Frustration and Scaffolding

Do you live in a land of frustration (in your classroom)? I feel like many teachers set themselves up for failure and then get frustrated.

Their day goes like this.

1. Assign higher level task (because my administrator/colleague/friendTracyNewman says I should.
2. Watch students have non-productive struggle and give up -- OR watch students just do a really terrible job at the task.
3. Decide that students can’t handle the task and next time give them really easy (lower level) tasks so they can be successful.
4. Repeat -- or shy away from giving students challenging tasks for the rest of the year.

How do you feel about giving struggling students higher order thinking? Is it scary to you? Do you think it’s something only for OTHER teachers with OTHER students in OTHER classes or schools? Do you think that YOUR kids can’t handle it?

You’re completely right.

Your kids can’t handle it.

...unless you scaffold it.

“But Tracy”, you argue with me (it’s ok. I can take it). “I don’t actually know how to DO that. I think you think that’s easier than it really is. It’s not easy! It’s hard!

You’re completely right (again).

Scaffolding is hard.

Where should we start? Here are a few strategies to help you get your kids moving UP to that task you’re hesitant to give them.

Quick Go-To Scaffolding Strategies!

1. Chunk It: A struggling student may give up before he begins, if the task LOOKS daunting. Make it look less daunting by shortening the tasks or text into manageable chunks. If you’re giving them a page-long text to read, slow it down and give them one paragraph at a time. If you have ten steps to a task, give them one or two steps at a time. If you have twenty questions, give them the questions in groups of four or five. It is so much more manageable to chunk the text or the task to scaffold it for struggling kids.

2. Remove the Content: (just for a minute!). If students are struggling with a skill or  concept, try to help them understand the skill or concept without the content. Then, add that content back in. If they don’t understand why any Colonist would have stayed Loyal to Britain, ask if they would want to stay if Florida and Georgia decided to leave the US. Or if Pinellas County became it’s own state. Then describe it WITH the content.

3. Model It: Kids bomb their tasks a lot of the time because they don’t know what the task should look like. If you’re asking kids to debate, demonstrate some things the two sides might say. If you’re asking them to write, show them what their writing task should look like. If you’re asking them to track you visually, show them what it would look like to track someone.

4. Gradually Release It:  If your kids can’t “handle” a particular task or activity, try modelling part of it first. Then, do part of it whole class, where you facilitate the learning but the 25 (or 35) brains in the room do the thinking. Then, have them try a part in groups or partners, where a few brains can work together. Then -- and DON’T forget this part! -- make them do (even a little) part on their own.

5. Spiral It: Start small. Start with Level One (recall or “right there”) questions. Then move up the DOK or Bloom’s Ladder. LEAD the kids there by “spiraling up” the questions and tasks. Kids can get where you want them to go if you lead them with some very intentional, pointed questions.

6. Sentence Start ‘Em: Kids don’t always know where to start or what the teacher is looking for. SHOW the kids what you’re looking for with a sentence starter. If you ask the kids, “What are the causes of _____?” then give the kids a sentence starter that says “The causes of _____ were 1)_____ and 2)____.”

Your kids can do it. I promise! Maybe not every kid every time, but a whole lot MORE kids can handle a whole lot MORE content and thinking with some good scaffolding.

Doc Dos and Doc Don'ts

Do you ever see those lists in magazines or online of “Dos and Don’ts”? Like, things to  DO when running (or doing a new hairstyle or shopping for a tablet or whatever) and things DON’T do when running (or doing a new hairstyle or shopping for a tablet or whatever).

I know that many of you are using tons of documents in your social studies classes these days. That’s awesome!  Hooray to you for making social studies authentic and for using complex text!

Now, it’s time for a little refinement. Let’s take it to the next level! Let’s talk about some Doc(ument) Dos and Don’ts, to make your classroom use of documents a little more effective, engaging, and authentic. The last thing you want is for kids to hate documents because they are something the kids find boring, insurmountable, and soul-sucking. Here are some ideas:

1. DO be choosy about your documents. Not all documents are created equal. Just because it’s a document doesn’t mean that it’s right for your kids or your lesson.

DON’T choose a document just because it’s a document or because it’s mentioned in the text.

• Is it something they HAVE to dig through to understand the benchmark, like the Declaration of Independence? It’s better to read excerpts of the Declaration than to read what someone else wrote ABOUT it...
• Is it something the kids can make it through? Slogging through Beowolf or the actual Proclamation of 1763 can be too much (even for me!). If the kids can’t make it through the document, you’ll need to either scaffold it or find a better doc.
• Is it somewhat engaging? If you’re going to ask kids to step into the past through the eyes of someone who was there, please try to make it something they can find something interesting. Otherwise, it will flop.

