11/8/2022 0 Comments Inspiration StrikesI really wish I was one of those teachers who has everything perfectly planned out weeks in advance; copies made, grades up to date, everything aligns... you know the ones. But I've come to embrace that I am not that person. My brain doesn't work like that. Fortunately (unfortunately?) for me, my brain is constantly thinking about a thousand things at once. So while I'm in the shower making my mental grocery list, I'm also thinking about an upcoming lesson. And sometimes, during this mental "free time", inspiration strikes. Sometimes, that inspiration strikes 10 minutes before class starts. While it's not ideal, I've learned to lean into these moments of last- minute musings and trust my gut. I've been lucky that most of the time, these sparks of creativity have worked in my (and my students') favors. Full transparency: this happened to me this last Monday, right before class. My AP students were coming in to do their 3rd book club meeting, and I don't like to have them do the same thing every time. I knew I wanted them to do something with important quotes from their sections, but I didn't know exactly how or what that would look like. Then, as I'm eating my mini-cucumbers for a snack, it came to me. Inspiration. The muse. A spark of creativity. I have no idea what caused it, where this came from, or any logical explanation for it. Does this happen to you too? If you know, you know. So I followed my instinct and ignored the little anxiety devil on my shoulder who was doubting me the whole time. "It's not good enough," he said. "They won't like it," he warned. But I did it anyway. I typed up my vision, printed off a few copies, and gave it to my students. They. Were. Engaged. Their groups were discussing which quote(s) would be the best choice. They were debating what the appropriate tone word was to capture the essence of the quote. They offered ideas for the cause and effect of the quote, which is personally my favorite part. And they stayed on task, flipping through their books and having academic conversations together, the entire 20 minutes. When I asked them how they liked it, they were honest. They loved it! I always ask their feedback on things we do in class- especially if it's new. *Don't be afraid to ask students how they felt about things* They will be brutally honest, but it's what you need to hear. The best compliment is when they say, "It was so hard but I learned so much from it," or "it made the time go so quickly, I didn't even know I was learning." Take their feedback. good or bad, and use it to improve your lesson. They are more insightful than you know. I realized what an amazing formative assessment this one-pager was. I could quickly judge- by their interactions and their product- which groups had read and understood the sections. I plan on using this in the future for independent reading check quizzes as well as small group discussion and accountability. You can check out the resource new on my Teachers Pay Teachers store :) Hang in there- It's almost the end of DEVOLSON (Dark Evil Vortex of Late September October November) and we can do hard things.
~Peace~
0 Comments
|
AuthorA midwest teacher in love with creating awesome opportunities for students to think, communicate, and produce. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Comfortable-Classroom
Archives
August 2023
Categories |