Student Contributor: H. Ellis
Clock partners can be used for a multitude of purposes. At the beginning of the year, the students will pick 12 of their classmates and assign each of them a number on their respective clock. Each partner should have each other’s names written on the same number on their clock.
Once the clock partners have been assigned, they can be used for any activity throughout the year that requires partnerships. If there is an odd number of students, trios are okay but make sure the students write both names on the same number if this is the case. Once all 12 partnerships have been used, the process can be repeated. This would be kept track on a poster on the wall in the classroom, as shown in the picture with the green background. I would recommend about halfway through the year switching up their clock of partners by starting the process again, instructing them to only use up to three of the same partners if they need to. I loved this tool when I was a student in fifth grade and think it would work well in just about any upper grade classroom. Make sure to set up clear expectations at the beginning of the year though for the students and remind them periodically as needed.
I placed this tool in the supportive phase because this takes away the issue of having to select partners for activities throughout the year and supports the students in getting to know their peers. In this tool, no student is left out. I think it could also work in the preventative phase in encouraging the students to have partners outside of their friend group. The theory of influence that fits best with this tool is student-directed. This tool is put together by the students and kept track of by the students as well throughout the year. I think this tool is best used in the upper grades because those are the grades that students need the most encouragement in including others. The closer the students get to middle school, the more likely it is that cliques of friends will be present.
More Information –
Tool Source: My own experience in fifth grade
