classroom teaching strategy

What My Trip to the Magnolia Silos Taught Me About Teaching

My husband and I visited Waco to tour all things Magnolia back in June. It was an amazing trip — I love going on trips to new places because I can let my brain relax, and I feel so inspired. Magnolia was no exception – inspiration is everywhere. So, I said I can let my brain relax, but what really happens is that it just gets filled up with all kinds of new ideas at every turn because of all the awesomeness around me. Chip and Jo have truly built an empire that personifies their greeting “Welcome Home.” If you read my previous blog post where you toured my classroom, then you know my classroom theme is the journey, but it’s focused on reminding students that home is at the center. It doesn’t get much more perfect than that for inspiration. So, here’s what my trip to Magnolia taught me about teaching – and you’ll see that these are things I can do in my classroom, changes and implementations and thought processes that require nothing from admin or anyone else – just me.

Make my classroom a place where “Everyone has a seat at the table.” The first place we visited on our trip was Magnolia Table, the newly renovated restaurant. We had, of course, watched the episode where they remodeled it, and I remember Joanna discussing how she wanted it to be a place were all people could come together and enjoy great food and great company. The restaurant is beautiful, as expected, and she has a variety of seating arrangements. Above one of the larger community tables is the beautiful metal artwork sign made by Jimmy Don that reads, “Where Everyone Has a Seat at the Table.” It has a huge presence in the restaurant, and it spoke to me immediately. The students who come into my classroom are from all different families, friend groups, backgrounds, experiences, and ability levels. Because we are a very small, rural school, a lot of times we do know each other’s names at least, but when I think about a table symbolically, there’s so much more there with that idea. To me, it reminds me to get to know the students beyond that and see from their point of view, and I want them to do that for each other, too. I want to invite all voices to speak in discussion. This one is especially difficult because students are so shy or uncertain or they think what they have to say isn’t good enough. I work for weeks getting all kids to open up. Sometimes I have to just sit and wait – it’s that important. When I make worksheets, I need to represent as many different types of students as possible. Reading selections should be carefully curated so that all students have an opportunity to see themselves and see others. I want them to know that when they walk into my classroom that they – each student as an individual – has a place.

Take something that seems like it’s nothing and make it great. If you watched Chip and Jo’s show, Fixer Upper, then you know they are in the construction business to buy houses and fix them up to sell. Many of the houses they have chosen to remodel have been forgotten by the masses. Nobody has “the guts to take on a fixer upper,” so these houses with beautiful bones are just rotting to the ground. My husband and I do some work with construction and remodeling, and often times we get into some we want to run from. But, we have to step back and see the potential- it has good bones, they say. This one hits home hard when I think about the students in my classroom. From struggling learners to excelling learners to the well-behaved student to the trouble-maker, there’s always something that can be transformed in them. It’s when I had the struggling learners for so many years that it sometimes became hard to even want to look for the potential. We sometimes want to run in the other direction or complain about what students come into our classroom. Eventually this became my prayer: God, place the students who need me to see them and their potential in my classroom and give me the grace and strength to get the job done. Any kid who comes into our classroom has the ability to grow and be transformed, and we have to be willing to pick up our tools and go to work. I don’t want to run from the challenge, but rather I want to be part of the before and after – the amazing reveal – at the end of the year. I’m honored to have been selected and placed in the role of having a small part in helping to build these students into who they will be someday.

Seek feedback and put it to use. At breakfast, we had a lovely conversation with one of the managers who was a friend of Joanna’s mom. She, of course, asked us about our breakfast (which was amazing. More on that later.) She told us that since they are relatively new to the food industry, they are always learning. Part of that process, she said, is gathering and implementing feedback. At Magnolia, they ask visitors to give feedback via their website, and they have learned everything from how to improve processes to what new items to add to the menu. One of the things I’ve learned over the years is to ask my students their thoughts on lessons, assignments, projects, the novel excerpt, etc. So how does that look? After we finish a lesson, I ask them what else do they need to know or do to have it. After a virtual discussion with them on their thesis checkpoints, I’ll ask them was that enough help. Do they have enough info to go forward? After we finish a project, I’ll ask them was it interesting, helpful, useful, etc. I ask them what works and what doesn’t. Some responses aren’t helpful, but most actually are. I genuinely want and need to know what I can do to help them. Plus, this process helps them to help themselves, too. The process of me asking for feedback teaches them not only how to think critically from outside an assignment, but it also shows them that I genuinely care and value their role in their own learning and in my teaching. It lets the wear the teacher tool belt, of sorts.

