Peer Explaining: Summarising key points

In this strategy, pairs improve their summary of key points.

• Warn students first that you want them to summarise the topic to each other, in pairs.
• Design two challenging questions that summarise the key points of the topic you are about to teach.
• Require the students to identify the details and reasons why, or to stress the meaning and structure of information
• Number and make the questions clearly visible to the students.
• Then teach the topic using differentiated presentation of the information. Meanwhile, the students may try to work out the answers to the questions.
• Put students into pairs, give them one question each
• Students prepare what they will say to each other for a minute or so; they can work individually and write down what they will say to each other
• Students answer the questions, explaining the key points to each other
• Follow with a class discussion on what issues came up