Today I was the very teacher that I do not want to be - the unprepared one. It's been a hectic week and I knew that I had planned far enough ahead. Last night, I thought I'm not sure what I am doing tomorrow and went to bed. This morning, my first class had a test so I used that time to try to plan and it still did not happen. I downloaded a powerpoint. Ugh! Was I really just going to do notes? I had planning next. I read over my material and tried to come up with activities to make the material relevant and memorable. I decided on a graphic organizer - they are the new rage at my school. Class began and the activity fell flat. I reviewed material, I walked around the room helping students, and I resorted to notes. I hate that I settled, that I ohoned it in, that I shortchanged my students.
Tomorrow, I have a chance to redo the lesson with another set of students. My own version of the redo I offer my students. What am I planning? I'll let you know soon. Teaching really is harder than you think and if you are unprepared, it shows....
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
If you have it, they will come and you might just learn something...
Today, I held my first afterschool tutoring session for a large number of students this year. Every student who scored less than a 90 on the unit test last week can retake the test IF they attend a tutoring session afterschool. Twelve students came today. Like all teachers, I have hours that I am available for extra help. I am in my room daily from 3:30 - 4:30 and students who have flubbed a quiz or do not understand the rubric for a project will stop by for a quick question. However, all to often, the students who stop by already excel at academics while the students who really need the extra help never come. Today was a pleasant surprise. The students filed in, took out their notes, and readily reviewed the material. They will start retaking the tests tomorrow.
I feel pretty confident that the grades will be much higher. Why? Well, to start with, the students chose to come today. As in every other aspect of life, people who willing participate in an activity get more out of it. Now, I know that a mother or two might have twisted some arms, but for the most part the students came because they wanted to improve their grade. Half the battle has already been won. The students want to learn the material. The second reason I think the grades will show improvement is that the students have already been assessed on the material once and have came to learn why their conclusions, their answers, were wrong. This quest for understanding is the cornerstone of discovery learning and while the students should have already learned the material, better late than never!! The final reason that I feel their grades will show improvement is that the students shared their strategies for remembering details with each other. Peer tutoring cannot be beat. Who better to explain a concept to a teenager than another teenager? Listen closely to the explanations and you might just learn something; I did!
On the test, the students were required to place each of the 13 colonies in their respective colonial region. To help the students learn this, I had taught them a body map where the 5 Southern colonies were located on the bottom half of the body, the 4 Middle colonies on the middle portion, and the New England colonies were on the head. Several students had marked Maryland as a Middle colony. I struggle with Maryland as a Southern colony as well, but since Chesapeake region is not a choice, the students learn it as a Southern colony. The sign for the body map is the cross made by Catholics as I also want them to make the connection between Maryland being a proprietary colony founded as a refuge for Catholics. When the students make the cross they say "Maryland is founded for the Catholics". Before I could launch into my lengthy teacher explanation of why Maryland is a Southern colony, Amber, a rather no nonsense student, spoke up and explained that at the end of each region in the body map there is a longer phrase and that's how students can remember when each region ends. I thought about it. I had never noticed it but she is exactly right. There is the line about Maryland being founded for the Catholics, the Middle colonies end with Pennsylvania being founded by the Quakers, and for New England's final colony, we say New Happenings in New Hampshire. Students are so bright. I will add that disclaimer for every future class who does the body map. Thanks Amber! It's already been added to the binder.
I feel pretty confident that the grades will be much higher. Why? Well, to start with, the students chose to come today. As in every other aspect of life, people who willing participate in an activity get more out of it. Now, I know that a mother or two might have twisted some arms, but for the most part the students came because they wanted to improve their grade. Half the battle has already been won. The students want to learn the material. The second reason I think the grades will show improvement is that the students have already been assessed on the material once and have came to learn why their conclusions, their answers, were wrong. This quest for understanding is the cornerstone of discovery learning and while the students should have already learned the material, better late than never!! The final reason that I feel their grades will show improvement is that the students shared their strategies for remembering details with each other. Peer tutoring cannot be beat. Who better to explain a concept to a teenager than another teenager? Listen closely to the explanations and you might just learn something; I did!
