Introducing Conversacolor.

Cynthia Scheinberg has created "Conversacolor," an interesting-sounding discussion technique for classes, in response to a gap she perceived in the class discussion process and the writing process, and as a way to "make cognition visible." The whole article is well worth reading, but here's how the game works:

Conversacolor is a highly structured form of class discussion that is extraordinarily simple in design. Each student is given a set of colored cards with which to “play” during a class discussion. A color is assigned to each kind of statement that might occur in discussion: a statement of a new idea (red), a statement that develops an idea (green), a transition between ideas (orange). When the student raises her hand to speak, she must be holding the “correct” color card for the kind of statement she plans to make. In addition, there is a card (yellow) that allows others to challenge the student’s color choice if it seems her statement does not match the color used, and a special card to request clarification of terms (purple). By insisting that a card accompany each contribution to class discussion, this game encourages students to classify their own statements in relationship with the comments of their peers, and engage in meta-cognitive work on the kind of statement they wish to make. Furthermore, the teacher can relinquish the facilitator role and become a player in the class.