How to make random groups
- Paste or type the names, one a line. The list is shared with the random name picker, so if you have used that, your class is already here.
- Choose Number of groups if you know how many tables or teams you have, or People per group if the task needs pairs, threes or fours.
- Press Make groups. The names are shuffled and dealt out like cards, so the groups never differ by more than one person.
- Press Shuffle again for a new mix, then copy the groups into a message or print them for the board.
Why random groups work
When students choose their own groups, friends sit together, the same students are left until last, and the groups rarely change. Random groups mix the class, so students work with people they would not have chosen and learn to explain their thinking to someone new. Because a tool made the groups, nobody feels picked out.
Random does not have to mean every time. Many teachers use random groups for short tasks and change them every week, and choose groups by hand for a long project. If two students should not work together, shuffle again: it takes a second and nobody needs to know why.
Ideas for group sizes
- Pairs: think-pair-share, checking homework, reading a speech to a partner and timing each other.
- Threes: one speaker, one timer and one listener who gives feedback, then swap roles.
- Fours: research projects, group presentations and debates, two on each side.
- Six or more: quiz teams, station rotations and whole-class games.
Group presentations with cue cards
When each group presents, every speaker needs to know their part. Write the talk together, split it into cue cards in the editor, and give each speaker their own cards to hold. Print them on A4 or US Letter, or share the set so everyone can rehearse at home. Make cue cards.
Privacy
The names stay in this browser on this device. They are not sent to EasyPalmCards or anyone else, there is no account, and clearing the list removes them.