Teach your children well

Parents will occasionally gripe that they don't want their child "wasting time" by teaching a peer something they already know. However, elementary schoolers outscored those who had studied the same topic more traditionally when they were asked to teach their peers math concepts. That’s because good teaching requires you to check for gaps in your own understanding, which is a necessary part of excellent teaching. Additionally, research shows that students who teach put more effort into learning the topic, organize it better, and feel more purposeful.

Establishing ties with peers to teach them is possible in many ways. The first one is think-pair-share. Students are instructed to research a topic, discuss it in depth in pairs, and then present their findings to the class. Jigsaw groups make up the second. Students are given different lessons or topics to learn in small groups. Before returning to their original group to share what they know, students first have a discussion about their area of expertise with other students who were given the same organelle. The final way is "three before me". Before approaching the teacher, you advise kids to ask three of their peers for assistance.