On the test, the students were required to place each of the 13 colonies in their respective colonial region. To help the students learn this, I had taught them a body map where the 5 Southern colonies were located on the bottom half of the body, the 4 Middle colonies on the middle portion, and the New England colonies were on the head. Several students had marked Maryland as a Middle colony. I struggle with Maryland as a Southern colony as well, but since Chesapeake region is not a choice, the students learn it as a Southern colony. The sign for the body map is the cross made by Catholics as I also want them to make the connection between Maryland being a proprietary colony founded as a refuge for Catholics. When the students make the cross they say "Maryland is founded for the Catholics". Before I could launch into my lengthy teacher explanation of why Maryland is a Southern colony, Amber, a rather no nonsense student, spoke up and explained that at the end of each region in the body map there is a longer phrase and that's how students can remember when each region ends. I thought about it. I had never noticed it but she is exactly right. There is the line about Maryland being founded for the Catholics, the Middle colonies end with Pennsylvania being founded by the Quakers, and for New England's final colony, we say New Happenings in New Hampshire. Students are so bright. I will add that disclaimer for every future class who does the body map. Thanks Amber! It's already been added to the binder.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
And the results are in....
My students had their first unit test. Did the perfect lessons achieve a perfect passage rate? Ummm.... NO. Not even close. Student scores varied, but then the students themselves are extremely varied in my classes. Is this an excuse for failure? Not really. The students are different and the fact that they did not succeed is an opportunity to explore my lessons on a deeper level to see what can be tweaked to help my students achieve better results.
What worked? Overwhelmingly, the students were able to match the colonies to the colonial region in which they belonged, with the exception of Maryland. What does this tell me? The body map works! It also tells me that I need a different take on Maryland being founded by the Catholics because the students are linking making the sign of the cross on their torso to a Middle colony rather than linking prayer on their knees to a Southern colony. The students were also able to answer a majority of the multiple choice questions about the colonial regions that were written at higher levels of thinking. Again, this means that the map worked.
School House Rocks also worked. I showed two of the 70's based educational videos - No More Kings and Shot Heard Round the World. These 3 minute shorts are packed with information and the songs become embedded in your head. I allowed the students to watch each video once straight through and then, re-ran each stopping several times to chck student understanding of what the video is depicting. The students seem to understand; however, they missed multiple choice questions frequently on this material which indicates they did not grasp the material on the level I had hoped. What would help this? I need to add written material or have the students take notes on the material. Since the videos are cartoons with songs attached, I believe the students may have not attached as great an importance to them as they should have. I can fix this.
The two short answer questions that asked the students to explain primary source depictions of the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party hailed mix results. Yes, the students knew what events were depicted which is wonderful! However, the students did not seem to be able to explain the importance of the documents. To be successful on the end-of-course exam, the studets need to know the significance of everything; there are no simple identify items. I need to make sure the students go deeper. How do I do this? I need to remove myself from the picture. When we discussed the images in class, I held center court. I circled portions of the images and asked questions. Did they understand what I was saying? Yes! They knew what it was and were able to detail the individual arts of it. However, the students could not make the jump as to why the pieces were important. If I required the students to break down the components and explain the significance on their own, I believe their levels of understanding would have been much greater.
Overwhelmingly, the students failed the discussion question. No one earned all the points. The discussion question asked the students to summarize the impact of English government on the formation of representative government in the colonies. I know the students knew the information required to answer this question. We had reviewed and reviewed the material. When the students encountered the question, they either forgot the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Limited government,2 Houses of parliment, and common law or they forgot to link the English government and colonial governments. Why? Again, I think they truly knew the information but when asked to go deeper with the analysis of the information, the students faltered which is an indication that I need to check more frequently to check all levels of understanding.
Because I am focused on mastery learning, the students will have a 2nd chance to achieve success. All students who attend a mandatory tutoring session will be allowed to re-take the test. Why the tutoring session? I want to ensure that the students have achieved the level of understanding required for success, not just a greater familiarity with the answers. The students will have to retake the entire test, not just correct the questions they missed. This will require that they review all the material to achieve success. It will require the students to show mastery of all the material. After the retest, when the results are in.... I hope they all pass.