Differentiation is a must. I have been having health issues for some time, and at the beginning of the year, I found out that I was going to have to change my diet completely. I am now 100% gluten free, and I also have to stay away from certain foods that aren’t low FODMAP. It has been a process, and in many cases I can’t enjoy what others are eating. So, when I’m traveling I’m always apprehensive about what choices I’ll have. Magnolia is obviously largely about enjoying food, but I had just planned to make the best of it. To my surprise, Magnolia Table has several amazing gluten-free options and so did the bakery! I was thrilled to be able to have the french toast and the avocado toast at breakfast (we ate there twice LOL). This was amazing for two reasons: french toast is my favorite breakfast dish and the avocado toast was one of Jo’s specials. Then we visited the bakery, and while I didn’t get to try the “wow” cupcakes (according to my hubby), I was able to select from three tasty cookies. Even one of the food trucks on the lawn at the Silos had a unique option for me to try. Now, not every dish was available in gluten free; no cupcakes were either; and not every food truck was able to make a gluten-free creation. The fact still remains, though, that some of the most important items had been differentiated. In our classrooms, differentiation is important because some kids have specific needs that must be met differently in order for them to be healthy – educationally speaking. One size certainly does not fit all when it comes to instruction. We have to offer a different creation that they can digest. That is not to say that everything we do needs to be created all anew. If I did that for every class of 28-34 students I had for three sections, I wouldn’t survive even one semester. It is not feasible to make 20 different flavors of this or that or 20 different math worksheets. What we can do is recreate what is necessary, and work to provide extra support and options on other items where time, energy, and personnel allows. Menu boards, task cards, video links, pre-annotated texts, or dictionaries all provide differentiation in ways that make it possible serve all learners without exhausting yourself. In some cases, we may even have to face that not all students will complete all tasks – but what we can ensure is that all students complete the task that allows him or her to grow and feel fulfilled.

Give them an experience. One of my biggest take-aways from my trip to Magnolia was the feeling of the environment. Not only was everything beautifully created and designed (and I loved all the shout-outs to books and literacy), but it smelled good, and it was clean. Most importantly and impressively, though, at every door there was a staff member to open it for us, smile, and say hello and welcome. Welcome. The feeling of being invited and wanted. I want my students to know they are welcome and wanted. Like I said before we are in a very rural area where many students live in transient housing and family lives are unstable, but that could be true in any demographic. Students are in my classroom for just a short time each day, but I want to be there to welcome them and let them know they are wanted. Your room doesn’t have to be beautiful or amazing, but a nice smell along with some sense of cleanliness and order does help the learning experience. It is often over-quoted, but the old saying of “People won’t remember what you say, but they will remember how you make them feel” is so true. Welcome home, students, welcome home.

As school starts soon for me… it’s almost #demoday! In fact, aren’t we all just a bunch of fixer uppers?

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A Formula for Successful Writing Instruction Series: #1 Planning

A couple of years ago I did a series on my formula for classroom success. It entailed topics like classroom management, planning, organization, etc. You can check all those topics out here. In those years since, I have been developing a resource and a series that defines my formula for a different topic: writing instruction. I get asked all the time for help and tips for how to teach writing, and I never really knew how to answer my colleagues who asked me to pinpoint what I did. I’ve seen success with my students’ writing in my classroom over time, and I’ve had successful writing scores on standards tests. But what really makes good writing instruction? Where do you even begin? How do inspire students to write… to buy in? So in the past year or so I’ve made a conscious effort to consider my practices and process when it came to writing. What I realized was pretty astounding and simple at the same time. I hope that by the end of this series (over the next several weeks) that you’ll feel empowered and recharged and ready to tackle all those writing standards.

