when sharing ideas with the class. Provide sentence starters or visuals to help them express their opinions, such as:
"I think..."
"Because..."
After activity:
Class Discussion: Bring the class back together for a whole-class discussion. Ask a representative from each corner to share their group's thoughts and reasons. Use visuals, gestures, or simple language to summarize the main points.
Visual Recap: Use visual aids (e.g., diagrams, images) to recap the key points of the discussion. This can help reinforce understanding, especially for Multilingual Learners.
Reflection: Ask students to reflect on what they learned during the activity. Use simple questions like, "Did your opinion change after hearing from others? Why or why not?" Encourage students to use basic vocabulary to express their thoughts.
Have you tried this activity? What worked? Helpful hints?