Implementing Instructional Strategies 2013
M.Ed. Implementing Instructional Strategies SUM 2013
IMPLEMENTING INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES M.Ed. Summer 2013
Briefly (a few paragraphs) tell the story of a time when you were teaching that everything fell into place for a particular lesson. What were you teaching and what strategies for instruction were you using at the time. Why was this lesson so effective?
After writing your story read and add a comment to someone else's story. The idea here is to begin to interact with one another about effective instructional strategies. If you are one of the first to post a comment you may want to return to the blog once more students have commented on the posting. Next month, before we meet on campus, there will be another posting asking for responses and interaction. I will notify you of new postings via e-mail. I hope you enjoy this form of communication.
Note: Please respond to this post by June1st.
posted by bryoung @ 5/08/2013 04:09:00 PM
28 Comments
28 Comments:
A lesson that stands out in my mind is one that our class did this past autumn. We were studying various European artists, one of which was Picasso. I had read aloud a short biography on him (endorsement here for "Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists" series -- great content and the students find them delightful) and then they were assigned different groups to study a certain period of his life using additional resources (many other biographies, varying in degree of difficulty; and I created the groups according to reading comprehension skill level as a way to differentiate the instruction).
When we all came back together, each group took a turn narrating back orally what they had learned while the rest of the class took bullet pointed notes on what had been learned.
While we were fascinated by Picasso's life and the retelling of it, it also served as a strategic lesson in writing topical paragraphs. After we gathered our notes, we discussed how all of this new and interesting knowledge couldn't be contained in one paragraph (fourth and fifth graders have a tendency to throw random facts and sentences together to form a five-sentence "paragraph"). Rather, we would have to choose just one topic and write a paragraph about solely THAT: be it Picasso's Rose Period, or his Blue Period, or his later works, etc. This set us up nicely for a project we would do shortly thereafter: individual reports on a select European country, in which they would gather notes and generate paragraphs on aspects of that specific country.
So, after having collectively gathered data about Picasso, and all taking notes on each others' work, they then individually composed beautiful paragraphs which were focused and well supported. We were excited to read them aloud and realize how unique each piece of writing was (highlighting our different writing "voices" and also just the uniqueness of each child!)
What made this lesson particularly effective was the combination of collaborative and individual work, the good literature, and the way it invited each child to be engaged the whole duration. It was also helpful that they were engaged in "legitimate motion" as they didn't stay at their desks just to learn from me lecturing, but they were venturing out in different parts of the classroom to explore the resources for themselves. They took responsibility for their own learning and then were eager to report back to the class. It also served as a remediation from the thrown together paragraphs I had seen at the very beginning of the year. The various resources that allowed differentiated instruction set each learner up for success. And, lastly, this lesson was effective because at the end of it, there was a topical paragraph of their choosing, which we later used for many other assignments studying Picasso. It was all so connected! :)
(This was fun to type out -- because so many lessons do NOT go as planned, or are not as effective as I hope they will be.)
Shanon.Sun’ comment:
When we studied the theme “under the sea” in our class, we collect the resources both in the library and on the internet, the students made design and build part of the sea world they were much fascinated about. Our whole class was working as a group to create and share the final product, which we demonstrated on a large part of the wall.
At beginning, we made decisions and did some tasks as whole, such as deciding the basic contents of the model and made “blank buildings” that will be turned into representations of actual buildings later. Students will select other facets of the work based on their own interests: Everyone selected one category of things they wanted to study in the sea, some students selected the sea animals under the sea to study, and others selected the coral reefs or plains, mountains, volcanoes and valley to study.
What made this lesson especially effective was that by drawing on and extend each student’s strengths in this project. Students more skilled with computers will search on the internet as a way of gathering data. Students with strong fine motors skills will cut some of the complex pieces, and others not so skilled in that area will assemble some of larger pieces of the model. And lastly, it worked so effectively because this project not only allowed all the students to do both self-selected and teacher-selected tasks but also some tasks required students to work together, while other tasks required independent work.
