More Back To School Ideas: Picking Partners

Fun and Fair Ways To Pick A Partner

tips on how to pick a partner, fun ways to pick partners, classroom management tips, back to school ideas, ideas for back to school When it comes to children choosing a partner they sometimes find it hard to make a decision, because they are bombarded with “Pick me, pick me!” as many friends start asking to be their partner.

Other children feel left out because no one wants to be their partner, still others continue to choose the same child to work with ALL of the time.

I try to mix things up and make things fun and fair, with no hurt feelings, by having students pick a partner in a variety of enjoyable, sometimes themed-ways, that often carry an educational purpose with them as well.

Here are some of my favorite tips:

Find someone wearing the same color as you are.
Your partner is sitting on your left/right.
Count off by 2’s, 3’s, or 5’s etc. Remember your number. Look at the numbers on the board and see who your number match is. (5 is matched with 10, 15 with 20 etc.)
I buy stick-on bows at Christmas when they go on sale and make sure that I have at least 12 different kinds with matches. I put them in two different seasonal bags and then have children choose a bow, stick it on and go find their partner.

It's Partner Time! Make this unique clock:

Reinforce colors, shapes, numbers, telling time and have fun spinning by making my Partner Time Clock.
Laminate the students’ clocks when they are returned; help them punch a hole in the center with a protractor, insert a brass brad and use a paperclip for a spinner!
Click on the link to view/print everything you need.

A Deck Of Cards:

Sort cards in a deck of playing cards so that matches come out perfect and then have students choose a card and find their “mate”.
i.e. the 2 of diamonds is partner with the 2 of spades or however you want to make it.

Bulletin Board Border:

I also use seasonal bulletin board border like apples or pumpkins and cut the pieces apart putting upper or lowercase letters on each one.
Make sure you have only enough apples for the amount of children you have present that day.
Put them in two different baskets/bags, (one for uppercase and one for lowercase) and then have ½ the students choose an uppercase apple and ½ choose a lowercase one. Give them a minute to go find their partner.
You can do the same with different colored shapes.
Cut apart compound words. Write the answers on the board to assist students in finding their partner.

Puzzles: Who's My Partner?

Use contractions and have them find their match. Write the answers on the board to help them out. Use the squirrel/acorn cards in my free Take Action With Contractions Help Book
Use my seasonal Partner Monthly Puzzles. Like the apple pictured here for September or in February run off a copy of my heart on 12 different colors of construction paper, laminate the paper and then cut the hearts apart.
Put them in two different “valentine” envelopes and have the children choose who will be their Valentine for the day. Click on the link to check them out.
Run off, laminate and cut up my Number Puzzles, where the number 3 and the number word are partners, or the number 3 and the set of 3 stars are partnered.
There are 3 ways to make puzzles with these cards and a variety of other ways to use them. Click on the link to check them out.

I hope you found some ideas here of how to make choosing a partner more fun and certainly more fair. (Hopefully “Partners Without Tears!”)

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