Rank Ordering Task

Students rank a list of items by agreed criteria, then justify their order to others — generating sustained discussion through individual commitment followed by group negotiation.

Procedure

1. Give students a list of items related to the topic (or have them brainstorm one first).
2. Specify ranking criteria (e.g., importance, practicality, cost, popularity).
3. Students rank silently as individuals first (this builds personal commitment).
4. Pairs compare and negotiate a shared ranking.
5. Pairs join fours and negotiate again.
6. Groups present and justify their final ranking to the class.

Example Topics

• Qualities of a world leader (most to least important)
• Ways to improve English outside class (most to least practical)
• Holiday destinations (best to worst value)
• School subjects (most to least enjoyable)

Tips

• Silent individual ranking first is essential — it prevents dominant students from steering the group and ensures everyone has ideas to contribute.
• Different criteria produce different rankings of the same list — try giving different criteria to different groups for richer class discussion.
• Requiring justification is what generates the language, not the ranking itself.