I’m starting the series with the planning piece because I think that’s like the atom in science – it’s the basic fundamental piece that must be studied and addressed and understood before moving on. I like to plan, so for me that seems natural and naturally exciting. Others might like to dive in head first and just take off and see where it goes. However, the problem with that approach can lead to derailment along the way in the form of running out of time for critical pieces of the process. No plan is ever perfect; we do certainly have to be fluid in the process, but ultimately knowing where you are headed before you take off is the best course of action. If you are ready to join me on the journey to successful writing instruction, here are the five pieces I start with each semester when I start to make my curriculum map.

1) So, what did I realize? I won’t keep you waiting until the end of the post for the answer to this one. I can’t, really. It’s just too big of a deal. So, here goes: Writing isn’t just something I throw in every now and then or when I’m mandated by the central office. It isn’t an after thought when I’ve finished my “big unit” or have a few extra days somehow. It IS the big unit: three of them in fact. They are also known as narrative, argumentative, and explanatory. With that said, planning begins with the end in mind. Shape your units to the modes with essential questions and outcomes up front. For me that pans out to a narrative unit, followed by an argumentative unit, and ending with an explanatory unit. (I do a research project in correlation with my book clubs study. Read more about that here.) Here’s a snapshot of the pacing I guide I use with my juniors. A similar (and editable) one is included in my writing curriculum.

I choose narrative first because it is the least restrictive mode, and it allows students to step into writing without all the formality. They can just use their imaginations and let it flow. I can cover some writing fundamentals that carry over into the other units like writing strong hooks, word choice, and even touch lightly on textual evidence without them feeling so stressed about getting the content right. What I mean by that is with narrative writing, they aren’t trying to analyze a scientific text or refute counterclaims with a certain precision of logic. Those restricting elements are off the table, and for the most part, students can just write. It builds confidence. Also, as part of the pacing guide, I develop a list of words that are critical for each unit. I pass those on to students in the form of a vocabulary list. We go over that list before we even start each unit, and I quiz them over the list, too. The vocabulary of a mode is critical. We can’t have conversations about writing — narratives, hooks, counterclaims, thesis statements, or citations — if those words are foreign to students. Teaching the writing vocabulary up front builds students’ writing schema and confidence.

2) The next piece that I look at when planning my writing units (aka year) is the anchor texts that will ground each unit. Since no English curriculum is complete without literature and nonfiction — and all curriculum guidelines and standards include them — they play a critical role. I don’t want anything to feel random, and I don’t really have time for that either because I’m on a block schedule, and every minute counts. I select one anchor text per unit. These texts are from my department reading guides, textbook, standards, etc. I pick grade-appropriate selections that will make the most impact – ones we can dig into for days and even pair smaller texts with when time allows. Speaking specifically about my junior class, for the narrative unit, in the past I’ve read a variety of short stories: “All Summer in a Day,” “To Build a Fire,” “The Pedestrian,” “A Rose for Emily,” and so on. It just depends on what group I have in front of me, how much time, etc. For my argumentative unit, I pick a strong argumentative professional model, usually from the canon. We most often read Patrick Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention.” The explanatory mode is so much more wide open than any other mode. I usually pick a text that needs to be covered for its literary value and is dense enough to develop many different topics and material for evidence in essays. Usually, for my juniors, that’s The Crucible. Since I’m covering these texts as anchor texts and I don’t usually cover any other texts in class outside of these units (and my book club text), they must be solid. Quality over quantity will win out every time in my book, so I must choose carefully. Plus since I am using these texts not only for writing anchors and models, but also to cover many reading standards as well, these texts are the units inside the units, and I have to plan to give myself space in the calendar to cover them adequately enough. That can be 1-2 weeks, more or less. To close the study of the professional anchor text in the given mode, we do an activity that I call the “Author’s Toolbox.” Here we change hats. We take of our “reader’s hat” and put on our “writer’s hat” to see what tools from the professional writer’s toolbox that we can “steal” for our own.