Shanon.Sun’s response on Caitlin’s story:
It seems that you have created an open invitation for students interests.You kept the students interests by assigning them to discover Picasso with additional resources by themselves and later welcomed their ideas by letting them to narrate back orally what they had found for the class.This open invitation has nurtured a greater sense of shared ownership of learning. It is a great interest based differentiation strategy!
In our 4th grade grammar class, we do weekly writing assignments that focus more on expository writing. In order to keep my students interested, every now and then I assign a descriptive essay. At the beginning of the year, it is difficult for them to move out of a 3 or 5 point paragraph. "Describe yourself from the point of view of your feet" was the assignment. My students are still very concrete, so I had them lay down in the floor on their backs. Then I stood over them. I had each one describe me. After this activity, they were very excited to begin their writing.
To me, the effective part of this was that the students were able to move from just physical description to active description. Many of them wrote as if talking to themselves, like a letter from their feet. They talked about wanting to run more, or wear cuter shoes, as well as "why do I always have to look up your nose!"
I also gave them a detailed rubric so they would not just describe because it was not a free writing exercise. I had seen in the past where the students were so interested in the description that they completely forgot all punctuation and spelling.
In our 4th grade grammar class, we do weekly writing assignments that focus more on expository writing. In order to keep my students interested, every now and then I assign a descriptive essay. At the beginning of the year, it is difficult for them to move out of a 3 or 5 point paragraph. "Describe yourself from the point of view of your feet" was the assignment. My students are still very concrete, so I had them lay down in the floor on their backs. Then I stood over them. I had each one describe me. After this activity, they were very excited to begin their writing.
To me, the effective part of this was that the students were able to move from just physical description to active description. Many of them wrote as if talking to themselves, like a letter from their feet. They talked about wanting to run more, or wear cuter shoes, as well as "why do I always have to look up your nose!"
I also gave them a detailed rubric so they would not just describe because it was not a free writing exercise. I had seen in the past where the students were so interested in the description that they completely forgot all punctuation and spelling.
Rebecca,
As another English teacher, I particularly like your story and think it is a great exercise for a variety of ages. Perspective is a difficult concept in writing instruction...hard to explain, better to model, and illusive for students to grasp. Seems to me like you handled it beautifully.
One lesson that stands out in my mind is from teaching the novel The Outsiders to my seventh graders last year. The setting seem so ancient to students, but the themes of fitting in among your peers and having "forever friends" resonate with them. In order to help students better understand the two "gangs" in the novel, I did a lesson called a "Rock Window."
The Greasers are fans of Elvis, and the Socs are fans of The Beatles. I played "Blue Suede Shoes" and asked students to describe the music with single-word adjectives. We created a list on the board. Then, I played "Hard Day's Night" and, again, listed on the board single-word adjectives. We then discussed why it made sense that the Greasers would relate well to Elvis and why the Socs would better relate to The Beatles.
Students were talking about this class period for weeks. For many of them, it was the first time they had ever heard one or both of those musicians. They'd heard OF them but had not heard the music. Sharing which artist each student could relate to and why helped me get to know my students better, too. The lesson went so well, I'm looking for other pieces of literature for which I can develop additional Rock Windows.
SUE NOVIKOFF SAYS:
I teach Honors Geometry. My students tend to be freshmen and sophomores who are beginning their quest to graduate with an Honors diploma. They are usually well behaved, do their homework consistently and pay attention in class.They are also usually stressed more at the end of the quarters and during times when most teachers are giving tests or having projects due (like right before vacations.)
During the first semester, we do quite a few days of compass and straight edge constructions: 2 days in chapter 1 (August) and 2 days in chapter 3 (Sept/Oct). They love constructions. I do not grade them, but they work hard to get them right". We also work on them for the entire period. It is "hands on" and somewhat relaxing to them. This past year, the week before Thanksgiving week, we were studying triangles and points of concurrency: incenter, orthocenter, centroid, and circumcenter. Needless to say, in spite of their ability to focus in class, they were getting these words and definitions all mixed up. I decided to bring in some more constructions, letting them bisect sides and angles, constructing altitudes and all to see exactly what these points were. We spent three days on these more difficult constructions, but all the work was done in class.This was especially timely because other teachers were giving many tests and having projects due.