What worked? Overwhelmingly, the students were able to match the colonies to the colonial region in which they belonged, with the exception of Maryland. What does this tell me? The body map works! It also tells me that I need a different take on Maryland being founded by the Catholics because the students are linking making the sign of the cross on their torso to a Middle colony rather than linking prayer on their knees to a Southern colony. The students were also able to answer a majority of the multiple choice questions about the colonial regions that were written at higher levels of thinking. Again, this means that the map worked.
School House Rocks also worked. I showed two of the 70's based educational videos - No More Kings and Shot Heard Round the World. These 3 minute shorts are packed with information and the songs become embedded in your head. I allowed the students to watch each video once straight through and then, re-ran each stopping several times to chck student understanding of what the video is depicting. The students seem to understand; however, they missed multiple choice questions frequently on this material which indicates they did not grasp the material on the level I had hoped. What would help this? I need to add written material or have the students take notes on the material. Since the videos are cartoons with songs attached, I believe the students may have not attached as great an importance to them as they should have. I can fix this.
The two short answer questions that asked the students to explain primary source depictions of the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party hailed mix results. Yes, the students knew what events were depicted which is wonderful! However, the students did not seem to be able to explain the importance of the documents. To be successful on the end-of-course exam, the studets need to know the significance of everything; there are no simple identify items. I need to make sure the students go deeper. How do I do this? I need to remove myself from the picture. When we discussed the images in class, I held center court. I circled portions of the images and asked questions. Did they understand what I was saying? Yes! They knew what it was and were able to detail the individual arts of it. However, the students could not make the jump as to why the pieces were important. If I required the students to break down the components and explain the significance on their own, I believe their levels of understanding would have been much greater.
Overwhelmingly, the students failed the discussion question. No one earned all the points. The discussion question asked the students to summarize the impact of English government on the formation of representative government in the colonies. I know the students knew the information required to answer this question. We had reviewed and reviewed the material. When the students encountered the question, they either forgot the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Limited government,2 Houses of parliment, and common law or they forgot to link the English government and colonial governments. Why? Again, I think they truly knew the information but when asked to go deeper with the analysis of the information, the students faltered which is an indication that I need to check more frequently to check all levels of understanding.
Because I am focused on mastery learning, the students will have a 2nd chance to achieve success. All students who attend a mandatory tutoring session will be allowed to re-take the test. Why the tutoring session? I want to ensure that the students have achieved the level of understanding required for success, not just a greater familiarity with the answers. The students will have to retake the entire test, not just correct the questions they missed. This will require that they review all the material to achieve success. It will require the students to show mastery of all the material. After the retest, when the results are in.... I hope they all pass.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Lather, rinse, and repeat.
Most shampoo bottles come with basic directions for usage. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Rather simple; surely no one really needs to be told to rinse the lather out of their hair once it has been creatd, and the repeat... well, is that just a strategy manufacturers utilize to increase their sales? Nah. Some hair needs a second dousing, and since the directions are ciruclar and never-ending in nature, it is up to the shampooee to use their discretion as to the number of times to repeat for best results. In education, repetition is needed for optimum results as well. Those simplistic on the back of the shampoo bottle are the basic formula for success in education.
What do I mean? Well, students file into the classroom and take their respective seats and wait. It's an apt analogy to compare these students to the hairs just laying on your head waiting to be transformed into a classic hairstyle, i.e. Farrah, Rachel from Friends, Dorothy Hamel, Tom Cruise. Even Mr Clean doesn't just shine without help. The students are waiting. You must add something to your class to bring them to a lather, to make them use their basic goodness to learn. Teachers do this in a number of ways, and I am trying to do this in each and every lesson that goes into my binder that will house the perfect lesson plans for US History. Lather brings results.