3) A planner’s job is never over it seems, but you can’t stop the clock until you’ve also thought about what prompts your students will write. Since the units are anchored with texts, you may choose to have students write in response to those texts. I think that works very well in some cases. I have students change the ending or resolve the suspense or write from a different point of view in the narrative unit in response to the short story. In the explanatory mode, we explore the causes and effects of mass hysteria in The Crucible. Prompts must be chosen in a way that requires students to respond to a text, not just repeat what was covered in class. Often, with my argumentative mode, I’ll pull in two or three new short texts entirely and have students perform their skills cold. Plus, I like to mix up my prompts in different semesters to prevent plagiarism and keep up-to-date. It just depends on your scenario, time allotment, and objectives. I did have a curriculum adviser once remind me in planning a prompt that there is a difference in prompts designed for writing assignments and prompts designed for writing assessment. Long, dense prompts might work for the culminating writing assignment of your unit but not for a writing assessment. We want to set students up to perform their skills successfully and purposefully, not set them up to fail.

4)Possibly the easiest to plan for is the time students will need to compose the assignment. I do give my students time in class and out of class to write. I like to see them writing, so I can observe their process. This also helps if you wonder if they are really doing it themselves or not. As part of this time, too, I schedule intermittent deadlines. For my argumentative unit, for example, the first deadline comes soon after the task has been released: the thesis statement check. I also schedule time for conferencing with students while others are composing. This usually takes one or two days, and I’ve recently started doing this via Google Classroom. Students submit to me, and I can leave suggestions to them in real time. In my timeline, students are usually writing a 500-750 word essay over the span of three-four class periods and one weekend. It’s also important to note here, too, that you do need to go ahead and think about charting off time for students to reflect and revise after the scores have been returned.

5) Last, and maybe the most overlooked is planning some time for you — not to get a manicure, at least not yet 🙂 — but to grade all those essays coming in. IF you can grade during school hours, that’s what I would suggest. I know it’s not always possible, but if you can plan to show a movie that coincides with your unit or one that might replace a novel you won’t get to cover, that’s an easy way to get yourself some time at work to grade essays. There are so many ways to use movies meaningfully in class, so students are learning and standards are being covered. Another idea might be to pull in a project for students to complete or maybe an informational hot topics text lesson. You may can’t give yourself but a day or two, but something will help with that load.

It may seem odd that I would start a series on successful writing instruction with a post that had really almost nothing to do with the actual instruction. However, that’s coming, but this content really is the secret. Good writing instruction is based on a good plan. Not the kind of plan that says, “Oh, I’m planning on doing it”… but never really getting around to it! But rather the kind of plan that gets you going in the “write” direction for the year. Every piece of what I do builds on the other and connects and flows. Without a plan, that wouldn’t be possible. I read a quote once that said, “Don’t tell people your plans. Show them your results.” I disagree with that. I think you should show people — your students — your plan, and that is what will get the results.

Follow to Post #2 and Post #3 here!

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Best of 2017

It’s been my tradition the past few years to reflect on my best teaching moments of the year. I’m so fortunate to get to work with such amazing students, so it’s hard to pick just a few moments that have been amazing! But I have selected five times throughout the year when I have been most proud of my students! Plus you get to see some more snapshots of the resources from my store that I use in my classroom.

The American Dream Project – There are SO many possibilities for teaching Gatsby. When I have time in my schedule, I love to have students complete the “Making Your American Dream Come to Life” project to end our Gatsby unit. The details, instructions, and rubric are all in my Gatsby complete movie guide. I do hope all their dreams come true!

Vacation Bible School Maker Fun Factory – This year my husband, mom, sister, dad, and I had the task of teaching the nightly lesson to our church’s vacation bible schoolers. Our church had chosen the theme of Maker Fun Factory: Created for a Purpose. We knew we wanted to convey the message that each kid was created for a purpose and God is working on them – shaping and molding them to be something great. So… we transformed our classroom, where students could come and hear the lesson every night, into the inside of a machine! I crafted the lesson each night to tell the story of an important bible character who did great things because they were sensitive to God’s call and were willing to fulfill the plan and purpose He had for them. Those people, our precious church members, dressed like the bible characters, entered as a special delivery, and told the story from their point of view. Each night, the students couldn’t wait to enter the Fun Factory, and they were talking about going into the machine forever! See my entire catalog of kids for Christ materials here!

