Fan-N-Pick

Four roles rotate round a group. Student 1 fans a set of question cards. Student 2 picks. Student 3 answers. Student 4 evaluates and praises. Rotate.

A structured four-role card-based discussion with clear jobs for everyone.

Procedure

1. Groups of 4. Each group has a deck of 10–15 question cards (discussion prompts, comprehension questions, grammar transforms).
2. Assign roles: 1 = Fanner, 2 = Picker, 3 = Answerer, 4 = Praiser.
3. Fanner fans the cards face-down: Pick any card.
4. Picker selects one, reads it aloud to the Answerer.
5. Answerer responds. Can take 5 seconds of thinking time.
6. Praiser offers specific praise: Good use of the past perfect there / You connected your two examples well.
7. Rotate roles. Next question.

Card Deck Ideas

• Discussion cards: If you could change one law, what would it be? / Describe a time you felt proud.
• Grammar transforms: Change to the passive: They built the wall.
• Reading follow-up: What evidence does the writer use to support the main claim?
• Vocabulary: Use "resilient" in a sentence about yourself.
• Comprehension review: Name one thing we learned last lesson.

Why It Works

• Every role is productive: unlike passive group work, each role has active language output.
• Praiser role is the secret ingredient: forces attention to peer contributions and positive framing.
• Question bank reusability: once built, the deck works for weeks.

Variations

• Fan-N-Pick with challenge: the Praiser can also add one challenge question for the Answerer to address.
• Teacher-made vs student-made decks: once students understand the structure, they write cards for each other.
• Silent praise: Praiser writes feedback on a sticky note, hands it to Answerer. Useful for shy classes.

Tips

• Model the Praiser role carefully. "Good" and "Nice" are not specific praise. Teach the vocabulary of specific commendation.
• Keep decks labelled and stored — the prep time pays back many times over.
• Pair with Stand Up-Hand Up-Pair Up to rotate groups between rounds.