Three Stray, One Stay is a cooperative learning strategy that can be used to promote active learning, engagement, and understanding. In this strategy, students work in groups of four. One student from each group is then designated as the “stay” student, while the other three students become “stray” students. The stay students remain at their home desks, while the stray students rotate to three other desks, sharing their group’s work and gathering information from the other groups.

Materials:

• Whiteboard or flipchart
• Markers
• Timer
• Worksheets or other materials related to the lesson

Procedure:

1. Group Students (5 minutes):
   • Divide the students into groups of four.
2. Assign Roles (5 minutes):
   • Assign each student a role: stay student or stray student.
3. Introduce the Topic or Question (5-10 minutes):
   • Present the task or question to the class.
4. Group Work (20-30 minutes):
   • Give the students time to work on the task or question in their groups.
   • Once the groups have had a chance to work, designate one student from each group as the stay student.
   • Have the stray students rotate to three other desks, sharing their group’s work and gathering information from the other groups.
   • After the stray students have completed their rotations, have them return to their home desks.
5. Discussion and Review (15-20 minutes):
   • Bring the class back together and have the stay students share the information that they gathered from the stray students.
   • Debrief the activity and discuss the key concepts that were covered.

Differentiation:

• Choice Boards: Offer students a variety of activities and tasks related to the learning objective, allowing them to choose based on their interests, learning styles, or preferred levels of challenge.
• Tiered Activities: Provide multiple versions of the same activity with varying levels of complexity or scaffolding. This caters to different learning paces and abilities.
• Station Rotations: Set up different learning stations around the classroom, each focusing on a specific aspect of the topic. Students rotate through stations at their own pace, engaging in diverse learning activities.

Technology Integration:

• Interactive Whiteboards/Projectors: Utilize interactive tools and resources to engage students in visual learning, polls, and activities.
• Educational Apps/Games: Integrate educational apps or games aligned with the learning objectives to provide gamified learning experiences and practice opportunities.
• Online Simulations/Virtual Labs: Utilize virtual simulations or online labs to provide safe and immersive experiences that might be difficult or impossible in a traditional classroom setting.