Break Out Escape Box Games – I had been seeing and hearing about break-out games and escape rooms and even people using them in the classroom, but I’d never seen or done one before. I knew it was something I wanted to try, but I have to admit, I was really apprehensive. So, I attended a training, and the facilitator conducted a game with us, and after that, I knew it was something I had to try with my students. This semester, I’ve done several, and my students are crazy for these games! Since I felt there was such a huge learning curve for me to figure out how to conduct one of these games in my classroom, my escape box games are super user-friendly. They include a simple print-and-go pack of clues for students, three ways for you to play the game, and a video tutorial where I explain everything to you! I have several already prepared for you in my store, so if you are ready to unlock some fun, check them out! All my escape games can be found here!

Canterbury Tales Puppet Show – I’ve never done a puppet show before with my secondary students, and certainly not any seniors. But when I was deciding how to teach the Tales in a modern and engaging way, for some reason a puppet show came to mind! I assigned students in my class one of the tales, and they had to read (from the Prologue) about that character. Everyone took notes on his/her travel log during the show! Then using the super cute clip art puppets I made and a puppet show curtain I borrowed from my nieces, voila! We had a puppet show. My students really got into it, and other teachers have shared their success stories with it, too! The puppet show materials can be found in my Canterbury Tales complete teacher’s guide.

Generational Interview Project with Fahrenheit 451 – When my seniors read 451, the project I assign during part 3 of the book is inspired by the passage where Granger reflects on how his grandpa influenced his life because of the things he was able to do and leave behind. I ask students to close read that passage and answer a set of questions. Then they are required to interview a person several generations older than them and write a report of that interview to share in class. I encourage them to interview a grandparent, and most do. When my seniors presented this year, it was overwhelmingly impressive how many of them took it seriously… and personally. When your seniors cry during a class presentation, you know it just got real. All the materials to conduct this close reading lesson and interview project can be found in my 451 Close Reading Lessons pack or in my 451 Complete Teacher’s Guide.

Please share in the comments below what you tried this year that worked!

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Solar Eclipse 2017 Lesson Ideas for Secondary English

The 2017 Solar Eclipse is coming and my county is in one of the paths were a great amount of totality will be experienced. It’s such a big deal that we’ve called off school that day for several reasons, but we are required to teach a lesson on the event before August 21, 2017. I’ve researched and glanced briefly online, but most lesson ideas that come up are either for math or science, or they are not for middle or high school level. We secondary English teachers don’t want to let the elementary teachers or science and math teachers have all the fun with the 2017 solar event of a lifetime; we “totally” want to join in with the fun, too! Therefore, I’ve brainstormed five ideas that I think are perfect to shed some “light” on the topic in your secondary English class.

1) Reading Informational Text: Find some articles that explain what happens during an eclipse. I used this article @ http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/gem-projects/hm/0304-1-08-eclipse/Types%20of%20Solar%20Eclipse.htm for the lesson I did with my dual enrollment seniors. I had them read the article and annotate. Then, in groups, they had to make a poster displaying that information. There were many skills that I was able to cover in this lesson including reading complex informational (scientific texts which scores points for ACT science); summarizing; classifying information; speaking & listening; art. Before conducting the lesson, review close reading strategies with my Close Reading and Annotating Teaching Pack.

2) Traditional Writing: Students don’t usually get “starry-eyed” about writing, but when the topics are as cool as a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse event, even the most reluctant writers will “shine.”

Narrative Prompt – Tell a story of what happens if the moon didn’t move out from in front of the sun, and it stayed dark forever. Teach younger students to use descriptive language when writing narratives using my interactive “Show. Don’t Tell.” sorting game.

Explanatory Prompt – Compare and contrast the different types of solar eclipses. (This would be a perfect follow up to the informational text reading activity above.)

Explanatory Prompt – Write to explain what causes a total solar eclipse to occur.

