Random....Teams

As a P.E. teacher, there are countless times when I need to make teams/groups.  One of mine and the students favorite ways is by random.  Making random teams removes any bias...at least on the teacher or students...and in my opinion,  allows for student growth.  I always tell my students that these teams will be random and that they may end up on a team where they may not know anyone, may not work well together at the start, or they just might not be as competitive as another team.  I tell them that this is a good thing and it allows them to develop the skills necessary to work with people they may not normally associate with.

So...this is how I do it.  Quick and easy.  I use the website random.org and use the sequences page.  There you can put in how many students you have and how many teams you want.

Number off your class.  If you have 27 students, each student should be numbered 1-27. Make sure to tell them to remember their number.  On the random.org website in the spaces labeled smallest value and largest value, you should enter 1 and 27...or how ever many students you have.  Next, in the format space, put the number of teams you want.  Let's say 7.  Finally, click on the button labeled Get Sequence and...BAM...you have 7 random teams.  In all it should take less than a minute...as long as you have an internet or cell reception.

Anyways...I like it...It's quick, easy, and you can repeat it several times a class to quickly make new random teams.