I agree that how you present work is very important. If you get excited about it then your students will like it a lot more. If you dread giving an assignment or tell them that it is hard or not that fun, then they are more likely to hate it. The only thing is that if someone gets me excited for something and it isn't great like they say it is, then I usually hate it more then I ever would have. It is going to be hard for us as teachers to be energetic about the things we teach, but not overreact and turn kids completely away.
That's awesome...you should NEVER apologize for assigning writing, it undermines them.
Letting students make their own conclusions is really helpful too. This goes along with what Gallagher said when describing the creativity loss in American public schools. We need to bring it back.
I'm starting to wonder how it is you and I are so much alike. So many things you say sound just like things I want to say (but am not sure how to say them).
I am in agreement with Aaron, too, that apologizing in advance for making students write is just silly. Not only is it basically a fake apology (unless you are sorry that you are going to have to spend hours reading what they wrote), but it also conveys the message that what you are about to make them do IS unpleasant and IS an inconvenience. As though we are imposing on their busy lives and asking them to do something unreasonable.
I like what you said about not interrupting students when they are answering a question. This can be a challenging thing to do because it requires a lot of patience. Silence is not the worst thing and we may get the students to take that extra step and reach a conclusion on their own if we are careful not to interrupt them or interject our own thoughts.
One way to attack this scenario is to tell a student to think about the question for another two minutes and then let them know you will be back to see what they came up with. By doing so, we are not giving them any answers or guidance that would sway their answer one way or another. We are also teaching accountability because they know you will be back. If no work has been done, then you cannot see that they even tried. They must at least attempt an answer so they can learn from their successes and failures.
Hi Everyone. Elli I like your chart on your Yodio post. I would also add that the arrows for each one go both ways. Especially the concept that students who write read better and those who read write better. While this isn't always the case, it's certainly true that they build off each other. So, when thinking about integrating literacy into the content areas--writing about our content or writing to think through out content helps us to "read" (understand) our content better.
I agree that how you present work is very important. If you get excited about it then your students will like it a lot more. If you dread giving an assignment or tell them that it is hard or not that fun, then they are more likely to hate it. The only thing is that if someone gets me excited for something and it isn't great like they say it is, then I usually hate it more then I ever would have. It is going to be hard for us as teachers to be energetic about the things we teach, but not overreact and turn kids completely away.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome...you should NEVER apologize for assigning writing, it undermines them.
ReplyDeleteLetting students make their own conclusions is really helpful too. This goes along with what Gallagher said when describing the creativity loss in American public schools. We need to bring it back.
I'm starting to wonder how it is you and I are so much alike. So many things you say sound just like things I want to say (but am not sure how to say them).
ReplyDeleteI am in agreement with Aaron, too, that apologizing in advance for making students write is just silly. Not only is it basically a fake apology (unless you are sorry that you are going to have to spend hours reading what they wrote), but it also conveys the message that what you are about to make them do IS unpleasant and IS an inconvenience. As though we are imposing on their busy lives and asking them to do something unreasonable.
I like what you said about not interrupting students when they are answering a question. This can be a challenging thing to do because it requires a lot of patience. Silence is not the worst thing and we may get the students to take that extra step and reach a conclusion on their own if we are careful not to interrupt them or interject our own thoughts.
ReplyDeleteOne way to attack this scenario is to tell a student to think about the question for another two minutes and then let them know you will be back to see what they came up with. By doing so, we are not giving them any answers or guidance that would sway their answer one way or another. We are also teaching accountability because they know you will be back. If no work has been done, then you cannot see that they even tried. They must at least attempt an answer so they can learn from their successes and failures.
Hi Everyone.
ReplyDeleteElli I like your chart on your Yodio post. I would also add that the arrows for each one go both ways. Especially the concept that students who write read better and those who read write better. While this isn't always the case, it's certainly true that they build off each other. So, when thinking about integrating literacy into the content areas--writing about our content or writing to think through out content helps us to "read" (understand) our content better.