3-2-1
Rationale
This activity helps structure students’ responses to an activity, a reading or a film. It provides an easy way for teachers to check for understanding and to gauge students’ interest in a topic. Sharing 3-2-1 responses can also be an effective way to prompt a class discussion or to review material from the previous lesson.
Procedure
Step one: Answering 3-2-1 prompt
After students engage with a text or a lesson, ask them to answer the following questions in their journal or on a separate piece of paper:
- Three things that they have learned from this lesson/from this text.
- Two questions that they still have.
- One aspect of class/the text that they enjoyed.
Step two: Responding to these prompts
Use students’ responses to guide teaching decisions. 3-2-1 responses can help you identify areas of the curriculum that you may need to review again or concepts or activities that hold special interest for students.
Variations
- Content-specific 3-2-1: You can modify the elements of the 3-2-1 to focus on particular content questions. For example, if the class has just been studying the International Criminal Court, a teacher might have students write down 3 differences between the ICC and tribunals such as Nuremberg, 2 similarities between the ICC and tribunals, and 1 question you still have.
- Identifying main ideas 3-2-1: You could also use the 3-2-1 structure to help students identify main ideas from supporting information. For example, you could ask students to record 3 of the most important ideas from the lesson or text, 2 supporting details for each of these ideas and 1 question they have about each of these ideas.
Related Content
Teaching Strategy
Exit Cards
Assess students’ understanding, monitor their questions, or gather feedback on your teaching with this teaching strategy.
Teaching Strategy
Two-Column Note-Taking
Use this teaching strategy to help students learn how to take notes by identifying "key ideas" from a piece of content in one column and "responses" in another column.
Teaching Strategy
Chunking
Chunking, or breaking down difficult text into manageable pieces, helps students identify key ideas, synthesize information, and develop paraphrasing skills.
Lesson
Holocaust
Using Testimony to Teach
Students and teachers view, react to, and interpret testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides.
Search Our Collection
Everything you need to get started teaching your students about racism, antisemitism and prejudice.