Kagan Rally Table: a variation on the theme

A couple of summers ago I blogged about Kagan Structures for Spanish, which I have been experimenting with since then.  

I have been using a variation on the idea of the Rally Table, where students work in pairs, each writing in a different colour to complete a task.

I have given double-sided worksheets to pairs of children, often mixed-ability pairs, for them to complete together.  They each choose a different colour to write in (it's the only time I will allow technicolour gel pens!).  They write their names at the top with their colours to show me who has written what.

Here is a copy of one such activity that Year 5 Spanish did on Thursday.  I made it using Pictotraductor:

Most pairs completed the activity - they seem to get more work done when they are working with a partner - and the activity was generally completed more accurately than usual.  One of the children, who is generally apathetic and loathe to complete work, said at the end "I know how to do those sentences now", with a real sense of achievement.

With Year 4 a couple of weeks ago, I gave the pairs a worksheet that had spaces for Spanish sentences and the translated English sentences.  They had to compose as many sentences as they could using the different parts of the present tense of tener, then translate the sentences into English.  The old adage of "two heads are better than one" was certainly true in this case.  The children said in their feedback that they enjoyed sharing ideas with someone they don't usually work with. 

Why not give it a try?  You don't have to have a special worksheet for it, any will do.