Teaching To Who?

Imagine you had a class of 26 kids. Not to get into a discussion about class sizes (nope! Not going there!)  but so we can “name” them Kid A through Kid Z for the purposes of this conversation. 

Now, let’s assume we can rank them according to whatever criteria you think is most important to your class — FSA Reading scores, midterm scores, grade in your class, GPA, etc. 

(I know we don’t actually rank children. That’s a lousy thing to do and a terrible way to treat kids. But since these are fictitious children, will you humor me?)

So let’s assume Kid A is your highest achieving student and Kid Z is your most struggling student. 

Who do you teach to? I mean, when you’re planning your lesson, which achievement level is in your mind?

Let’s assume that you had already planned a lesson that was ON GRADE LEVEL, not below grade level because we think the kids aren’t ready or they need this other thing first. 

Most teachers would say they’re teaching to the “LMNO” region of the class. The middle. Kid M. They plan their lessons to the middle abilities, the middle achievement group. 

I think they definitely start there. And then they groan at the idea of Kid T, Kid U, and Kid V (and let’s not talk about W, X, Y, and Z!) and the struggles those three are going to have. And then they adapt that lesson downward so that Kids  T, U, and V can do it. 

Which is honorable and kind! 

Meanwhile, Kid A is done with the assignment and doing her math homework before you’re done giving directions. Kids B-E are working diligently while you give instructions. 

But Kids F-S ... that’s 15 kids that are acting up. That’s 15 kids (plus the the earlier five, Kids A-E) for whom this assignment is now was too easy. The lesson that WAS on grade level is now below grade level. 

And just like that, we have lowered our expectations of the whole class. We don’t allow the whole class to do on-grade level, meeting-standards level work. 

Because we were kind. Because we were worried about certain kids. 

I remember Kids T, U, and V. I loved them. I worried about them. I got tired of seeing them constantly frustrated. I hated for them to fail, so I set up assignments where they were more likely to be successful.

But in doing so, I cheated the rest of my class. I underestimated the rest of them. When I said “they can’t do this assignment”, I meant “Kid T through Kid Z” couldn’t do this assignment. 

Kids T-Z are struggling for sure. They’re more likely to act up because they’re frustrated. They might be more needy in the attention department. But they’re 7 kids. I have nineteen kids that CAN do this assignment. 

And this is where we talk about scaffolding and opportunity. 

It wasn’t fair of me to deny those 19 kids the opportunity to try to do those assignments. I had low expectations and that was wrong. I cheated them of the chance to excel. Of the chance to learn. 

Those seven who weren’t ready? There are a million ways to scaffold the task so they COULD be successful. I could have 

• Sat with them in a small group to help
• Had them do fewer parts of the assignment (5 questions instead of 10)
• Highlighted some key passages to help
• Frontloaded some vocabulary 
• Let them work with a partner
• Given them extra time
• Modeled the first part of the task
• Given them sentence starters 

Ok, you’re thinking. Maybe I won’t direct my lesson to the “TUV” range. I can just keep it at the “LMNO” level where I started.

That’s definitely a start. But I’d like to challenge you further. 

Every kid deserves a chance to STRIVE. To stretch. To be challenged. Can you take that lesson written at the level where your Kid L, Kid M, Kid N, is now and help them stretch to the next level? Can you challenge those kids to get to where a Level G is? What about a Level D (in this scenario, not a grade of a D)? 

The goal is to continually raise our kids higher, to challenge them further, to push them harder. (Not in a pushy way) 

Every kid deserves to move up, from Kid Z to Kid A, from our “Level Ones” and our “Level Fives”. Every single kid. 

When we teach to the lower level or to the middle achievement level in our class, we don’t help our kids stretch to the next level.

And stretching kids up to the next level is our whole job. 

How do you already do this? How do you remember to stretch your kids and “up” your lessons? As always, I love to hear from you! 

Summertime and the Reading's Easy

It's about that time, y’all!

The school year is almost over!  We are so close, I can almost SMELL the beach from here!

So, it’s time for my annual summer reading list. You definitely don’t have to read the same book I AM, but I do recommend that you find SOME books to read, preferably the kind you don’t have time to read during the school year.

I fully admit to being academically “tired” during the year and reading mostly flaky stuff. But in the SUMMER, my brain is less worn out and more fresh. It’s a great time to read some “real” books while I have a little distance from the school day and school year. It’s easier to get through “real” books in the summer.

It’s important to do your OWN summer PD your OWN way, and reading books to refresh your thinking and practice is a great way to do that.

Read on the plane.

