5/8/2023 0 Comments Hang in there...We're almost done. We can see the finish line. We can taste the freedom. But we still have two major district tests and three weeks of real class left. How can I keep myself and my students fully engaged up until the end of the semester? I can't make any promises, but I can share what I'm trying in my classroom, and I hope you can find something worthwhile too. 1. Doodle, color, or draw. Not all my students like art, but many of them do like to doodle or color while they are listening, waiting, or thinking. I changed my seating arrangement in my classroom back to table groups, and have highlighters, Twistable colored pencils, and random pens at each group. But the key has been to add outline font and icons to our readings, graphic organizers, and worksheets. It adds a layer of silliness to the day, and I have some juniors who come in every day now and ask, "can we color today?" Yep. As long as we are learning while we do it! 2. Movement. If you've been following me for any amount of time, you know I'm a bit of a control freak. One of the ways I keep things orderly is by assigned seating charts! The kids hate not being able to choose where they sit, but they focus so much better when I make good choices for them :) However, this last month I let them choose where they sit when they come in. That means the first few minutes of class they can sit by their friends and have some freedom. And then, when we are done with our bellringers, I find a way to make them move into new groups. Sometimes I have them number off within their groups. Sometimes I have them mix and mingle to share their bellringer, then whenever the music goes off they sit wherever they happen to be. But most of the time I get them into some sort of line and count them off into their new groups. Today we lined up by shoe size. Yesterday it was by the first letter of their last name. A few days ago it was their birthday month. It's a nice way to break up cliques, get them moving and talking, and adds an element of silliness as well. Click here to get my FREE Ways to Group Students 3. Group work. This works really well if you've developed a culture of collaboration within your classroom. Unfortunately, this year being at a new school with some crazy life surprises, I didn't do this as well as I wanted to. I still have students who are afraid or refuse to share or participate. But I have a ton of kids who crave social interaction and discussion, and group work motivates them and makes the class pass faster. My favorite strategy is hexagonal thinking discussions, but I also use jigsaws, stations, and various forms of small group discussions. Today for fun we did our discussion using a coin (flip) and dice (roll). There were six questions on one side of the paper (heads), six on the other (tails), and students took turns flipping and rolling to see which question they were to think-write-share. 4. Hands On Projects I'm not going to lie, I get a little jealous of my math and science and FACS friends. It seems their content areas are so much more hands-on than Language Arts. Reading and discussing are so... cognitive. But when I told my students that they were going to do a good-ol-fashioned collage project, they literally cheered! A few weeks ago, to study for the national AP test, I had my AP Lit students create a simple 9-square foldable chart. They were struggling-I was giggling! But even the most simple graphic organizers can be turned into foldables to add a level of novelty and engagement for the students. *NOTE* For your fidgety students, maybe consider leaving a few post-it notes at your groups. By the end of class today I had two origami swans, a frog, and a mini fortune teller. All while they did their work! 5. Engaging Concepts and Content Nothing compares to this. All day, every day. But especially at the end of the year... save the best content for last. Create a relevant unit based on a concept they care about and can personally connect to, then use it and essential questions to frame your content. My juniors are studying "The Pursuit of Happiness" as we read various non-fiction and short stories. From Dr. Heidegger's Experiment to Emerson's "Self-Reliance," they are constantly asking how we create happiness, how important it is to be happy, and whether they agree with the authors and characters or not. Sprinkle in a little social psychology, and it's the perfect recipe for an engaging unit to end the year. Other concepts that have been engaging for students at the end of the year have included:
Can I end with a little secret? I use these strategies all year long. Every one of my units is designed with concepts and essential questions. I use movement every day since we are on a 90 minute block. All of my worksheets and graphic organizers are doodle- or color-able. And I try to do one jigsaw, one station, and one structured small group discussion each unit. Pick one, try it, and see how it works for you!
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AuthorA midwest teacher in love with creating awesome opportunities for students to think, communicate, and produce. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Comfortable-Classroom
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