Argumentative Prompt – Your school is considering closing for Solar Eclipse Day, but some of the school board members disagree. Write to persuade them to let you have the day off. If your students need extra practice or an introduction to counterclaims, my Claims and Counterclaims Teaching Pack is sure to brighten their arguments.

3) Songs/Poetry: Students love the opportunity to listen to songs in class, and I don’t mind when we can study them as poetry. Take a look at Pink Floyd’s “Eclipse” or Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of My Heart.” These two songs in particular are rich with figurative language and a particularly appropriate dark tone. Grab my poetry analysis bundle with a variety of tools including poetry worksheets, poetry analysis task cards that are perfect for stations, and vocabulary review games. You’ll be all set to guide your students through a celestial poetry analysis.

4) Reading Science Fiction: Ray Bradbury is the first author who comes to mind when science fiction is mentioned. He expertly explored and explicated his imagination of the future and even life outside of earth in relation to and as a reflection of our own humanity. I’ll be reading his “All Summer in a Day” with my juniors for our eclipse lesson. While the characters in the story actually are waiting to see the sun, and we will be waiting to do the opposite on August 21, 2017, Margot, the main character, is literally in the dark and misses the experience entirely because of her antagonistic classmates. See my easy prep, ready-to-go lesson with other paired texts and a complete sun-themed unit. I think this lesson would also work well with younger students, too. If you are looking for a science fiction text for more advanced students, check out Isaac Asimov’s “Nightfall.” Pair it with my literary analysis task cards, and your students won’t be in the dark for long.

5) Creative Writing: Many cities across the country are planning events and celebrations to host viewing parties for the Great American Solar Eclipse. Have your students use propaganda techniques and figurative language to create posters advertising a real – or imagined – viewing party in your neck of the woods. Sneak in a little review of the types of propaganda with my complete teaching pack.

Check out NASA’s website and my own county’s website for more information! #headingtothedarkside

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The Power of “I Don’t Know” – As a Teacher

We’ve all been in that situation where we had something come up and we didn’t know the answer. Or we’ve had the nightmare of feeling like we weren’t prepared with all the answers. It all feels awkward, uncomfortable, or embarrassing. When I first started teaching, I would have nearly died when I had to admit to students that I didn’t know the answer to something. I’d like to say that I handled those situations with grace instead of stuttering around – or worse, making something up. But, I can’t be certain. I just know I didn’t want to say, “I don’t know.” In the past few years, though, I’ve really begun to embrace the power of the statement “I don’t know.” I don’t view it as a “cop out” because I’d never in one-hundred years let my students use it as an excuse, either. If students tell me “I don’t know,” I say, “Tell me what you do know,” and we go from there. But, what I’m sharing today is something a little different – something I hope will offer a paradigm shift to alleviate maybe just one bit of stress we feel as teachers.