2. DO use excerpts of the document to make it accessible.
DON’T give the kids a whole document if they don’t need it.

• Use ellipse ( ... ) to remove chunks that are not crucial to the understanding
• Cut out sections that are not necessary to the learning target or are redundant
• Make the document a manageable size for your students. Of course, 6th graders can’t handle quite as much as a high-schooler can. That’s ok. Make it age appropriate.

3. DO “tamper” with the document, when necessary

DON’T rewrite the whole document for the kids. That’s not a primary source anymore.  

• It’s ok to put a synonym in parentheses so the kids don’t get stuck on a particularly tough term. For example, “We hold these truths to be self-evident (clear) that all men are created equal.”
• It’s ok to put explanations in the text, too. For example “He (King George III) has called together legislative bodies unusual, uncomfortable, and distant...”
• DON’T put the main ideas in bullet points for the kids. Let them do that!

4. DO scaffold it.

DON’T decide your kids can’t handle it before they try.

• Break up the text. Add asterisks (*) with necessary information below. Add questions in between sentences or paragraphs or sections to help kids build their way up to higher order thinking..
• Give the kids the tools they need to work their way up to the understanding that you want them to get. Take away the big barriers. Instead of writing too much, make copies they can glue in. Explain context, vocab, and unfamiliar phrasing.
• Add lower level questions that build up to higher level questions to help students work their way up one step at a time.

5. DO let the kids struggle through the document

DON’T just tell them what it means

• The only way kids will get better at working their way through documents -- is to work their way through documents.
• Let them struggle, productively, but not in a way that will make them want to give up.
• Realize that their (adolescent) understanding will NOT be as solid as your (college-educated) understanding. That’s ok. They’re just beginning. But let them come to their own understanding. Don’t just give them your understanding
• Don’t put the main ideas on the board for them to copy.

6. DO give the kids structure to their document digs

DON’T just give them a document and have them cold read it.

• Try the DBQ Project Document Analysis sheets or the National Archive ones https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets or the Library of Congress ones http://www.loc.gov/teachers/primary-source-analysis-tool/

There are ways to use historical and political documents to increase literacy, rigor, and authenticity in your social studies class.  And there are ways to use documents to suck the enjoyment out of your social studies class.

What DOs and DON’Ts would you add to my list? How do you make using historical documents successful?

As always, I love hearing from you! Let me know!

newmantr@pcsb.org

-Tracy

Pop Culture is Like...

I used to pride myself on the cool, pop-culture connections I could make for my students.

• Anarchy? The movie “The Purge”
• Empress Theodora? I ain’t sayin’ she’s a gold digger. But she ain’t messin’ with no broke Emperor. 
• Slavery? Have you seen the movie “Twelve Years a Slave”
• Mansa Musa? He’s like Bill Gates. Throwing money to everybody.
• Progressivism? There’s a giant metaphor in “The Wizard of Oz”
• Queen Elizabeth I? There are some similarities to Taylor Swift
• Her dad? Oddly, also some Taylor Swift similarities. 
• Committees of Correspondence? Like bloggers and podcasters
• Declaration of Independence? A break-up letter
• Confederation? Look at Star Wars

As a former Wedding DJ (and middle school dance-DJ), I was generally pretty well informed into the music part of pop culture. Some consistent upkeep with Entertainment Weekly and  -- bam! I had pop culture references for my students all over the place.  I was speaking their language!  

I did okay for a while.

But I noticed this nagging question in the back of my mind.

As I consistently worked to make my social studies connections relevant and fun, I noticed that I was getting older. (How did THAT happen?)  

And despite all my research, I ended up spending more of my time explaining the pop culture connections AND the content.

It took twice as long to teach that way!!

That’s the OPPOSITE of what I was going for. I was hoping that the pop culture reference would let us get through things more quickly!!

So, I recently had a revelation that is so simple, it’s crazy.

Stop making the pop culture references for the kids. You’re not a kid. Whatever pop culture coming from Snapchat, indie bands, reality shows, school rumors, Youtube sensations, or whatever ... They’re not all going to speak to the kids.

You’re not in high school any more.

Not even you, the recent-college-grad. :)

Life moves pretty fast. Your trendy grown-up pop culture references aren’t always as timely as you think they are, Ferris Bueller.

INSTEAD -- have the KIDS make the pop culture references FOR you.

This has three major benefits.

1. The kids are doing the thinking, therefore, it’s more likely to “stick” than me thinking for them.
2. The kids will use what THEY are into, which will instantly make it more likeable.
3. The kids will use references to what THEIR peers are more likely to get. They won’t get my Ferris Bueller references (or The Fault in Their Stars references) but they will get each others Riverdale references.  Or whatever they’re into.

It’s easy. You can even give them a sentence starter and teach the term “analogy”.

