School starts back Tuesday. I would love to say that this means that I have two days left to lounge unconcerned on the sofa and read magazine articles and books of no literary consequence; to be truthful though,I must say that it means that I am running out of time to plan for a successful year. Teaching requires planning - lots and lots of planning. There are decisions to be made and I must make the correct ones or this binder that I will compile this year will be as useless as having no binder.
Decision 1 - Homework - Do I assign it and if I do, what value does it have?
I hate assigning homework for a multitude of reasons. Let's be real here, students have lives outside of the classroom. They are involved in sports, extracurriculars, and many work until late into the evening. When I assign homework, I add to the stress of their already stressful lives. I have read several studies while in graduate school that said that there is little or no value in homework and several that said that homework is necessary for success. If the experts can't agree on the value of homework, how can I? It's my class and I have to decide... So, I have decided to bite the bullet and assign homework this year. Why? Didn't I just write that I hate homework???? Okay, I do hate the idea of assigning homwqork, but bottom line, students who read and prepare for themselves the night before encountering the material in class ARE more successful. My APUSH students read every single night last year. They took notes on what they read, and were expected to come to class prepared to participate in class discussions. IT WORKED! Their AP exam scores and their end-of-course scores were fantastic!! Was it because they were just exceptionally bright or worked so hard in class? Maybe, but they also did homwork every night and when it came down to scores, they ROCKED!!!
Decision 2 - Traditional or just go for it?
A. There are lots of different ways to set up your classroom. How many times have you rearranged your living room furniture alone? I have a desk, podium, and 31 students desks to play with. The possibilities are numerous. I was going to say unlimited but some math teacher would probably step in and correct me. I want students to discuss and work in small groups. I think that students work well when they are allowed to turn to another and say, "did you get that?" So, I decided to begin with a format of 8 sets of 4 desks. It won't work for quizzes or tests. The desks will have to be rearranged for large group discussions. It is where I will start. Each lesson plan will have to have the added element of desk arrangement. I am beginning to realize why I do NOT have a binder. There are so many decisions before I have even mentioned what I will teach....
B. Let's talk materials. I think lesson planning is a lot like the 3 little pigs' blueprints; pick the worng material and get the wrong result. Clever, huh? My US History class begins with colonization. What was the chances of that? Start when the Europeans arrive although if you are a purist, I will grant you that there were entire communities, populations, and civilazations here way before Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Because we have an end-of-course exam that counts 20% of their grades and is standardized, the amount of time I spend on colonization is small. There are only 2 questions from this time period on the exam. The students know the basic story. They have watched Pocanhantas and in their minds, they therefore know all there is to know about Jamestown. They have studied Columbus. They start studying the pilgrims in kindergarten while preparing for their firt Thanksgiving program. By the time they reach me, they are comfortable with colonization. This is GREAT!!!
I am going to build upon this knowledge and correct a few things... Did you know that irregradless of what Disney wants to lead you to believe Pocahantas was not some beautiful princess? She was a pierced, mohawk-sporting young girl who ended up marrying John Rolfe, not John Smith. Did you know that Columbus was mainly interested in gold and when he did not find sufficient amounts, loaded up indians to be sold as slaves back in Spain to make up for the lack of gold? Yes, the Puritans came to the New World for religious reasons, but not religious FREEDOM. You either did it their way or you got kicked out - just ask Roger Williams or Anne Hutchenson. I digress. I apologize. ADD.
Day one will cover the material quickly through a station centered activity. There will be four activities and the class will move to various stations. Movement has been linked to increased student retention. Station one is a document recounting the impact of the Spanish colonization on Montezuma and his followers. Station two is a document exploring the English settlers impact on the Indian population. Station three is children's books dealing with the first Thanksgiving. Station 4 is equiped with MP3 players that have the song "Who Discovered it?" from HipHop US History. The students really respond to the music and it's different. I love the idea that they can control the pace of their listening through this as well. I found MP3 players cheap on line at CircuitCity.com, but you can probably find inexpensice ones anywhere.
We will then discuss findings and move some more through a Body Map dance that a colleague developed for younger students, but my class likes it or at least, they indulge me normally when I force them to participate. Finally, we will do a wrap up activity.
Is this the perfect day one lesson plan? I don't know but I made all the decisions and it's planned out. Stay tuned because this will work!!! I will have a perfect binder by the end of the year!
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