Kindergarten Groups

This is for the kindergarten level:

• Introductions of classmates
• First day of classes
• Meet all of the other students in the class

• Self-assessment
• First day of classes
• Learn about who you are and about cooperation

• Create learning groups
• First week of classes
• Places students into teams after learning how to cooperate with others

• Talk about issues
• First weeks of class
• Teach students how to talk to others about the issues their groups are having and to work out problems

• Evaluation of progress
• Frequently throughout the semester
• Make sure students are working together and progressing

• Self-evaluation
• Mid and end of the semester
• Have students evaluate their own progress and cooperation

• Peer assessment
• Mid and end of the semester
• Have students evaluate their group members cooperation and progress

At the kindergarten level, it is important to realize that many students are egocentric and have difficulties working with others. When forming teams, it is best to put the students into groups. It can be as easy as by where they are placed in the classroom or an evaluation can be done to see what students work better in different situations. Once these teams have been made, it is important to re-evaluate the students frequently. Effective groups will be made with kindergarten students if they are constantly checked to make sure they are working together and helped with issues.

Peer ratings are difficult at this age, because many students cannot read very much. The best thing for this would be to give smiley and sad faces based on how well someone worked with others. At this age, one of the most important concepts to learn is cooperation with others, so it is important to put a focus on this.