Overview: Students produce or are given 9 pieces of information which they arrange in order in a diamond diagram.

Examples: Arrange outcomes of the Treaty of Versailles from most successful to least successful; Arrange medieval jobs from highest status to lowest status; arrange historical figures from most significant to least significant.

Taking it further: Students could order images instead of text statements – for example images which create a positive impression of a figure / period go towards the top. Each factor could be printed off on a separate sheet of A4 paper and then arranged as a group exercise (in the picture above, Year 7 students researched the origins of surnames of people in the class. The ones that corresponded to jobs – e.g. Baker, Tarr, Butcher – were then arranged in a Diamond from highest status to lowest status. Different pairs of students came out of class to adjust the diagram until everyone had their input. We then transferred the diagram onto a display board.

Downloads: I have produced a series of editable/printable Diamond templates that can be downloaded here:

| Diamond 9 Template | Diamond 16 Template | Diamond 25 Template |