The next step on the shampoo bottle is rinse. Again, this is an important step in education. Students need lather to learn, but we must take ourselves totally out of the equation to guage their knowledge level. If I stand in front of them and constantly lecture, they may receive information or they may be daydreaming. Activities require work but are often done in groups where individual knowledge is hard to gauge. The best way to see what they have learned is assessment. Step back, allow the students to work, and judge their levels. Rinsing allows you to see where you stand.
Now, comes the tricky part. Do you need to repeat the process? Why is that tricky? Well, for some students one lather and rinse cycle might be sufficient; others may need another cycle or two. If our focus is truly on whether or not the students understand the material, then we cannot hold ourselves to this idea that once must be enough. Yes, time constraints exist; in SC, US History students must take a standardized end-of-course exam that counts 20% of their grade which limits the amount of time a teacher may devote to any one subject area. However, just as you would not stop the shampoo cycle if your hair was not yet clean, you cannot stop the education cycle unless your students comprehend the material. If education requires mastery, then you must repeat until mastery is achieved. How do you balance time and repetition? A number of ways - daily, after each assessment, with after school tutoring, and through homework.
My third binder lesson had repetition throughout and I am totally pleased with it. The opening activity was a blank US map displayed on the interactive white board. Surrounding the map are several significant terms from the prior lesson. Students come up one at a time and move a term to the region on the map to which it corresponds. For example, there are 5 colonial regions - New France, New Spain, New England, Middle Colonies, and Southern colonies. This allows 5 students the opportunity to attach movement to their learning and we all know kinesthetic learning is key to learn term memory. After each studetn places a term, I ask questions to the entire group about the term and build upon their prior knowledge. This discussion is helpful to the lower level students in the class because it helps them connect something they know to a term on the board and they can then participate without having to worry if they are right or wrong. It is not unusual to have several hands go up after each discussion. Most students can make conecctions during the discussion. When the opening activity is over, the class reviewed the body map of the 13 original English colonies. Again, I took this basic understanding and as we went through each region, I reviewed key pieces of information and asked the students to build upon it. This was the opening lather. I then removed myself from the process and gave a short quiz. As we went over the answers after completion, I could guage whether the students had a firm grasp on the information. Did I need to repeat? On some points, I did and we simply as a class reviewed it more. For the most part though, the students had it done.
The second part of the material was new material on the foundation of our representative government. I wanted the students to understand that the colonists were Englishmen, not Americans immediately. To make this point, I posed a scenario where they were given a private island far away from the United States on which to create their own colony.What would be their basis for rules? Who was in charge? What relationship would they have with the US? After they had answered these questions and pair-shared with the person beside them, the class discussed. Many ideas emerged but most of their ideas supported a US-based doctrine with a few exceptions. We then looked at the basic ideals of English government - the Magna Carta, Limited Government, 2 House Parliment, English Bill of Rights, and Common Law. We were lathering again and it was time to rinse. Using the information they had just copied down, the students were asked to participate in another matching activity on the interactive white board. The students had to come to the board and draw a line from one of the 5 priniples to a short phrase surmising the importance of the principle. For example, 2 houses of Parliment paired with gave people a voice in government. When each match was made, we discussed the information that led to the choice. This is a short activity which lended itself to repetition, so after all 5 matches I cleared the board and began again. Why repeat? The students paused before picking their pairings which meant they were not completely sure. The second time through, a few students still paused. Again, they were not completely sure of the information. Repeat as needed. The third time, the students knew the material. It was a basic activity. I could have moved on because technically, the students were successful; they had matched the terms. However, assessing whether or not mastery has occurred doesn't require a quiz or test. I knew they had not mastered the material yet and that was my goal. I continued until they had achieved mastery and it felt wonderful.
Who knew that the instructions to great lessons were there all along staring at us from the back of the shampoo bottle..... Lather, Rinse, and Repeat.
What do I mean? Well, students file into the classroom and take their respective seats and wait. It's an apt analogy to compare these students to the hairs just laying on your head waiting to be transformed into a classic hairstyle, i.e. Farrah, Rachel from Friends, Dorothy Hamel, Tom Cruise. Even Mr Clean doesn't just shine without help. The students are waiting. You must add something to your class to bring them to a lather, to make them use their basic goodness to learn. Teachers do this in a number of ways, and I am trying to do this in each and every lesson that goes into my binder that will house the perfect lesson plans for US History. Lather brings results.
