I'm often asked, "Where can I find articles for my students?" As a teacher, it can be time consuming AND frustrating to look for texts at multiple levels and about various topics to reach all of the learners in our room. Because of this, I thought it would be great to provide you with a list of some of my favorites. Please feel free to add comments with new suggestions so that I can continue to update the list for others..
We all know that when students collaborate, they learn and
remember more. (See article from
Edutopia here.) We also know that when students collaborate
they talk more, are more off topic and have more room for off task behavior. Because of this, some of us shy away from group
work. While avoiding group work may give
you more control in the classroom, it is not the answer. Here are some steps to help you get a grip on
group work:
Pick a Partner:Put your students in teacher-selected pairs.Here you offer them some collaborative opportunities
but you also maintain control with small grouping and by hand selecting
partners. Partner work gives you the
opportunity to do such activities as Turn-and-Talk and Think-Pair-Share.As time moves on your can expand your
partnerships to groups of three or more.
Give a Guide:Nothing invites students to exhibit off task behavior more than loose
guidelines, so provide steps for their group work.You can do this with a To Do list, a
checklist or a list of instructions, guiding your students’ collaborative work
in terms of task completion. Your list should be specific enough to address the
various tasks that need to be completed and what to do if they finish early.
Sit in a Session:
Just because your students are working collaboratively does not mean you
can’t join in. Sit in on one of their
sessions for a few minutes—ask questions, make comments, provide advice and/or
just listen in. This shows your students
how important collaboration is to you.
Furthermore, all groups will focus on the task so that they are prepared
for their sit-in session with you.
Note your Noticings: When you are not sitting in on group work,
walk around with a clipboard or your tablet and take notes about how the groups
are performing. This will help you give
feedback, provide anecdotes for wrap up AND keep your students on task. Even if you aren’t taking notes about the
students, pretend that you are, shadowing a group with your clipboard will
ensure that they are focused.
Positive Praise:
Use positive praise to let your class know what you like (and notice)
about their collaborative work. Give
specific examples and share with the whole class, not just an individual or a
group. Say, “I really like the way this
group is…” or "I am so impressed with this group's....". Doing this will encourage
other groups to mimic the behavior.
Delegate the Duty: Assign roles to each group member. This can be done one of two ways. First you can assign the roles based on the ability and strengths of each student in a group or you can allow for
students to choose their role. Giving
students a job that is their responsibility will let each member contribute to
the group’s overall success.
Create a Calling: If your students are going to
be in these groups for more than one day, ask them to take some times to pick a
group name. If time allows, consider
having your students make a poster or banner for their group, displaying the
group name and a logo or symbol. This gives
your students ownership over the group and fosters some underlying competition
between groups, which increases motivation.
I'm a terrible runner. Always have been. In fact, I'm not a great athlete in any respect, which of course makes running quite challenging.
This summer I decided, once again, to take up running with the support of the Couch to 5K app and the encouragement of those around me telling me how "easy" it was. For those that do not use this fantastic app, it guides you to a 5K with short run/walk segments; it is truly designed for the non-runner.
After several weeks of "running" I found that the music I listened to did not motivate or focus me enough during my running segments and I would count down the seconds until the running period ended, making my short run even more painful.
Knowing that this would eventually be my demise, I decided to try something new During my runs, I would play a Ted Talk, one of the many on my never ending list of must listen to that has developed over the years. I've done this now for several sessions and I'm thrilled to report that it works. No longer am I obsessively focused on my breathing or checking the time remaining on my run segment. Now because I am so interested in the speaker or the subject of my talk, I just run. It's made all the difference!
Because these talks have had the power to turn this reluctant athlete into somewhat of a runner I thought they were noteworthy and wanted to share. All are about education. All hint at motivation. All talk about change.
Enjoy them! Share them with your students or a fellow educator.
1. Ken Robinson: How to Escape Education's Death Valley (May 2013)
2. Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity (January 2007)
3. Angela Duckworth: The Key to Success: Grit (May 2013)
4. Sugata Mitra: The Child-Driven Education (July 2012)
5. Kakenya Ntaiya: A Girl Who Demanded School (March 2013)
Because I have the same students in multiple courses, it is important for me to think of different ice breakers to use during our first session. For my Practicum course I asked my students to think of #Oneword that would shape their year as first year teachers. I showed the video, linked below, to introduce the idea. #Oneword Video Student used an index card and the below handout to plan their #Oneword for their first year as a teacher. Similar to #MyIdealBookshelf, which I discussed in an earlier blog, this activity fostered rich discussion and really encouraged my new group of students to open up and share personal details and feelings about their very new position in life. The final step in the activity was for students to enter their name and their #Oneword into a Google Slide which I will play the next time we meet. My hope is to use it as an opener to discuss how they worked towards their #Oneword during the time that we were apart. #Oneword Handout Think about it: It is still early in the school year. What will your #Oneword be? What word can focus your energy and keep you grounded throughout another (or your first) busy, hectic school year.
Last year I purchased My Ideal Bookshelf with art by Jane Mount for a friend and fellow Language Arts teacher as a gift. I ended up enjoying the book so much that I returned to the store later that week to pick up my own copy. During the past year, I've learned that this book has created quite a movement among book-lovers and even has its own hashtag in the Twitter world, #myidealbookshelf. Fans of the text, also have the option of sending their Ideal Bookshelf to info@idealbookshelf.com and have a commissioned painting made to hang in their home or office. Motivated by my love of books and my course about Adolescent Reading, I decided to think of a way to use this as an icebreaker for my course. On the first night of class, I shared an Ideal Bookshelf I created for literacy and asked my graduate students to use the handout to create their own Ideal Bookshelf. The activity was such a powerful opener; it generated such rich discussion on the first night and really encouraged the students to open up and share their ideas. A copy of the blank form and the video I used with my graduate students can be accessed below: My Ideal Bookshelf handout My Ideal Bookshelf with Adobe Voice Below is a link to My Ideal Bookshelf for Literacy. It was created using VoiceThread, a great interactive tech tool. Feel free to leave a comment.