Read at the beach.

Read on your couch.

Listen in your car.

It doesn’t matter WHERE or WHEN, just read!

So, here is my book list for Summer 2019!

1. These Kids Are Out Of Control: Why We Must Re-imagine Classroom Management for Equity by H. Richard Milner IV et al.  admit to having this one already downloaded and ready to go! So many of us struggle with classroom management. And we also struggle with equity and how to use/apply/cultivate it effectively. And maybe some of us have noticed that the teachers with the best relationships with kids, with the strongest equity practices -- have fewer classroom management issues. Let’s work on figuring this out together! (PS -- If I love this book as much as I think I will, I’d like to do it as a book study in the fall. Who’s with me?)
2. Why Learn History (When It’s Already on Your Phone)? By Sam Wineburg. I admit, I’m already a couple chapters into this one. It’s pretty brutal, leaving no sacred cows alone. Roasting Howard Zinn, TAH grants, Bloom’s Taxonomy, George Washington, Google, pretty much all assessments of the past 100 years, and lots of other things I generally like and think highly of, Wineburg shoots right through all that stuff to the heart of teaching history and to historical thinking. And, despite me really being a fan of things like George Washington, the TAH, and Bloom, this book is amazing so far. It really gets past all the pieces to the Big Question: Why do we teach history to kids, and how can we do that better?
3. The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessy. This year, I have two graphic novels on my list, in an attempt to see if and how I can use them with students next year. The first is a graphic novel of the US Constitution -- which should be wonderful for students struggling to read and get engaged in Civics & Gov. Imagine giving it to a struggling reader to give him or her a little background before jumping to the actual text of the actual constitution! That could be a great scaffold!
4. The Odyssey, A Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds looks promising, too! I admit that my third grader read it and found nothing objectionable (and she still gets outraged by the “h” word -- hell). But I don’t know how I would use it -- yet. I have to actually read it to think through that.
5. The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge. This book blew my mind. I’m not much of a scientist -- and definitely not knowledgeable enough to be a NEUROSCIENTIST, but this book was practical and easy to understand and explained SO MUCH about our world, about education, about our kids and ourselves. It really amazed me with it’s readability and about how much useful stuff I got out of it!
1. *Caveat: there is a chapter about human sexuality in there. It has nothing to do with teaching social studies, but don’t be shocked when it is in the book. That’s not why I am recommending the book. It's the rest of the book that I recommend!
6. Beneath A Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found by Gilbert King (author of The Devil in the Grove. This is another important, powerful book about racial terror in Florida. You will see the familiar Willis McCall reappear in this book. It looks like an emotionally difficult read, but I can handle that in the summer.
7. Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About The World by Tim Marshall. I am so intrigued, I can’t help myself. Which maps, in particular, explain everything about the world? I have no idea. But I plan to read and find out!  

How about you? What’s on your teacher summer reading list? Want to read one on my list and talk about it via email?Or over fruity beachy beverages? Want to share what YOU plan on reading? Or tell me what you thought of a book?

Email me! I love to know! newmantr@pcsb.org

-Tracy

Thank U, Next

I realize that I am too old to listen to Ariana Grande but I do anyway. I refuse to be the kind of person who stopped listening to new music when grunge died.

If you are too old to listen to Ariana Grande, too, you might have missed the song, “Thank U, Next” where she sings to all of her exes and tells them what she learned from them and how ready she was/is to move on from them.

At this point in the school year, you may be ready to say “Thank U, Next” to this year’s group of kids. Some years, I remember feeling that way in February.

“Thanks, kids. Is it time for next year yet? Or at least, is it time for summer yet? When will these children be GONE?!?!?!”

What I really want to focus on, is the ability to learn from anyone who crosses your path -- including the students.

I know THEY are supposed to learn from YOU. But I think you can learn a lot from them, too.

The best way to do that is through an end-of-the-year survey.

Sure, your students have been annoying and ... REALLY annoying ... and some of them have been dishonest or unpleasant or bewildering or even outright nasty.

But you will be surprised at how many of them will be honest and helpful on a survey like this. Sometimes even the toughest kids might open up on this sort of thing.

You can survey them on paper. You can survey them digitally. You can survey them pre-printed (does anyone have any copies left?!) You can survey them on index cards, or with QR codes or on their phones or on plain old notebook paper or in OneDrive or Google Docs or on scantron.

It’s a great thing to do on one of those weird days when you see one group for three hours and the other for 15 minutes.

But just do it.

What  should I ask on a survey?

It depends on what you want to know and where you want to grow....

