Hand - Mouth - Ear - No: Easy Cards for Interaction

What is it for?
Facilitating clear roles in group work while practicing skills such as active listening, giving clear directions and analyzing information.

How does it work?
Each student in a group of 4 gets one card.  Each card defines a specific role in the group.  

• The EAR only listens, it does not speak or use hands.  This card gives the student a chance to listen and learn from others' mistakes.
• The MOUTH speaks but does not use hand or any other body language.  It allows students to practice giving clear and specific directions.
• The HAND listens to and does exactly what the mouth says. 
• The NO can only say "No" when he or she disagrees with what is happening.

How do you use it?
I most recently used it for a reading group working with the book Stone Fox.  I photocopied pictures from the text and pasted them on card stock.  The groups had to put the pictures of the story in chronological order by laying that out on a table.  Using the In order to do this, they had to be specific not only about the characters and action depicted in the pictures but also about word 

This activity is adapted from Tools for the Mind.

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