Wow...I love to read books that can make you look at your classroom with fresh eyes regardless of how long you've been in the classroom. So, grab your book and then try to implement one of the 5 techniques from chapter 1 (no op out....without apology) and then let us know how it goes on the blog.
By the end of November, I would like to be invited in to your room to watch the BORINGEST (is that a word?) content you have to teach. I want to watch it come alive and then I'll blog about it. And, Sophia, don't worry...I instantly thought of your lesson when I read this so I'll share that soon.
Finally, look at the post it technique and then look at your I can statements. Reflect on how the two meet in the middle and how you can most effectively use your I can statements in the classroom.
Happy Reading and Posting!
Annie
Alrighty...I am going to blog about Skill Two from the Mind in the Making book I am reading. Skill Two is Perspective Taking. It requires inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and reflection. At first I had to chuckle as I truly believed that this skill was beyond attainment for my egocentric three and four year old charges. We are STILL spending time and effort on Focus and Self Control! But as I read more into the chapter, I started to change my perspective (hee-hee). Modeling and thinking aloud are the best ways to expose children to the notion of perspective taking. This skill is important because it helps children better understand others and their world. It also helps children in conflict situations because they are better able to interpret situations accurately, therefore avoiding jumping to conclusions, acting without thinking, flying off the handle, etc. There are always teachable moments in the classroom when I can say, "I see ____ has tears on his cheeks. He could be sad. I can ask him if he would like a hug." And then, "If my block tower got knocked over, I would be sad, too." Of course books and role-play situations can aid in teaching this skill as well. Lastly, one of my light-bulb moments occurred as I read about a study at Berkeley. Children who could understand others' perspectives did better in kindergarten because they're better able to understand what their teachers wanted and expected. I did not think of this as I was reading about perspective taking - children taking the perspective of the teachers and other adults. I really only had focused my attention to providing opportunities for children to 'get in tune' with their peers.
ReplyDeleteRania,
DeleteI appreciate that you are addressing these challenging taks in your room. The ability to look at situations from anothers perspective is so valuable in setting a tone for a positive school atmosphere so that learning can take place.
The technique I tried was "no opt out". I like this technique because many times teachers call on special ed students and the student says "I don't know" and the teacher just moves on. With using no opt out, every student is expected to give a correct answer, either through providing clues or repeating. When I tried this technique I found it to be time consuming but definitely worthwhile. The students are beginning to figure out that I expect them to give a correct answer and I am not going to move on until they do.
ReplyDeleteI have never posted "I can" statements before, and I wasn't thrilled about doing it this year. But, I have now changed my opinion. I discuss with my students before class begins what we are doing and why. I make my "I can" statements short and simple so my students understand them.
My favorite technique is No Opt Out. I use it every day in my classroom. No Opt Out gives the opportunity to all of my students to give the correct answer to a question that he\she may have missed. It gives entitlement to my students where otherwise would sit there not knowing nor caring. It is a useful tool that makes the students accountable. It is a powerful tool for students who need that extra push to feel successful. It empowers my students to be able to answer questions correctly. They expect me to call on them again to ask for the correct answer. It is useful for all of my Rebecca’s and Doug’s (one extreme behavior to the other).
ReplyDelete“I Can” statements give a clear message of what my students are learning and what is expected of them. My students are required each week to record their weekly objectives in their journals. It is always aligned with the same standards in their classroom. We reviewed them at the beginning of class each day. It is drilled in their heads followed up with a CPS lesson if time allows.
After reading the techniques in chapters 1 and 2 I realized that I've already been using the "no opt out" technique in each class. With further reading, I decided to try the right-right strategy (technique 2). As I read that technique I realized I am guilty of accepting a partially correct answer and moving on. When I used the right-right strategy in class, along with the stretch it strategy (technique 3) I noticed more students became engaged in the lesson and felt comfortable answering questions and "helping out" other students. The more actively engaged they are in class, the more information the students will hopefully retain.
ReplyDeleteI think posting the "I Can" statements helps for the students to keep the big picture of the lesson present in their minds. In addition to posting the objectives, I go over the objective each day and discuss what it means and have them explain the parts of the objective that they already know. This reinforces the "I can" part because they are proving to themselves that yes, they CAN achieve the objective.
I am trying the Right is Right technique. In the past so much emphasis has been placed on emphasizing the positive that we sometimes allow students provide substandard resposes. Many times I have been guilty of commenting positively on the part of the answer that a student has given that is correct, then moving on to another students for clarity or completion of the answer, or giving the correct answer myself. We do a diservice to our students when we just let them feel good about their answer, even if it is not entirely correct. Sometimes we do this to save time, which we all know there is not enough of. Training students to dig deeper into their thinking, or using available tools to find complete answers takes time and can be a painstaking task. (It can seem overwelming to students who struggle academically.) The results are worth the time and effort.
ReplyDeleteOne of the ways that I have implemented this training in my classroom is to provide a game format. I put inference as well as factual questions on a tic-tac-toe board. The students are placed in two teams, and are given partners within that team. They choose a question then use the think pair share strategy to come up with the correct answer. If the question is factual they have to prove their answer by reading a passage in the book. If it is an inference question, they have to back their answer up using information from the book.
This can be challenging for first grade students. The game format has provided motivation. The students take on challenging questions willingly. At first I had to let the students know if the answer was correct or not. Over time, using Think, Pair, Share they correct each other in a non-threatening way. They take on the challenge willingly.
Speaking of challenges... At the beginning of the year I was putting the statements on sentence strips. We would read them but the students did not 'get it'. Then I got the I can statements with the little cartoon figures on them. As I wrote in the previous blog, I reworded some of them to make them more kid friendly. They are posted in my classroom but are hard for all students to see and when we go over them in the classroom students tune out. If the objective is for students to use these as learning tools they have to be accessible so.... I also made a class set of reduced size copies. I am going to laminate them as needed, and place them on students desks. This way when we review the I can statements the kids have a point of reference. Throughout the week they have a visual reminder. Hopefully the statements will become more than decorations in our room that the teacher talks about.
I will implement one of the techniques this week in 3rd grade. Then post how it went.
ReplyDeleteLast week I tried technique 2(Right is Right).I was going over math terms then played a game. I wrote the word on the a strip and 1 student wore it on their head, so the whole class could see it except the one student. The student wearing the term calls on other classmates. The word was sum. Student A said, "It's the answer." She was on the right track. I used one of the phrases from "Hold out for all the way." I said, "Okay, but there's a bit more to it than that." Then student B says "the result of adding."
ReplyDeleteIn this game students have to be descrtiptive and clear, if not the student wearing that hat has no idea of the word/term on his or her head.
Last year, I always tried to find some type of song to make grammar more appealing to the students. I didn't want to say this is boring, but it won't take long. I found a fun rap on the internet. It was about verbs. I tried to find something that the kids could relate to.I know that many of our students listen to rap music or hear it in their homes. This was technique 5-Without Apology. As I reflect on this year, I have said something close to this is boring, however, now that I have read about it in this book, it makes me more aware of what I might say to students.
I think posting the "I Can" statements help remind students what they should be able to do by the end of the week/day, etc. I think its important to go over them before the lesson and after(in the lower grades) to make sure students understand why they are learning about this topic or skill.