The next step on the shampoo bottle is rinse. Again, this is an important step in education. Students need lather to learn, but we must take ourselves totally out of the equation to guage their knowledge level. If I stand in front of them and constantly lecture, they may receive information or they may be daydreaming. Activities require work but are often done in groups where individual knowledge is hard to gauge. The best way to see what they have learned is assessment. Step back, allow the students to work, and judge their levels. Rinsing allows you to see where you stand.
Now, comes the tricky part. Do you need to repeat the process? Why is that tricky? Well, for some students one lather and rinse cycle might be sufficient; others may need another cycle or two. If our focus is truly on whether or not the students understand the material, then we cannot hold ourselves to this idea that once must be enough. Yes, time constraints exist; in SC, US History students must take a standardized end-of-course exam that counts 20% of their grade which limits the amount of time a teacher may devote to any one subject area. However, just as you would not stop the shampoo cycle if your hair was not yet clean, you cannot stop the education cycle unless your students comprehend the material. If education requires mastery, then you must repeat until mastery is achieved. How do you balance time and repetition? A number of ways - daily, after each assessment, with after school tutoring, and through homework.
My third binder lesson had repetition throughout and I am totally pleased with it. The opening activity was a blank US map displayed on the interactive white board. Surrounding the map are several significant terms from the prior lesson. Students come up one at a time and move a term to the region on the map to which it corresponds. For example, there are 5 colonial regions - New France, New Spain, New England, Middle Colonies, and Southern colonies. This allows 5 students the opportunity to attach movement to their learning and we all know kinesthetic learning is key to learn term memory. After each studetn places a term, I ask questions to the entire group about the term and build upon their prior knowledge. This discussion is helpful to the lower level students in the class because it helps them connect something they know to a term on the board and they can then participate without having to worry if they are right or wrong. It is not unusual to have several hands go up after each discussion. Most students can make conecctions during the discussion. When the opening activity is over, the class reviewed the body map of the 13 original English colonies. Again, I took this basic understanding and as we went through each region, I reviewed key pieces of information and asked the students to build upon it. This was the opening lather. I then removed myself from the process and gave a short quiz. As we went over the answers after completion, I could guage whether the students had a firm grasp on the information. Did I need to repeat? On some points, I did and we simply as a class reviewed it more. For the most part though, the students had it done.
The second part of the material was new material on the foundation of our representative government. I wanted the students to understand that the colonists were Englishmen, not Americans immediately. To make this point, I posed a scenario where they were given a private island far away from the United States on which to create their own colony.What would be their basis for rules? Who was in charge? What relationship would they have with the US? After they had answered these questions and pair-shared with the person beside them, the class discussed. Many ideas emerged but most of their ideas supported a US-based doctrine with a few exceptions. We then looked at the basic ideals of English government - the Magna Carta, Limited Government, 2 House Parliment, English Bill of Rights, and Common Law. We were lathering again and it was time to rinse. Using the information they had just copied down, the students were asked to participate in another matching activity on the interactive white board. The students had to come to the board and draw a line from one of the 5 priniples to a short phrase surmising the importance of the principle. For example, 2 houses of Parliment paired with gave people a voice in government. When each match was made, we discussed the information that led to the choice. This is a short activity which lended itself to repetition, so after all 5 matches I cleared the board and began again. Why repeat? The students paused before picking their pairings which meant they were not completely sure. The second time through, a few students still paused. Again, they were not completely sure of the information. Repeat as needed. The third time, the students knew the material. It was a basic activity. I could have moved on because technically, the students were successful; they had matched the terms. However, assessing whether or not mastery has occurred doesn't require a quiz or test. I knew they had not mastered the material yet and that was my goal. I continued until they had achieved mastery and it felt wonderful.
Who knew that the instructions to great lessons were there all along staring at us from the back of the shampoo bottle..... Lather, Rinse, and Repeat.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Everyone has to start somewhere...