The lesson that I am wanting to focus on was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break. Attendance was good and we worked on constructions using paper folding. Because this was a day before vacation, students were a little wild. They were also either "done" with many tests or only had a few more to deal with. Having pretty, bright origami paper and folding it to prove what we had already proven through proofs was enjoyable for them. Plus, we were able to deal with a state standard in a very unstressed way.
This lesson was effective because it was timed right after some rather challenging compass and straight edge constructions, but was less stressful, especially for the day before a vacation break. It reviewed theorems we had already proven in two columns proofs or it reviewed constructions we had done a few days earlier. Plus, while teaching to check off standards is not the goal, I was able to spend a good amount of time on something that I would have been tempted to gloss over in order to stay with the meatier topics. All of us enjoyed this lesson.
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Sue Novikoff
Shanon,
What fun! It sounds like your students were engaged together but also working individually to get their specific parts to add to the whole. I pictured students talking and smiling and giggling as they worked with the computer and their art work to put on the wall. It was also evident that you were aware of which student could do which job well. They were able to do those tasks and contribute to the class project. Good job.
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Sue Novikoff
Several different lessons came to my mind as I was thinking about this question, but I picked a specific science experiment I did with my 7th grade Life Science students toward the beginning of the year. This lab was one I had not done before and really did not know if it would work, thankfully it did! You never know with science experiments.
We were studying osmosis, as it relates to cell membranes, a very difficult concept to understand to a 7th grader. We measured and weighed a regular gummy bear and then soaked it in water overnight. The next day they measured and weighed the gummy bear again. Not only did it illustrate osmosis as the water molecules moved through the gummy bear "membrane" without any help, it was just plain cool to see how much the bears grew. We then spent time doing calculations and figuring out the percent of growth (300% if I remember correctly).
In 7th grade, we step up the level of difficulty when it comes to science experiments. Many students struggle with having to figure things out on their own. They are also struggling with many of the concepts they are introduced to for the first time. This experiment was wonderful because it was simple enough for them to experiment with and the result were fairly dramatic. It also clearly illustrated osmosis. As an added bonus we got to tie in some math, because as I tell my students "Math and Science are brothers!". I was then able to refer back to this experiment many times throughout the rest of the year as we studied other topics and because they had a concrete picture in their mind I didn't have to reteach osmosis.
Sue,
Sometimes the best teaching moments don't always result in homework and a test. Great way to make use of class time before a holiday break when nobody wants to do real work. I also love when the kids can do something hands on. They learn so much without even realizing it. (Shannon, your lesson was similar in that respect too.)
Second graders are so fun to teach, and we have had so much fun this year making all sorts of connections between subjects and pulling things together; the kids just love it. During English class one day, I decided we would write a paragraph as a class about a field trip we had just taken the day before to the Meadowlands. We had been studying habitats in science, and the field trip is a wonderful experience where the kids are challenged to remember what they've learned in their science class, and then they get to go into the saltwater marsh and find things in the habitat. It is a fabulous field trip and really enforces the things that the kids have learned.
Writing a paragraph together in class was a wonderful experience. Even at the second grade level, I do assign writing assignments each week- they are not long assignments, but, as a school, we want the kids to learn to write well from a young age. I had been disappointed with some of the writing that I had been receiving, and I thought writing a paragraph together, since we had all shared a common experience, might be a good idea. In this way, I could help model writing a good paragraph, and my good writers and my not-so-good writers could work together to create something that was uniquely theirs. The whole lesson went better than I could have expected. Because the kids had enjoyed the field trip so much, they all wanted to contribute. My good writers helped to rephrase awkward sounding sentences, and I gave input here and there to help the kids master and understand some of the writing concepts we had recently been covering in class. Even the students who do not write as well ended up with some great ideas and even some great sentences. We finished the class period with a wonderful paragraph about our field trip to put into our class memory books.
The best part is that I was much happier with the next writing assignment that I gave the kids. They were far from perfect, of course, but it was obvious that the interaction we had had in class had helped them in their writing.
