Four Corners

In this activity, the corners of the room are labeled. Students respond to a question prompt or statement and go to the corner that corresponds to their answer. Students in each group discuss why they responded the way they did. Possible corner labels: A, B, C, D; 1, 2, 3, 4; Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree.

Preparation

Prepare the labels for the four corners and the way they will be subdivided. E.g., For controversial statements, prepare the statements; for numbers or letters, prepare the categories; etc.

Procedure

1. Put the labels up in the four corners. 2. Write the statement or question prompt on the board. 3. Instruct students to identify which category they are in based on their opinion or experience. 4. Have students move to the relevant corners. 5. Provide additional questions for students to discuss in their groups while in the corners. 6. After the designated time, have a group member in each corner summarize the discussion.

Variations

1. Students could discuss their opinions in groups, collect arguments if they’re based on a controversial statement, and write an essay on the topic using the arguments in the discussion. 2. The four corners could be regrouped into two for agree vs. disagree, and the groups could prepare arguments for a debate. 3. The instructor could change the question prompt or statement to have students move around as their opinions change based on the question/statement presented. If the statements are related to the same theme, it could provide additional discussion to show how opinions about one portion of a theme are different for different individuals. 4. Ask their opinion on a somewhat controversial topic, e.g., Do you consider helping someone on a test friendship or cheating?

The students line up along a continuum with clearly cheating on one end and just being friendly on the other end of the continuum. If the class is very large or you want to make more of a distinction among answers, use corners as the end points and students can wrap themselves around the room to illustrate their responses on the continuum. Have them discuss their answer to a nearby student and/or have students explain why they placed themselves along the continuum as they did.

When to Use It

• To raise students’ interest in a topic • To activate students’ background knowledge about a particular topic • To energize a class • To divide the class into groups • To get a sense of how much students know about a topic

Level

Skills

Practice

Materials

Statement or instructions for the four divisions

Preparation Time

5 minutes

Activity Time

10–30 minutes

Possible Corners to Use

Strongly Agree — Strongly Disagree Corners: Prepare controversial statements for students to agree/disagree with related to the theme of the class (song, text, movie, etc.) Numbers: Prepare the range of numbers and categories Number of siblings: 0, 1–2, 3–4, 5+ Number of years studying English: <1, 1–2, 3–4, 5+ Favorites: Music: hip-hop, pop rock, classical, jazz Seasons: summer, fall, winter, spring Movies: drama, scary, comedy, documentary Emotions: love, like, dislike, hate

Sample Questions for Four Corners

1. In what month is your birthday? a) January – March b) April – June c) July – September d) October – December

3. How many siblings do you have? a) 0 b) 1 c) 2 d) 3 or more

5. How many grandparents do you still have living? a) 0 b) 1 c) 2 d) 3 or 4

7. What kind of students do you generally teach? a) Beginning students b) Low intermediate students c) High intermediate students d) Advanced students

9. What is your favorite season? a) Spring b) Summer c) Fall d) Winter

11. How many hours of TV do you watch a week? a) 1–5 b) 6–10 c) More than 10 d) I don’t generally watch TV 2. How many years have you been a teacher? a) Less than 2 years b) 2–5 years c) 6–10 years d) More than 10 years

4. My favorite activity or hobby is… a) Athletic b) Musical c) Intellectual d) Artistic

6. Have you ever traveled to the U.S.? a) Yes b) No c) Almost d) No, but I’ve traveled to another Englishspeaking country.

8. What kind of pet do you have? a) Cat or dog b) Bird or fish c) Another kind of pet d) I don’t have a pet

10. How do you like to spend your vacations? a) Traveling b) Relaxing c) Doing activities I don’t normally do d) Visiting with family

12. If you could choose to have any power, which power would you choose? a) Invisibility b) Flying c) Reading people’s minds d) Seeing the future