My binder has begun!! I have my first official entry and I am happy, although I really wanted to type that I was thrilled or excited or some other adjective that would signify that this was a momentous achievement. I did not feel any of these emotions though. I do feel that having the first lesson plan finished and sitting securely in my binder was an achievement. I wanted fireworks and fanfare instead I completed a lesson plan that needs to be tweaked. Perfection takes time...
So, what was the first entry? Actually it was a duo of lessons. In my first class, I pulled out the bells and whistles lesson that utilized MP3 players, children books, and primary source documents to have it fail. Failures lead to sucess. Thomas Edison said that every success was the result of failing and improving and Edison is the epitome of success. For the first day of my second class, I did not begin with the same lesson as the original students lacked the necessary background knowledge to jump right into discussing the colonization period; instead I began with a basic lesson on the motivations for colonization for France, Spain, and England. Once the students had activated the prior knowledge of what they already knew concerning Columbus, the Puritans, and the couers de bois, the original lesson with all the bells and whistles worked smoothly. Yay!
Lesson one - done. Introductions, rules and procedures, motivations for colonization, and Body map of 13 original colonies. I added the body map to add movement. I truly believe movement is vital to learning. The students learn the colonies and which region they belong to by tying the name of each colony to a specific place on their body. There are 5 Southern colonies - Georgia (stomp the ground for G), South Carolina (touch your sock for S), North Carolina (Touch Knee because it sounds like ti starts with N), Virginia (bend deeply and say the ladies and gentlemen in Virgina bow), and finally Maryland (kneel for prayer and say Maryland was founded by the Catholics). There are 4 Middle colonies - Delaware and New Jersey are linked on the upper body ( Della wears a New Jersey), New York (hand motion doing an N and Y), and Pennsylvania ( hand holding pen shaking as you say Pennsylvania was founded by the Quakers). There are four New England colonies - Connecticut (your nose as it connects the 2 halves of your face), Rhode Island (circles eye), Massachusetts (Mass of brains in your head), and finally New Hampshire (hand held above head celebrating). Corny, but it works.
Lesson two - check. Station work with student moving to four stations for 10 minutes/each. The students will listen to the Hiphop song "Who Discovered It?" from Hiphop US History on MP3 players at one station, read a pair of children's books at one station, read a primary source document based on Hernan Cortes encounters with Montezuma at another station, and finally read a primary source document relating the conditions of an indentured servant contract. From their own interactions with these materials, the students will come away with a deeper understanding of the material than if they had sat there and blandly copied notes.
My binder has two lessons. Are they perfect? No. There are thing that need to be expanded, made clearer. I added those notes as well. The first lessons are good solid lessons though and everyone has to start somewhere....
So, what was the first entry? Actually it was a duo of lessons. In my first class, I pulled out the bells and whistles lesson that utilized MP3 players, children books, and primary source documents to have it fail. Failures lead to sucess. Thomas Edison said that every success was the result of failing and improving and Edison is the epitome of success. For the first day of my second class, I did not begin with the same lesson as the original students lacked the necessary background knowledge to jump right into discussing the colonization period; instead I began with a basic lesson on the motivations for colonization for France, Spain, and England. Once the students had activated the prior knowledge of what they already knew concerning Columbus, the Puritans, and the couers de bois, the original lesson with all the bells and whistles worked smoothly. Yay!
Lesson one - done. Introductions, rules and procedures, motivations for colonization, and Body map of 13 original colonies. I added the body map to add movement. I truly believe movement is vital to learning. The students learn the colonies and which region they belong to by tying the name of each colony to a specific place on their body. There are 5 Southern colonies - Georgia (stomp the ground for G), South Carolina (touch your sock for S), North Carolina (Touch Knee because it sounds like ti starts with N), Virginia (bend deeply and say the ladies and gentlemen in Virgina bow), and finally Maryland (kneel for prayer and say Maryland was founded by the Catholics). There are 4 Middle colonies - Delaware and New Jersey are linked on the upper body ( Della wears a New Jersey), New York (hand motion doing an N and Y), and Pennsylvania ( hand holding pen shaking as you say Pennsylvania was founded by the Quakers). There are four New England colonies - Connecticut (your nose as it connects the 2 halves of your face), Rhode Island (circles eye), Massachusetts (Mass of brains in your head), and finally New Hampshire (hand held above head celebrating). Corny, but it works.