“__________ (concept) is like _______ (pop culture) because _________”

You can use this as processing -- OR you can use it as a formative assessment! Kick up your exit tickets and ask the kids to make a good pop culture analogy for you. It makes the pop culture more relevant and tells you whether the kids got what you wanted them to get. Plus, it makes the content “stick” in their brains better.

As you teach, ask the kids to make the pop culture references. Their pop culture is probably more likeable (by their peers) than yours are.

I know Homer Simpson is a perennial favorite. But most teens haven’t watched much (or any).

How can you use pop culture more? How can you have your KIDS do the thinking and making the references? How can you make pop culture work for you, even as you aren’t 17 anymore?

As always, let me know how it goes. Email me newmantr@pcsb.org

-Tracy

Black Out

When was the last time you read something legal?  A house closing is always my favorite example, but a business contract (your professional employment contract?), an insurance policy, a marriage or divorce or custody agreement, a voting ballot...

Try the upcoming Pennies for Pinellas ballot. Have you read this yet? Most of us haven’t read the actual text of it. Check it out.

Shall the levy of the Penny for Pinellas one-cent (1¢) local infrastructure sales surtax be extended for an additional ten (10) years to finance county and municipal projects, including roads, bridges, flood and sewer spill prevention, water quality, trails, parks, environmental preservation, public safety facilities, hurricane sheltering, vehicles, technology, land acquisition for affordable housing, capital projects supporting economic development (pursuant to section 212.055(2)(d)3, Florida Statutes), and other authorized infrastructure projects.

• FOR the one-cent sales tax
• AGAINST the one-cent sales tax

Now, read it again, but this time, use metacognition to think about WHAT you do when you’re reading.

Me? I skip over the legal terms that don’t sound useful and pull out key words to help me understand the GIST of the text. When I read, it sounds like this (in my head).

Blah blah Penny for Pinellas one-cent (1¢) local blah blah sales surtax be extended for an additional ten (10) years blah blah blah blah blah, including roads, bridges, flood and sewer spill prevention, water quality, trails, parks, environmental preservation, public safety facilities, hurricane sheltering, vehicles, technology, blah blah for affordable housing,blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah bla, and other authorized infrastructure projects.

So, when I read and cut through some of the terms that don’t stand out at me, I’m left with the more important words. It helps me read better

It’s one of the strategies that good readers use -- often without realizing that they’re using it.

Do you ever ask your kids to highlight text (or notes or whatever) -- and then they highlight EVERYTHING? Do you ever look at the paper and see a giant neon-colored paper?

Yup. Me, too, even though you and I try to model how to highlight and give clear directions.

Maybe it would help to try the idea of highlighting strategy -- but BACKWARDS.

This strategy is called “Black Out” and it’s the opposite of highlighting.

The short explanation is -- it’s where you black-out everything that you DON’T need to have to understand the document.

The long explanation is that when kids need to watch it modelled and practice it judiciously with gradual release (please don’t just tell them to “do it” and then get annoyed when they do it poorly). When they learn it slowly, with plenty of practice, then can learn to figure out which words are important and which are not. It looks like this:

Shall the levy of the Penny for Pinellas one-cent (1¢) local infrastructure sales surtax be extended for an additional ten (10) years to finance county and municipal projects, including roads, bridges, flood and sewer spill prevention, water quality, trails, parks, environmental preservation, public safety facilities, hurricane sheltering, vehicles, technology, land acquisition for affordable housing, capital projects supporting economic development (pursuant to section 212.055(2)(d)3, Florida Statutes), and other authorized infrastructure projects.

Is that a more manageable chunk of text? For many students, it is. (PS -- if you want to do it digitally, you can just use the highlighter but choose black or dark grey as the color)

Sometimes when we use historical documents, bills, laws, and other types of complex text, it may help the students to try to do the opposite of highlighting -- the “Black Out”.

Here are a few tips...

1. Model it. They don’t know what you mean if you don’t show them.
2. Don’t use sharpies on the first try. :) They’re still learning how, so it’s okay to use write-and-wipes or draw a line through the word(s) they are crossing out. Try projecting it and the kids Blacking Out the words on your board a few times (so it’s not permanent and you won’t have to run another set of copies).
3. Let them practice with a partner. It makes them really discuss what words are important and what are less useful for a particular piece of text. That’s important thinking and talking!
4. Start small. Don’t give them the whole Declaration of Independence. Give them a paragraph or a few small paragraphs.
5. Don’t count points off if they don’t do it perfectly. What is important to you may not be important to them -- and sometimes that’s okay. Plus, they’re learning. Part of learning is messing up. Learning, itself, is messy.

, What do you think about the Black Out Strategy? Will you try it? If so, please let me know how it works!! I love to hear from you!

-Tracy