Inside-Outside+Circle

__What is Inside-Outside Circle? __ Inside-Outside Circle is an activity in which each student comes up with a question about a specific unit or topic. Students are then split into two groups. Each group forms a circle with a smaller circle on the inside of a larger circle. Students on the outer of the circle will go around the room asking student generated questions to students on the inner circle. This process is repeated until all students have answered all questions.

__Helpful Video: __ media type="file" key="Discovering Voice_ Inside-Outside Circle2.mp4" width="420" height="420" align="center"

__Directions __
 * 1) Each student comes up with a question about a specific unit or topic.
 * 2) Students are split into two groups
 * 3) Each group forms a circle; one smaller, inner and a larger, outer circle. Students making up the inner circle are to sit facing the students on the outer circle.
 * 4) Students on the inner circle will ask their question to the student on the outer circle.
 * 5) Students comprising the outer circle each answer the inner circle student’s questions then ask their questions to the students on the inner circle.
 * 6) After each student has had a chance to ask and answer the questions the student on the outer circle moves 1 place to the left and the student on the inner circle remains in the same spot. Steps are then repeated starting at step 4.

__Why use Inside-Outside Circle __ Inside-Outside circle is an interactive exercise that enables students to get out of their seat and move around, while learning valuable information. This activity results in students being able to learn and retain more information because they are both quizzing and teaching one another. This activity also forces students who would not normally participate in class to be more engaged than they otherwise would. This is a quick formative assessment which is easy to execute because the teacher can stand in the middle of the circle and evaluate students’ level of understanding.

__Variations __ Other variations of this exercise can also be useful in a classroom setting. For example, it may also be effective to use a summary review instead of a direct question and answer. It may also be useful to have students arrange their desks in two long rows rather than having students form circles. In this situation, students will move from desk to desk instead of around a circle. These alternative situations can provide students with customized learning experiences which can be arranged to best fit the needs of students.

__Sources: __ http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/inside-outside-circles <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">http://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/Inside-OutsideCircle.html

<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">Mikella Nelson