Carousel Brainstorming

This is an activity I found in Text and Lessons for Content-Area Reading by Harvey "Smokey" Daniels and Nancy Steineke.  It is a way for kids to discuss a topic both before they start learning about it, and then after as well.  You can hold on to their original thoughts to let them see the changes by the end of a unit or lesson(s).

You can use it with any topic you are discussing.  It provides a way for kids to get up and move around the room while discussing a variety of prompts you provide them with.  

Carousel Brainstorming

What you need:  chart paper, different coloured markers, question prompts

1. 4 students per group may work the best.  
2. What prompts do you want the students to discuss and post their thoughts about?  If you're doing this to prepare for a unit, what will you be learning in the unit?  If you're doing this activity to prepare for reading an article, what do you want the students to get out of the article?  Create about 4 to 6 prompts.
3. Put one prompt on each piece of chart paper and spread the chart paper out in different areas around the classroom.  
4. In groups of 4, ask the students to pick one of the prompts to begin it.  Each group will have a different colour marker to write on the chart paper with.  As they read the prompt on their first chart the students can talk about it.  Remind them to write everything down and to include all ideas.  One person should be the scribe.  They should stay at the same prompt until you tell them to move to the next one.
5. Don't let them spend too much time at each chart because you want the next group to be able to contribute some ideas as well.  When you feel they've spent an appropriate amount of time at their first prompt, ask them to stop writing.  
6. Let the students know when they move to the next prompt they will need to read the original question, as well as what the other groups have written on about the prompt.  A different person in the group should be the scribe at the new station.  
7. Continue to move the groups through the different stations until they've had a chance at each one. They may need differing amounts of time at each one.
8. After they've written on each prompt, give them some time to walk around and read all the comments.
9. If you are reading an article related to the prompts, the students can now head back to their seats and look through the article to see if they can make any connections to what was posted around the room.  They can look back at the chart papers for reference.  If the article is photocopied, show the students how you would like them to annotate it.
10. After the students have read it, have them do a think, pair, share about the connections they made in the article.  Then share as a whole class.