Remember that nightmare I mentioned? The one where you’ve been in front of a class when students asked you a question to which you didn’t really know the answer. If you are like me, you felt horrified. It’s the little stuff I’m talking about here that students ask that would make me squirm if I didn’t know the answer. For example, what’s for lunch? Really! I just always felt like I had to be on top of everything 100% of the time. Honestly, that is just one more thing I don’t need on my plate. No one gives me the lunch menu in email or in my box. I would have to make a special trip to get it. So, no. I don’t know what is being served for lunch, what clubs are meeting Friday, or who is taking the bowling field trip next week. Not my circus. I don’t need that extra info floating around in my head! Kids just expect that since we are the teacher, we should know ALL the answers. Frankly, that’s just a lot of extra pressure I don’t need. “Let me help you find someone who does know” – that’s my response. It’s so liberating to free myself of the pressure of feeling like I must to respond to every question a student asks, but I never leave them hanging without a way to find the answer they need.
However, there are those times when questions come up related to class – or at least semi-related to my lesson that would make me really nervous when I couldn’t answer it. In my senior English class, we do a lot of work with British literature. I’ve studied and researched just as much as I needed, honestly, to teach the lesson and set the groundwork for the text. Some students are really curious about the extreme details of medieval life because they see it their video games, etc. No, I don’t know the name of every king and queen to rule during those times. Other times, we are having book club discussions about a novel and something comes up. With three different novels from three different classes going all at once, often my wires get crossed, or I just simply forget or overlook certain details that they pick up on. A couple of weeks ago while discussing Columbine in our Friday book clubs, a question came up about the gloves Eric and Dylan wore during the massacre. I knew that was an important detail, and the kids had a great point about the symbolism of it. Then that led to a question where they wondered if one boy was left or right-handed to pursue that thought even more. I remembered that detail from somewhere along the way, but I just couldn’t recall it. So, we just looked it up. In fact, it turned out to be an unresolved question in the investigation.
How many times are students doing something you don’t have a clue about? I could make a list a mile long – or longer. Sometimes I ignore their newest fad, but other times, if it somehow relates, or if I’m curious, I’ll ask them to teach me. Just this week I learned how to dab! Last month, they introduced me to Danielle Bregoli – and ONLY because her infamous statement showed up on one of their Canterbury Tales memes, and I wasn’t going to let it fly because I didn’t know what it meant. I literally said, “I have no idea what that even means. No, you can’t use it.” Laughter erupted from the entire class, and they quickly told me the entire story – complete with video. I am now scarred for life. All in all, I really don’t need to know who Danielle Bregoli is or how to dab, but the real benefit is that I’m keeping the channel open between us, so they know I value their knowledge and expertise. Sometimes it’s really useful info. 🙂 For example, once we were reading an article about horror movies, and students were trying to recall the part of the brain that handles fear. Um, yeah, I’ve read about that, but I really didn’t know the name of it. Some of the anatomy students had just studied the brain, and they were able to chime in and explain. I think that’s awesome for them to share their knowledge, and all the pressure wasn’t on me to have the answer. That’s a classroom success story to me.
Every now and then the students will ask a question to which I should know the answer. I am reminded of a time from this semester when I was introducing The Canterbury Tales to my seniors. The slideshow I created mentions that Chaucer didn’t complete all the tales he set out to write. Almost immediately a hand shoots up – “Why not? How many did he finish?” My throat jumped into my stomach. I hadn’t taught the unit in a few years due to scheduling, but I taken for granted that I was familiar enough with the material to launch the unit anyway. I had failed to really refresh myself of all the details. Of course, I could play the “We will look it up card,” but since this really IS my area of expertise, I should’ve remembered that. So, sometimes having to say, “I don’t remember… I don’t know” reminds me not to slack. Thankfully, my students weren’t facetious enough to keep questioning me. I just told them the truth – that I had forgotten that detail, and I would let them know tomorrow. I really did lose some sleep over that one.
Questions are important. In fact, I LOVE for students to ask questions – even to question me sometimes in a curious, productive way without that teenage arrogance (I guess that’s a topic for another day). Now days, though, there will be some questions for which I just don’t have the answer. End. Of. Story. Sometimes I think kids want to see if they can catch you off-guard, or they want to see you squirm, or they are being arrogant. Being transparent, and even vulnerable, really just shows them you are human, and it’s so much less stress to be in that mindset. Ultimately, I’m showing students the value of research and the power of knowing how to look up answers – the right way. A great teaching moment – not embarrassing at all.

Another couple of really powerful “I don’t know” statements come to mind, too. And these are really some of my favorites:

“I don t know when I’ll get around do that because I’m so swamped.”
“I don’t know if you know how proud of you I am.”
“I don’t know that it really matters if…”
“I don’t know why people do bad things…”
“I don’t know what might happen next because of…”

What can you add to the list? Have students ever caught you off guard? What’s the best/worse question you’ve ever been asked by a student?

Formula for Classroom Success Series Post #2: Modeling

Today we are continuing on in the Classroom Success Formula Series. I am excited to be sharing today one of my favorite teaching strategies – Modeling. It isn’t new, but perhaps I can share a few new ideas that you might can use.

How many of
us would rather watch a youtube video of how to make chicken dumplings rather
than reading the written directions? I know I certainly would. There are at
least seven major learning styles, and while not everyone would prefer to see
a video, the point is, working through a process to learn something is often
much easier than just diving in head-first with no guidance. After all, how does that saying go? – Teaching is
the one profession that creates all other professions.