Lesson two - check. Station work with student moving to four stations for 10 minutes/each. The students will listen to the Hiphop song "Who Discovered It?" from Hiphop US History on MP3 players at one station, read a pair of children's books at one station, read a primary source document based on Hernan Cortes encounters with Montezuma at another station, and finally read a primary source document relating the conditions of an indentured servant contract. From their own interactions with these materials, the students will come away with a deeper understanding of the material than if they had sat there and blandly copied notes.
My binder has two lessons. Are they perfect? No. There are thing that need to be expanded, made clearer. I added those notes as well. The first lessons are good solid lessons though and everyone has to start somewhere....
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Timing is everything in everything.....
Wine and cheese have to age. There are peaches that exist in this world that must be eaten only during a few short weeks (if Seinfeld's Kramer is to be believed). Comedians are only funny if their timing is spot on. Timing matters. What does any of this have to do with my quest to create the perfect binder of lesson plans??? Everything. I have created a strong second day of class lesson. The problem is that I was trying for a strong first day of class lesson, but as with everything in life, timing is everything. Will it go in the binder that is to be the end result of this blog? Yes, I think it will. Will it be the beginning activity? No....
The first day of school is different than all other days. You must introduce yourself and your procedures. The students must learn how the world works within the four walls of your classroom. This takes time. Teachers must guage the students - are they boisterous? timid? hardworking? overly concerned with details? Then, and only then, can teachers move forward into the activities that are housed in the coveted binders. When I had completed these housekeeping measures today, I began the station activities that were the opening activity of the planned lesson. I had time to finish just that portion of the lesson. There was no follow up discussion, no body map, no wrap up.... My timing was off and my lesson fell short. I will, of course, need to do the rest of the lesson but that is almost like serving dessert the day after. What's the point? Is it the finishing touch to a well crafted meal? Nah, it's just dessert... It might be sweet, but that's all it is.
However, I am creating a binder - a binder than houses the perfect lessons for US History- and I will not be deterred by timing issues. I can fix this, really I can and I can do it this year! My school teaches on a A/B block schedule, that means I have my classes every other day. Tomorrow, I have an entirely different set of students and tomorrow, when I again have a first day opportunity, my timing will be better. I am NOT going to do the lesson I did today at all; instead, I will do introductions, procedures, and some background history of why the three major countries colonized in the first place. It's a little less ambitious. It's not as cool. It is, however, better timed.... and timing is everything.
The first day of school is different than all other days. You must introduce yourself and your procedures. The students must learn how the world works within the four walls of your classroom. This takes time. Teachers must guage the students - are they boisterous? timid? hardworking? overly concerned with details? Then, and only then, can teachers move forward into the activities that are housed in the coveted binders. When I had completed these housekeeping measures today, I began the station activities that were the opening activity of the planned lesson. I had time to finish just that portion of the lesson. There was no follow up discussion, no body map, no wrap up.... My timing was off and my lesson fell short. I will, of course, need to do the rest of the lesson but that is almost like serving dessert the day after. What's the point? Is it the finishing touch to a well crafted meal? Nah, it's just dessert... It might be sweet, but that's all it is.
However, I am creating a binder - a binder than houses the perfect lessons for US History- and I will not be deterred by timing issues. I can fix this, really I can and I can do it this year! My school teaches on a A/B block schedule, that means I have my classes every other day. Tomorrow, I have an entirely different set of students and tomorrow, when I again have a first day opportunity, my timing will be better. I am NOT going to do the lesson I did today at all; instead, I will do introductions, procedures, and some background history of why the three major countries colonized in the first place. It's a little less ambitious. It's not as cool. It is, however, better timed.... and timing is everything.
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