Sue...I love your interactive math lessons. At the second grade level, I try to incorporate as much hands-on math as possible, and I know it helps them understand the concepts. But I remember when I was in high-school, I had a math teacher who did hands-on projects with us, and he helped me understand concepts I would never have understood before!! I am NOT a high level math person, by any means, but because of him, I was actual able to take AP Calc by the time I was a senior!!
We actually have a new math teacher at our school this year as well who loves to do hands-on projects with the students, and the kids love her! And I think you're right- its because it makes it enjoyable for them.
Bethany Rountree said: Towards the end of this past year, my 5th and 6th grade students were getting tired and I was struggling with trying to think of new and creative projects, or ways to complete assignments, to keep things interesting for them and to meet various learning styles. I purposely teach science in the afternoon (when they're sluggish or antsy) and try as much as possible to have us up and moving during that time. Some of my class (mostly 6th graders) were always talking about the latest book they were reading (Percy Jackson; The Hunger Games), or the latest game they were playing (Minecraft). In an effort to relate to them personally, and to get them excited about science again, I created a "Survival" unit for them with a "Hunger Games" theme. This unit ended up touching so many other subjects that it really tied up our year quite well.
We talked often about missionaries during the year, and our last Bible unit was on the Great Commission. While talking about being "ones sent out" to many nations, I led them into a discussion of what that means for them now, in their communities. We talked about sacrifice and servanthood. This led to a conversation about giving up certain things. I seized this opportunity to talk about necessities and luxuries. I asked the students what they thought they couldn't live without (computers, TV, phones, games/toys). Then I asked them to give me a list of what they really couldn't live without (food, water, shelter). The students thought critically about these as we wrote them on the board and compared and contrasted them. That day, I had hidden little strips of paper with different objects written on them that could be used for survival (food, water, logs, palm leaves, etc.) in the woods/field behind our classroom. I gave them instructions and sent them out to search for these. Their object was to find the most. They could form an alliance or not. We found, in the end, that those who worked as a team and stayed calm collected the most. Once back inside, they had to come up with what they could build as a team and estimate how long they could live if deserted with only these supplies. The students LOVED this activity and requested it every day thereafter. We moved on from necessities and survival to reducing, reusing, and recycling, and what that means as a good steward of God's earth. We looked through the eyes of scripture at how to respond to various life events and what responsible actions should be taken.
This age group thinks very critically and is realizing that they are growing up and have responsibility. In these lessons, I felt we were able to have fun together, learn about teamwork and trust, realize how blessed we are with what God has given us, and then see the responsibility we have to take care of what he has given us. The students learned that God commands us to take care of each other, our world, and to tell others the Good News of Jesus Christ. These are not suggestions but our mandate and glorious opportunity. There's no other lesson I'd rather leave with them at the end of the year.
Bethany replies to Sue
Sue,
Like many others, I enjoyed your retelling of your classroom activity. You let kids be KIDS and exercise their God-given creativity in a relaxed, calm, worry-free environment. I have begun to consider America's students sometimes over-worked and too stressed, especially during exam times. I see anxiety much too often in 10-year-old hearts. You did well to let them learn in class and a have a hands-on experience that will stick with them for a long time. Here is a fairly extreme but interesting visual for a "no homework" approach that your lesson reminded me of: http://www.onlineclasses.org/2013/01/21/no-homework-in-finland/
Bethany replies to Sue
Sue,
Like many others, I enjoyed your retelling of your classroom activity. You let kids be KIDS and exercise their God-given creativity in a relaxed, calm, worry-free environment. I have begun to consider America's students sometimes over-worked and too stressed, especially during exam times. I see anxiety much too often in 10-year-old hearts. You did well to let them learn in class and a have a hands-on experience that will stick with them for a long time. Here is a fairly extreme but interesting visual for a "no homework" approach that your lesson reminded me of: http://www.onlineclasses.org/2013/01/21/no-homework-in-finland/
Bethany says to Caitlin:
Caitlin,
I love the jigsaw and the art integration! Your lesson reminds me that I want to be more intentional about having projects foundationally lead into other projects- with each step being full of value.
Bethany,
What a fantastically creative way to engage your students. You found the perfect way to speak their language and then challenge them to think beyond their boxes, and think beyond themselves. You inspire me to get on their level more, in order to more fully explore deep truths (like the great commission and what sacrifice really looks like!) together.
