Student-Led Instruction

 

Apparently, today is the day of confessions (see the most recent Sparksnotes if you aren't sure what I'm talking about)!  I must confess that there was a lot I didn't know when I began teaching.  "Dangling modifiers, what the heck are those?  What do you mean you can't end a sentence with a preposition?  You mean, supposibly isn't a word?" 

 

I had to teach myself so much just so I could teach it to students, and through that process I learned a ton!  I'm even somewhat of an expert on those things I didn't know before I taught them. 

 

 

And that's why student-driven instruction is so good for kids.  When they have to learn it to teach it, they really know and understand it.  Check this out!

 

 

Sixth grade students are learning the human body systems from their peers. Students were assigned a group and system, researched content, submitted a lesson plan, prepared and are now teaching their classmates.

 

I have no doubt that these students learned a lot, and that they will retain what they learned.  And as an aside, check out that use of student-driven technology!

Interdisciplinary Impact

Blending multiple subjects into a common unit or assessment has been a hallmark of middle school philosophy for decades.  When students see the connections between multiple subjects and apply those connections to authentic learning experiences, they have richer, more meaningful learning.  They remember what they've learned!

 

 

 

In this activity, students are blending their math and social studies skills to plan for a trip along the Oregon Trail.  They must calculate (practicing that relevant and timely skill of decimals) the cost of their supplies and consider what they need to navigate the geography of the trip.

 

 

The key to a strong interdisciplinary unit is relevance to curriculum.  Yes, we can imbed math into any subject with a graph or two, but to make it relevant to what they are learning at the time adds another layer of authenticity.

What a Novel Idea!

I thank those of you who are using the blog as a resource for best practices. That is, of course, the purpose for what I write here.  Here's a great example of blog-inspired instruction:  Stations, and a bonus of inferencing too!

In these stations, students worked on inferencing skills to apply to their current novels. Each station had a different medium for students to practice inferring meaning: reading short stories, watching commercials, analyzing objects, and interpreting photographs.

Who Knew It Was a Short Week?

 

I love how we are maintaining a learning focus during a short week that could easily be blown off as educational fluff.  As we move into the holiday season and kids (ok, let's be honest - adults too) get a little "off balance," it's important to maintain high engagement and focus.  By implementing authentic learning and highly engaging instruction, everyone maintains the focus for learning. 

 

 

 What?  The Fitness Room is booked?  No big deal!  Check out Health/Fitness getting creative with space and keeping all kids focused on healthy habits.  I've been impressed by how this team works together to share equipment, space and students in order to have all students engaged in healthy activities!

 

 

Station Teaching is still one of my favorite instructional methods for student engagement (in case you missed the last blog about this, I thought I should be clear).  In this room, collaborative teaching with a student teacher adds to the focused instruction.  While one teacher is a station discussing the principle of Confucianism with students, the other is monitoring the learning activities at other station, activities which include computerized quiz games, videos, and primary source analysis. 

Give me a K-I-N-E-S-T-H-E-T-I-C....

 

Getting kids to use their bodies to represent learning is a great way in increase student engagement and increase memory.  Check out 7th grade science  and how they use a variety of models to help students understand atomic structure (drawings, technology, 3D, etc).

In the classroom, students were assigned a particle to represent and practiced building different elements (1 proton, 1 electron, 1 neutron = hydrogen). After building the largest possible element in each class, the two classes met outside to combine forces. In this model, students took on the characteristics of the model - protons and neutrons clumbed together and swayed, while electrons whizzed around the entire field. This was a great way to engage kinesthetic learners!

Hooray for the Techies!

What a great idea to make it easy for parents to access the website for homework!  On conference nights, 7 Green handed out labels for parents to direct them to the website.  Just scan the QR code and it takes you right to the homework section of the website. 

How Many Times Do I Have To Say The Same Thing?

By creating a video of your instruction, not only do you perserve your voice and reduce that nagging question of "Did I tell this class?", but you also free yourself to engage with students.  By having the directions/review through video, you are able to conference with individual students to see their progress and close any instructional misconceptions.  What a way to increase timely feedback!

It's No Secret - I Love Station Teaching

Can it be a little chaotic?  At first...
Does it require clear communication of expectations?  Most definitely...
Do students need to practice how to perform in stations?  Yes...

Do you have to let go of control?  Yes...but that's because students are gaining control, taking responsibility for their own learning and remaining engaged in their learning when they see a purpose in each station's activity.  Take a look at station teaching in action...