Here is a huge pile of questions. DON’T ask them ALL! Choose the 5-10 you most want to know about and ask those. You can gear them more toward your management, your lesson planning, your learning activities or your emotional support.

• Which unit was the most interesting to you this year?  
• Why was this unit the most interesting to you?
• Which way did you learn the most? (then, give options like “reading”, “group work”, “projects”, “graphic organizers”, etc.)
• Why do you think these ways were the best?
• If you could go back and start the year/semester over again, would you do anything differently? Why or why not?
• What was the best part of this class?
• What was the worst part of this class?
• What could I have done to teach you better?
• What did I do that was the most helpful to you?
• What was the most important thing you learned this year?
• What could I have done to improve this class?
• What will you remember most about this class?
• What else do you want to tell me about this class?
• Name something that made it hard for you to learn this year.
• What should your teacher do differently next year?
• Did you feel challenged this year? Why or why not?
• How has your confidence in _________ (subject) improved this year?
• What is one piece of advice that you would share with a student who is entering this class next year?
• Did you feel as though I had high expectations of you?
• Explain a time in class in which you were able to overcome a struggle.
• Finish this sentence: “If Mr./Ms. ______ only knew __________________”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

Kids are surprisingly insightful and honest on these things.

I know you are end-of-the-year exhausted, but this is totally worth the 5 minutes it will take to pick your favorite questions from above and put them in the format of your choice.  

Your kids will surprise you.

In a good way.

Have any great survey questions I missed? Email me at newmantr@pcsb.org

Dear Future Self

Dear Future Self,

I wrote some notes to you on my lesson plans from this week but you will have no idea what they mean. They were hurried and cryptic. When you try to teach this lesson next year, you will struggle to remember what you did with this lesson.

Did we read this independently or out loud? What reading strategy did we do? How did it work out? Did you have to change it midway through 2nd period? Did they learn it well? Did you have a good processing activity?

Future Self, I apologize for just tucking this reading in a folder with the a sticky note that has 3 words on it. I realize that you are now having to re-create this lesson and that you can’t tell how well or how much the kids learned the last time you did it.

I apologize for not fixing the typos or unclear directions on this handout. I apologize for not making a note about the awesome lesson fix I discovered during 4th period that took the lesson from “ok” to “awesome”.

Dear Future Self, have fun recreating this lesson and doing it Groundhog Day Style -- making the same mistakes as before.

Sorry ‘bout that!  Good luck!

-Love, Me-From-The-Past

* * * * * *

I don’t know about you all, but I am not always the best supporter of Future Me. Future Me would be a lot happier if I ate healthier, exercised more, saved more money, didn’t procrastinate, cleaned out the fridge more often, and flossed more regularly.

One of the ways I can help out Future Me is to make notes about how lessons went this year, so I have something to go off for next year!

There’s nothing worse than being halfway through a lesson and suddenly remembering that it bombed last year. Now what do we do?

It sure helps to reflect in writing so you can save your Future Self some hassle.

There are several ideas about how to do this.

1. If you type your lesson plans, go back into that document and highlight stuff that went well and strikethrough things that went poorly. Or, type in your thoughts into another column or box so you can see it next year. Then, you have to get in the habit of looking at last year’s lessons when your Future Self writes the new ones.
2. You can keep a document to yourself in each folder (digital or IRL) of a unit and jot down your thoughts as you go through the unit.
3. If you hand-write your lessons, go back and add another piece of paper or a couple sticky notes. Put your handouts and thoughts in the same folder to reference next year.
4. Grab a notebook or calender and keep it by your desk (or better yet, somehow keep it by your door). Then, as you stand at your door between classes, you can multitask and jot down a few thoughts under the date.

Now -- here’s the hard part!

Making sure your Future Self can understand the notes you write!

Make sure you don’t assume that you will remember the context 52 weeks from now. Make that context explicit.  Try some of these ideas:

• Don’t call it ”the  video”. Make sure to note what video you used.and what you had the kids do with it . Copy the actual link and the length of the video.
• Instead of saying “read section and did questions”, tell your Future Self that you read the section out loud and that the kids answered #1-3, 5, and 8 and that Question #8 was your formative assessment for the day.
• If you found a discussion question or a turn and talk prompt particularly great, make sure to write that down!

I know that different teachers write lesson plans differently -- but it might be what we write AFTER we teach the lesson that might be more valuable to us next year.

How do you tell your Future Self about how your lessons went? Do you do it at all? How can you streamline your post-lesson notes to make your Future Self more awesome?

As always, I love to hear! Email me at newmantr@pcsb.org