1) Modeling is not the same as lecturing. I’ve heard educational trainers say
that lecturing is the worst way to teach, and you should never do it. I’ve
also heard that a carefully crafted lecture is sometimes needed. I’m torn on the concept of lecturing. Personally, as a learner myself I struggle being
attentive during lectures – unless they are very quick, show me what I need,
and then I get to try it myself. I
personally lean against an “old-fashioned” PowerPoint no matter how cute it is; I just think
they are dry. However, I note that my classroom is fully of diverse learners,
and to be as effective as possible, I must provide many different learning
strategies and opportunities. I do believe, though, that a teacher’s job is not
to impart knowledge but rather to insight discovery. ‘nough said.

2) “I do/we do/ya’ll do/you do” gradual release
model of teaching. In
this model of teaching the student is active the entire time, where in a
lecture, the student is largely copying notes or just watching the teacher talk
for an entire period or a large part of the period. This isn’t a new strategy by any means, and I
love it. It is pretty much what my classroom looks like every day. If you are
new to this strategy, it goes something like this:

– “I do”: The
teacher explains and demonstrates the skill while the students follow along,
trying on their own or processing. Here sometimes I do use a PPT, anchor chart, Activ Flipchart, white board, video, or guided notes. I just depends on what skill I’m teaching.

– “We do”: In
the “we do” stage, the teacher is again modeling, but the teacher engages the
class. For example, if I am teaching paragraph writing, I will have already
written one for the students in the “I do” phase. In this phase, I am asking
for student volunteers to give me sentence starters, active verbs, or
transitions. Faster learners often step up in this phase, and I think that’s a
good way to let them lead.

– “Ya’ll do”: Common
statistics in education are that you retain 10% of what you hear, 20% of what
you read, 50% of what you do, 75% of what you discuss and 90% of what you teach. Here students
are working on an activity with a partner or very small group. I like to give them something hands-on here or with movement, so they are talking about it and explaining it to each
other. This is an excellent place to use task cards. Also, students who are too shy to
speak out in class will be more likely to ask a friend or peer in a small
group. The teacher monitors during this
time taking notes for formative assessment.

– “You do”: Finally,
this is the time where students must show they understand the skill on their
own.

How to pace
this strategy for best results? Every period is different, and so is the depth
of every skill we teach, but I have 90 minute blocks. So I set up each step for
about 15 minutes. What I love most about
this strategy, is that anybody teaching anything can use this strategy successfully
and reach every student in the class. Every teaching pack that I have available in my TpT store is designed this way. I
had the privilege of meeting Sarah Wessling at a conference I presented at last
fall, and she was just as inspiring and down-to-earth as I had hoped. See a
video on the Teaching Channel of her explaining this process. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/improving-teacher-practice#video-sidebar_tab_video-guide-tab

3) Build confidence and eliminate
frustration. I, personally, feel really uncomfortable
cooking. I’m not horrible at it where I
burn everything; I just don’t have that special touch. So the thought of trying to cook something
new causes me anxiety. If I’ve seen someone do it, I feel a little better about
trying it on my own. I think the same is
true for students.

4) Modeling works for new concepts and
even review. When I begin to teach writing, I use the RACE paragraph. RACE is an acronym for the formula I want students to use in my
classroom when we write. I’ve seen variations of this
formula, but I’ve tweaked this one specifically to help students formulate
short, entire constructed responses and branch out to larger pieces of writing.
In my mind, it is a simple formula – to my students, it’s foreign. I once just wrote the formula on the board,
gave a prompt, and said, “Go.” The students
tried, but what they produced was not on point.
Then I was frustrated, and so were they. Now, I just go ahead and stick
to my trusty modeling technique to ensure all students are comfortable before we
proceed. I understand sometimes letting
them take off flying on their own can work, but mostly I think they just
leave the nest and fall to the ground.

How to Write a Paragraph Constructed Response, Writing For

5) Modeling also ties in with classroom
management/routines. I described my grouping snafu in the last post in this series. Again, though, it’s critical to model what we expect of students,
even if we think it’s something simple. It prevents time being wasted, and we
know how precious class time is.