Recently, a teacher asked a student, "Why are you so happy? It's Thursday." The student replied (I didn't make this up!), "Because today is a Flyertime Day!" Flyertime continues to evolve to meet the needs of our students, and it's not going away. Based on what I know about early adolescents and their need for social emotional development, it shouldn't go away. Our task is to embrace it and help it grow.
Flyertime...I hear the voices, I hear the concerns, I hear frustrations, and I ask you what would it look like if it worked to your vision?
Here's my vision of Flyertime:
A class where students feel a sense of purpose
A class where students can discuss those hot topics relevant to them
A class where students learn to lead and grow with the facilitation of their teacher
A class where we explicitly address character education to make connections within daily life
I recently spoke with a teacher whose Flyertime students enjoy coming to Flyertime each day, who has other students ask if they can join the class. When asked why, students say "because we get to talk about issues and things important to us." What's noteworthy is that this environment doesn't take a lot of planning - this teacher checks the Flyertime calendar at 7:30 each morning to get the lesson for the day.
My suggestions for the future:
Kickball: If your Flyertime doesn't play together as a team, don't play.
Calendar: Use it to help guide you, but know that you have flexibility to adjust based on your students needs, current events, etc.
Engagement: Get them moving to ensure participation by everyone. Use the same engagement strategies you use instructionally.
Routines: Develop routines where there's clear purpose of each topic and reflection connected to the core values.
Service Learning: Don't stress about it. Consider both your and the students' interests, and feel free to connect it to your curriculum. The options are limitless, and can include service to the building.
I challenge you to share ideas that have worked for you in the comments below.
My FT kids love competition. A competition within a Flyer Time or between Flyer Times can make service learning fun and increase engagement.
ReplyDeleteI make sure students are seated so that they are able to communicate with all the other grade levels. I am also careful to pair my 7th/8th graders with 6th graders that I feel share their motivation/interests.
ReplyDeleteIt has helped with motivation a lot this year to have 2 different seating arrangements. This way, when the students enter the room they know if it is a choice day (where they will have more discussion and group work) or a teacher choice day (where they do a mandatory lesson and will start with more specific directions).
ReplyDeleteWe have used a variety of ways to mix up the class so that students don't always sit with the same kids. I hand out different kinds of cards as they walk in. I wait to announce the method of how they are dividing up until everyone has a card and the bell has rung (thus no swapping before class). It's been kind of fun watching them try to figure out how I'm going to make them divide. I like to use these so that all students can discuss a particular topic, then bring it back together as a full-class discussion.
ReplyDeleteAnd since FT is still evolving, a thought about service learning (just an idea) . . . I think a daunting task for all of us is finding a project and having it take off enough that it seems successful. Especially when it comes to collecting items. What if the school took on ?5? bigger projects and each FT could choose from one of those (or go on their own if they don't like). We could then collaborate on the collections (rather than "nickel-n-diming" a bunch). Each FT could still do the individual activities (advertising, researching, etc), but there would only be one big collection. And I think too it might seem less daunting. There would be opportunity also for cross-FT collaboration. And if we would divide it into "x" projects, each group could maybe have a specific time to collect/focus on.
Yes, Jennifer, I agree with your service learning idea. Would be great to partner with another FT for service learning. My kids seem to like it, but not all FTs do.
ReplyDeleteI love having the 6th/7th graders together and without the 8th graders at the end of the year. They seem more open in our discussions and better to mix up into different groups and really get into a topic.
The 8th graders need different topics for discussion than the 6th graders do,
community (like what we've created in the past with teaming)
ReplyDeleteI like knowing my kids in small group.
ReplyDeleteIn order to prepare for service learning, students brainstormed community needs and then formed groups to come up with a plan. After preparing a presentation, students tried to persuade other flyer time groups to join their cause. I think it helped students feel more like it was their choice instead of something I was making them do.
ReplyDeleteMy students enjoy having a surprise party (Good Luck Next Year!) for the 8th graders at the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteBuilding relationships with kids from other grade levels.
ReplyDeleteMy FT loves competition between themselves and also other FlyerTimes! I also like how the 8th graders moved on to do more applicable things during 4th quarter!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy multiple grade levels within the class and the camaraderie it builds throughout the building.
ReplyDeleteI love flyertime. I don't know if it is because I have a great group of kids or because I have nothing to compare it to. My kids have taken every suggestion and ran with it. With some direction from me, they created great lessons, initiated projects and helped people in and outside of their curriculum.
ReplyDeleteFlyer time would look like a family; kids building relationships in a multi-age group setting. It would be a safe place that kids look forward to seeing one another.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy having students from all grade levels. It was great to see the 6th graders jump right in and get involved. The older kids did a great job welcoming in those 6th graders.
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