“When bankers train to identify counterfeit money, they study authentic bills. For it is in knowing intimately the genuine, that one is able to identify the false.” ~Deanna Eaton
Picture this:
You shuffle into Algebra just before the bell, slide into your seat, and search for a blank piece of paper for today’s notes. Mr. Matthews wastes not a moment, immediately delving into a complex quadratic equation for you to ponder—gaze upon—as your brain visualizes the process and connects how the given formula leads to z=0.25. (more…)
Category:
teaching strategies |
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Tags: classroom tactics, education reform, student engagement
8:55 AM: students walk in, grab their Writer’s Workshop binder, settle into their seat, and look up at the board to scan the day’s agenda and learning objectives. At the top, TRY THIS is written in bold, blue letters, welcoming students with a prompt: We all have memorable “firsts”—my first day of 6th grade, my first airplane ride, my first school dance, my first heartbreak, my first puppy, my first big fib, my first crush—make a list of your “firsts”. Feel free to keep it in the form of a list, or if a strong memory is triggered, go with it; follow that energy; tell your story. Without another word of direction, students dive in: pencils gripped tightly, shoulders hunched over, heads leaning forward, some hands moving swiftly across the page, some eyes squinting in deep thought, a chuckle, a smile, scribbling from one line to the next, flipping the page, a nudge then a quick peek at the “first” written by the boy sitting next to him—followed up by the satisfying head bob and “niiiiice”. Enjoying what I see, a community of writers, I pull up a chair and join in. Soon I, along with my students, am swept up in the many fond (and occasional wish-I-could-forget-that-time) memories of “firsts”—and students see that I am a writer too. (more…)
Category:
teaching strategies |
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Tags: classroom tactics, inspiration, student engagement