Dori responding to Bethany: I appreciate your grace and patience with your students, Bethany, in meeting them where they were and creating a survival game that didn't necessarily promote the Hunger Games, but just used a concept they were thinking about. Then as you tied it into our mission as Christians on this earth, wherever we are, you encouraged them to think differently than our culture about what we really need, and what we are really put here to do. I am so excited for the way your students got the message through that insightful activity. Thank you!
Dori responding to Rebecca: Gummy bears! I wonder how many kids went home to soak gummy bears so they could just have bigger ones to eat?
What a great, unforgettable illustration of a strange word like osmosis.
My teaching thus far has been of adults in a large lecture hall, and I'm enjoying the readings for this class very much because both the technology refresher and strategies will be very helpful in approaching so many types of learners with a single lesson.
For a recent lesson we were looking at John 19, the crucifixion. It is basically a lecture with powerpoint setup for my teaching, and I wanted the women to come away with a visual, not of Jesus hanging there, but of the beauty and majesty of what happened there. I walked them through the scripture, first talking through the people who were at the cross, and what they did there. Then we talked about what Christ actually accomplished there, and then I asked them what WE will do there. I put up on the screen a large picture of something I run past each morning in my beautiful, rural Maryland neighborhood. There is a huge, majestic peacock with an elegant crown on his head and a sweeping tail about six feet long who sits 30 feet or so up on top of a barn chimney. I took pictures of him, and displayed them with the powerpoint. I then explained that, as beautiful as he is, I have gotten used to him, and I run by each morning, sometimes without even noticing him. We can do that with Christ's sacrifice, too...just ran past, saying yeah, I know, and not stop, mouths open in amazement at what He has done and God's beautiful plan.
The women made the connection, I think, because I still hear comments about the peacock and not missing Christ a year later. One woman gave me some peacock feathers to show that she'd gotten the point. So, a lecture that included a simple illustration, but seemed to hit home with a variety of people.
Dori,
There are so many things I love about your illustration. I'm already mulling over possibilities for how I can use a similar connection when I teach my AP language students about our overuse of media. What beauty and majesty we miss because we are looking down at a phone! Mostly, though, I appreciate the reminder of missing Christ's sacrifice. I believe I was so moved by watching The Passion of the Christ because it really HIT me what happened. You're a terrific teacher!
Rebecca responding to Kelly:
Kelly, I love anything that incorporates music into a lesson, especially music of the times! What a fun activity with middle schoolers. Integrating this with a history project would be fun as well.
Rebecca,
I loved your science experiment on osmosis! You're right...such a simple experiment, but a clear illustration of the concept you were teaching! (I kind of want to try that one here at home)
I teach 2nd grade and my students LOVE science because it's so hands-on, but often I struggle to know how to explain complex ideas at their level. So, I appreciate the simplicity of this lesson. I also love the anticipation that the students must have felt coming into the classroom the next day :) Well done!
I'm a little "behind the times" and am just now posting my lesson example, but I've REALLY enjoyed reading about everyone's lessons. You've got my wheels turning :)
I teach 2nd grade and we study immigration as our last History unit of the year. During the course of the unit, we discuss the reasons why people immigrated to America, how they immigrated, what life was like after they settled in America, and what was required of them to become a citizen. We also talk about some famous immigrants that contributed to the American culture or economy. We also read a historical fiction story about a boy who immigrates with his family. The story describes what the Ellis Island experience was like for him and his family. Before the culminating activity (which is the lesson I'll describe), I had one of my kid's grandfathers come and talk about his immigration experience from Greece.
As a culminating activity I told the kids that we were going to be immigrating to America as a class on the S.S. WCA ship. Each of them received an immigration card with their name, age, status of their health, and what they wanted to do once in America. Some of the kids ended up being related to each other and some were traveling to America as friends. We would be voyaging to America in the steerage level of the ship and each of them had to come dressed as their immigrant with one pillowcase packed with their earthly possessions.
