Brooke Lambert and Lauren Lopez

Setup:
Teacher prepares dividers for each pair of students
Optional: provide directional vocabulary for lower
grades or students with learning challenges (ex. up,
down, right, diagonal, next to, underneath)
Steps:
1. Organize students into groups of two.
2. Set up students on opposite sides of a barrier.
3. Designate one student to be the Sender and one
student to be the Receiver.
4. Sender arranges game pieces on the game board while the Receiver waits quietly.
5. Sender gives the Receiver directions to match the Senders arrangement of game pieces on
the game board.
6. When finished, partners set game boards side-by-side to check for accuracy.
7. Receiver praises Sender, and they develop improvement strategies.
8. Roles are switched, and the game is played again.

Ideas for using Match Mine:

Team/Classbuilding:
This strategy involves collaboration between two students.
Promotes communication skills when students have to:
ask for clarification
checking for understanding
giving clear and precise directions
use appropriate tone with their partner
Content:
Math lesson: Patterns, shapes, colors, graphing and length (using lines on X, Y coordinates)
Science lesson: Diagramming (Example: The sender can develop a diagram of the inside of a
plant cell and relay its parts to the receiver.)
Assessment:

Can be used as a formative assessment. The teacher can assess the students understanding by
walking around the classroom to monitoring the students and observe how they are
communicating with one another. If students are having difficulties, the teacher can ask
questions, such as: Do you understand what he/she is asking you to do? or Can you tell your
partner something that might help you understand more clearly?
The teacher can also assess the students game boards at the end of the activity to see how well
they understood the directions of their partner.

Why This Strategy is Effective

This strategy is effective because it promotes social interaction through peer to peer verbal
communication (active listening).
Promotes participation from each student in the class (everyone has a role)
encourages verbal participation in a low-risk setting, which is helpful for students who may be
apprehensive to participate in a whole class setting.
Role Taking Ability: Tests the students ability to receive and understand directions given by
another individual.

Requires the sender student to think critically about how he or she will set up the game
board. The sender also has to strategize how they will relay directions so their partner clearly
understands.