1. List, Group, Label Purpose: Students will: to activate prior knowledge
to consolidate previous learning
Students will:
individually brainstorm words related to a topic (Note: you could give students the list of words instead.)
share their ideas (pairs/small groups) and generate a list (usually words/phrases)
write each word on a sticky note
organize/group the words under common headings/labels that make sense to them
justify the labels and the grouping – this step is crucial for it holds students accountable for headings that don’t relate to the topic
You can also use this strategy again after learning. Students can add words to the list that they acquired during the unit. The list and labels provide students with the main points and concepts they need to review before an evaluation.

2. List, Group, Label – cont’d
Topic:
Quadrilaterals & Triangles
Labels generated by students:
types of triangles
types of quadrilaterals
parts of triangles
parts of quadrilaterals
things you measure and things you measure with
Words generated by students:
4 sides equilateral
cm angles
acute trapezoids
scalene square
obtuse vertex
3 sides rectangle
protractor isosceles
right triangle parallelogram
base rhombus
right angles diagonal
corner angles add to 180o
perimeter angles add to 360o
height parallel sides
This strategy can be used to activate students’ prior knowledge at the beginning of a unit. Students will work in pairs or small groups to generate a list of words (usually 20 to 25 words) that they associate with a topic and then add more associations as they work with the list. You can also use this strategy again after learning. Students can add words to the list that they acquired during the unit. The list and labels provide students with the main points and concepts they need to review before an evaluation.