The day of the voyage, I rearranged the desks in the classroom into the shape of a boat, laid down blue sheets all around the desks to look like water, turned off all the lights in the classroom, and turned on the heat (it's supposed to be hot, crowded, and dark in steerage). The kids came into the classroom and "checked in" with me. I checked their immigration cards, checked their bags and then they got on the boat. During our voyage, we did our regular lessons except they were all tied to our experience. We did journal writing from the perspective of one voyaging to America, in math we measured the perimeter of the boat and other objects, in Bible we talked about immigrants in the Bible (Abraham, Naomi, and Ruth). The whole time, each child was called by their immigrant name and each of them was urged to "act the part". At the end of our voyage, each child experienced Ellis Island. A doctor examined their health and then they had to be questioned by the immigration officer. Some of the immigrants even got sent back on the boat (there were already too many Irish in America). We then debriefed from the experience.
I loved this lesson for so many reasons. The success really depends on the kids...their willingness to "get into character". My class this year REALLY got into it to the point where the boys who got sent back on the boat cried tears of sadness :( But, it incorporates so many different subject areas and allows the kids an immersion-type experience in which they can really relate to what that experience was like for immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This is also the VERY LAST lesson I teach of the year and it's a great way to end the year with a bang!
Sorry I am just now joining in. I have been in Europe with limited internet access for the past 3 weeks.
My 10th grade French I students this year were fun kids, full of energy, but immature in their learning and study habits and lacking in self-control. At the beginning of the year, I found it difficult to teach them using the same approach that had worked for previous classes. I struggled to keep their attention and keep them on task. One day, for a lesson involving review of an irregular verb conjugation, I decided to try something different.
We began the class by reviewing the irregular verb conjugation together on the board, then I distributed the words to a song that used the verb. We read the lyrics together several times, explaining unknown vocabulary, pointing out the verb we had learned, and correcting pronunciation. We then sang the song several times. We sang the song to begin class every day for the next 10 days. (Side note: they sang the song all year, greeting me with it one day as I entered the classroom during the last week of school).
As we finished the song, I moved immediately into the next activity. Another teacher had made a class set of individual-size "whiteboards" for me out of building materials,and I distributed one of these and a marker and kleenex (for erasing) to each student. I then asked each of them to conjugate the verb we had reviewed on their board and show me the result. As students finished, I walked around the room correcting errors.
As students finished conjugating correctly, I directed them to write a sentence using the verb. Once each student had a sentence on their board, they passed the board to the person on their left, who had to make it negative. The next person had to rewrite the sentence using a plural subject, and the last person had to write it in a form of future we had learned. Once the board was complete, I looked at all the sentences to be sure they were correct. Any errors had to be corrected by the last person holding the board, but since each person had one, they all did some corrections. If an error was made that I had not yet explained to the class, or that seemed to be a recurring problem, I got everyone's attention and explained the correction on the main whiteboard for all to see. This also allowed students who knew the correct answer to supply input rather than having me give all of the answers.
Though much of this activity involved individual work, it allowed for interaction between the students, and they were able to learn from their own and each others' mistakes. It also kept each of them involved throughout the whole class period: no one was able to sit inattentively or to actively distract, as they each had to keep working knowing that they were about to receive a new whiteboard from the person next to them. This also helped me see specific difficulties individual students were having and allowed me to address them without exposing the individual student to ridicule for the mistake.
The whiteboards were so effective that I continued to use them throughout the year for all kinds of review and new instruction: vocabulary lists, verb conjugations, sentence structure practice, etc. Every time I pulled them out, the students cheered!
Comment on Caitlin's post:
That sounds like a wonderful lesson! I still struggle to get high school students to understand how to stick to one idea in a paragraph, so thanks for working on it early. Their future teachers will appreciate it! I also like how you set up the lesson so that they had to actively seek out the information. It is often hard to figure out how to do that, and it always takes more time, but it is so much more interesting for the students and teaches them valuable self-learning skills.
Sue, origami paper for Geometry is a great idea! I am going to pass this on to our Geometry teacher. I think her students next year would love it. We also have a parent who is Chinese and very experienced in origami, and her son will be in the class. It might be interesting if she could work with the teacher to come up with some simple shape designs the students can make that require them to use their Geometry skills.
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