The definition of a small group is a group having at least three and no more than fifteen members ( Borchers). At least three members are necessary to keep the group from being a dyad and a maximum of fifteen members is important to avoid inhibition of the group members' ability to freely communicate with fellow group members (Borchers). It is necessary for the group to have a common purpose or goal in order to bring the group together and help the group to avoid conflict and tension( Borchers).

Small group communication is an important part of everyday life. We are all involved in some type of small group in some way. Often the first exposure we have to working and communicating in a small group is in an elementary classroom where communication is vital. This type of communication greatly effects children and will continue to do so throughout their lives.

Small groups are important for young children because it will affect them socially and academically. Having had an opportunity to work in a kindergarten classroom for an entire year, an average of ten hours a week, I was able to witness the results of small group communication. We used small groups in many

There are several different types of small work groups that affect children academically. Once again, I witnessed this in my classroom. An additive work group is one in which all group members perform the same activity and have to gather their results at the end in order to reach a result or conclusion (Borchers). An example of this in a classroom would be a survey in which the children pick a subject and take a survey of each other. One survey that was always popular was favorite colors. The children would have to take a poll and then make a graph that showed the end result of their survey. Another type of work group is a conjunctive work group. This type of group differs from the additive work group in that the members each perform a different task, which allows for the completion of the task (Borchers). I saw this in my classroom when we made a big turkey to hang on the wall. Each child was responsible for making a feather to put on the turkey. All of the feathers completed the turkey. Another type of group work that I feel is extremely important is disjunctive task group work. In this type of group, the group members try to determine the best solution for a problem or issue (Borchers). An example of this in the classroom would be reading an open-ended story. These stories are the ones that start to tell a story by giving the main characters and plot but leave the ending with several options that the reader can choose. The children have to talk among their group and pick only one option. This enforces decision-making. All of t

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Elementary Classroom, Jerald Merriman, Retrieved February, Wide Web, elementary classroom, borchers example classroom, february 1 2000, borchers example, example classroom, everyday life, classroom communication, communication skills, february 1, example communication, 1 2000,
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