Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Heather is working alone, again It is your third period 7th grade math class. You have just finished the lesson and your students are working either in pairs or alone – their choice. You notice that Heather is working alone, again. She seems to work for a moment, then daydream out the window, and then return working again. You reflect that Heather's face often looks emotionless or blank and you can't remember if you have ever seen her smile since school started. However, you have seen her cry before during tests and also at times during individual or partner seatwork. Other teachers have remarked on seeing similar behavior but to a lesser extent than in your classroom. What is next? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) I agree that maybe opening up to heather would be a good place to start. Something else you could do is have the students make a list of 3 people they want to work with every Friday to prepare for partner work the following week. I think you would be surprised by the results. This is a good method for allowing students the choice to pick their partner but also gives you the ability to take them out of their comfort zone.