Kids, Meet the Venn Diagram

I'm back with another way that I use the joys of stickiness in my classroom.  (Did you see my post about labels?  Go here if you're interested.)  Oddly enough, I find it useful to use labels when teaching about coins and Venn Diagrams.  I'll explain.  Below are two lovely assistants holding coins.

The rest of the class looks for details on both sides of the coins.  Volunteers say, "I notice that..." and I write down what they notice and stick it to the appropriate person.  If they notice something that both coins share, the label belongs on both kids.  (You can see three such labels in the picture.  They think that's the funniest thing.)

Once we've noticed the fronts and backs of both coins, I draw  a blank Venn Diagram on the chart, but I don't mention its name quite yet.  We then remove the labels from the kids and figure out where they would belong on the circles.  They especially love it when I remove the labels that the two kids share.  (I think the assistants donate a few hairs in the process.)  The kids figure out pretty quickly that the labels that were shared must fit in the middle.  Only after all the labels are removed do I give this whole circle business a name.  "Kids, meet the Venn Diagram."

Regie Routman says that "One demonstration is rarely enough," so we repeat this same procedure with other coin combinations.  It's great for coin identification, but it's also a very meaningful and sticky fun way of introducing the Venn Diagram.  I'm thinking there are other ways to teach a concept using assistants, labels, and the Venn Diagram.  Hmm?