 

The key to strong stations are clear directions and expecations.  Teachers should be able to facilitate student learning and involvement by circulating in the room.  It helps to have a system in place for when kids need help (i.e., ask yourself, ask a neighbor, ask the whole group, ask the teacher) so that you don't run ragged supporting students who want to skip the directions.

 

 

In this case, stations work great to use the computers to enter eValuate data, saving instructional time while providing great learning and practice opportunities.

Some things I found successful when using stations in the classroom:  1) don't be afraid to let them take multiple days; 2) have a system in place for students who have questions, as identified above; 3) have someone proofread your directions for clarity before giving them to students; and 4) have a variety of activities for differentiation and varied learning strategies.

If you have questions/thoughts about trying stations in your classroom, let me know - I'd love to help!

Engaging Students in Inferring Word Meaning

Students follow directions that include both academic and content vocabulary, using their context clues to determine what step to take next.  It's hard to see in the second photo, but....Look at that great strategy of identifying the words they don't know to begin deciphering them!

Jane and the Magic Commas

What makes this lesson on inferring word meaning so powerful are not only the great gestures, but also the focus on the "magic comma," a comma that separates the unknown word from its definition within the sentence.  Check that out - I just used a magic comma!

Look at this great slide where students practice figuring out the unknown word - they don't have the distraction of the word, but they do a great job of inserting appropriate options.

Emphasizing "Why we do what we do"

This morning in a Flyertime class, a teacher was using a video that emphasized the importance of why and connecting it to the Flyertime door contest.  He noted that by selling "why" we do what we do instead of "what" we do, we touch more people.  It's a great reminder to all of us to focus on why we have Flyertime rather than what we do in Flyertime.

If you're interested, here's the link to the video (be warned, it will require you and students to "infer word meaning" - feel free to use the strategies from Friday's PD): 

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html.  A short clip is all you'll need.

Keeping Flyertime Student Focused

 

I love walking into Flyertime and seeing students "owning" their experience, whether it's leading the discussion on what kind of door decoration, sharing the announcements or sharing their definitions of showing respect.

 

Clever Alliterations and Engaging Activities

I love when I can find time to stop into classrooms and see all the great things happening at TMS! 

In 8th grade today, I saw teachers doing "Texting Tuesdays" and "Terrible 10" grammar mistakes.  What a great way to remind students about grammar in the real world. 

I also got to witness students designing a Ziggarat - they had 180 workers and had to make real world connections to use each of their "employees" to their fullest potential to get the job done! 

And don't even get me started on those engaging science experiments - as we speak, students are finalizing their Pringle packages to send to Sperreng through the mail.  I hope those Pringles don't break!

I thought I should use tacky colors in this post in honor of TACKY TUESDAY!

Celebrating Birthdays

Some great ideas to celebrate student birthdays:

• Have them make a birthday card for themselves - give it to them on their birthday.
• Design birthday celebrations as a class.
• Student choice day - students choose the Flyertime activity on their birthday. 

Buddy Classes in Flyertime

Two Flyertimes get together for a little friendly competition and team-building (and maybe a little bit of stinky feet!).  Students line up by Flyertime class, run to the pile one at a time to find and put on their shoes; when that student finishes, they run back to their line, tag the next student to do the same and continue until everyone has on their shoes. Which class will get their shoes on first? 

"Flying Right" with Flyertime Name Games

Students practice learning names with the added value of respect by looking one another in the eye and saying "Thank you" upon receiving the bean bag!

Students engage with one another by saying names in conjunction with an action.  Practice makes success!

Using Name Tags in Flyertime

Using the name tags made in the first Flyertime helps to build a community where everyone knows each other!

Flyertime Class Meeting

Flyertime activities provided through Sparksnotes are just suggestions - if you have great ideas in keeping with the current Flyertime focus, please use them.  Here's a great example of a class meeting in progress.

Starting the School Year "Flying Right!"

The goal of this Day 1 activity was to set a tone for the classroom: in this classroom students will investigate, collaborate, problem-solve and follow directions. 

Great Flyertime Seating

Check out this Flyertime seating arrangement!  Moving 6 tables together is a great way to get students to collaborate and dialogue.

Where Instruction Flies Right

Welcome to Truman Middle School's instructional blog! Here you will find best practices for developing competent and caring students. Stay tuned for great instructional strategies coming soon!