Stuff I've learned teaching, counseling and working with teens. Teaching influences us outside of class and outside of class influences teaching. Our life experiences and our students' life experiences all come together so no two classes are ever the same.
One day six weeks into silent reading . . .
When I say to finish the sentence time is up, I hear "NO! NO! NO!"
I look up and ask, “What?”
He says it's not fair and he has to know what happens. (He had opened to a random page in a random book and gotten drawn into the story.)
I smiled and said, "Welcome to our world. Yes, read and see what happens."
A few minutes later he joined us in the assignment.
My challenge with at-risk high schoolers or struggling readers is that all the suggestions I find for "hands-on" and "engaging" activities still require a bunch of reading, such as research projects. Not even my idea of "hands-on" and I love reading.
How do I get them to wrestle with and engage with the text, if they won't read all of the words. They just sorta skim and guess and hope for the best.
Cut and paste!
Cut and paste was PART of the answer for me.
Cut and paste the main idea and supporting details.
Cut and paste the claim and evidence.
Cut and paste examples of figurative language.
Now they have to read them to identify them. They can actually engage with the words. We are working on arguments. So, they have a claim and 3-4 pieces of evidence all mixed up. They can rearrange them, read them, rearrange them, read them - until they find the claim and evidence to support it.
I often check it before they glue it down. "Do these three really support that one?"
They laugh the first time, but they look forward to it and their understanding improves. It's not so hard and difficult when they can actually touch the words.
I've thought it many times when reading others posts: But I don't have those kids.
True. I have my kids and you have your's, but my 1st period and 3rd period aren't the same kids either.
When I write about my kids, I write about them the way I see them, the way I believe they can be.
I see them as learners with mostly good hearts, who want to be heard, be understood, be loved, do better, be smart, graduate, and make it on their own. I also see them with challenging backgrounds, too many responsibilities, and no breakfast. Students who are frustrated and intimidated by books and words and schools. Young adults who want to be respected, taught, acknowledged, heard.
Sometimes I write about their frustrations, their learning curves, their in-class challenges.
I rarely share that some are felons, gang members, drug dealers.
These are the same kids in the stories I share that are working, kind, empathetic. This is how I see them. And in return this is the behavior that I get.
Of course, there are exceptions. The ones who keep their distance, try every last nerve, and refuse to learn at all. And there are exceptions now and then with the others, but we usually talk it out and work it out without severe behaviors or consequences.
So, do I understand the struggle to teach the student
who has spent every night for the last two weeks at a different location?
who has a scary reputation that others are afraid of?
who has a felony charge involving a gun?
who was molested and still has nightmares?
who is afraid of her stepdad for multiple reasons?
who may actually be living on the streets?
Yes, I do. I have them. I teach them. I care about them.
Reading passages and answering questions is BORING!
Reading passages and answering questions you found in Easter eggs while competing against other teams is A LOT LESS BORING!
In contemplating how to handle energetic students, who are kinesthetic learners, I kept coming around to outdoor recess and the need to run. This is not an option - because it's high school, because of our room location, because of many risk factors, because....., because......
So, what would be close to outdoor (not in desks) recess (activeness)? A relay race!
Can't run - 2nd floor & injury risks - so they walk on their knees.
And egg relays have just as much tension, but less running anyway.
And so was born the Reading Relay:
Students are divided into teams with 4-5 students per team.
You will need 6-8 eggs of the same color for each team. So, if you have 5 teams, you will need 6-8 plastic Easter eggs in 5 five different colors.
You will need to print a set of numbered questions and the text for each team and an answer sheet for each team. The answer sheet should just be numbered. If you print the questions, they will answer them there without going for the eggs.
Each egg within a color set will contain one of the questions.
The day of, put all of the eggs together in a location equidistant from all the teams. (I put the eggs in the middle of the room.) Divide into teams. Give each team a copy of the text and an answer sheet. Assign each team a color. Explain the rules. I also give each team a spoon on which they have to carry the egg and they can only hold it at the back of the spoon, not up by the egg.
For my classes students have to walk on their knees with the spoon to the egg basket (or box). Place an egg of their color on the spoon. Holding the spoon at the tip away from the egg, they walk on their knees back to the group. As a group they read and answer the question making sure they answer next to the correct number, since the eggs are out of order (Stress this point). Then they go back for another egg. I allow them to trade out walkers on each turn.
I give an extra 5 points to the first team finished so that if everyone gets 100% correct, the first team to finish wins 1st place. Otherwise, 1 point per correct answer and the highest points win. Sometimes they win bragging rights and sometimes jolly ranchers.
Sometimes there's resistance and "it's childish and stupid", but it's not optional and it's a grade (mostly participation). Enforce the rules and build the excitement. "No, on your knees. Go back." Now, the team will enforce the rules, because the others are ahead of them.
It's loud and animated, so if you like quiet and calm, this is not for you.
But suddenly passages and questions aren't so bad.
Have fun and let the games begin!
Didn't means "I can, but decided not to."
Didn't means irresponsible.
Didn't means lazy.
Can't mean unable.
Can't means "I don't know how."
Can't means stupid.
They will choose Didn't over Can't every time.
They will be lazy and irresponsible over stupid and unable.
Most of my students don't complete all the assignments. This was hard to grasp at first. All those zeros! After a few weeks I realized those students were in two groups: 1.) Maintain a B or C average and only complete what's necessary to do that, and 2.) Didn't over Can't.
Didn't over Can't will fail the class by doing nothing, so they don't have to confirm that they are stupid. Always. Every time.
It's hard to overcome dozens of people and many years reinforcing this idea they are stupid. It takes weeks or months or all year to convince them they can. It takes patience and repetition. Lots of patience and repetition.
I start with things they cannot fail. For each new skill, we do the first practice assignment together with me reading the passage, marking the text, and answering the questions - modeling what I expect of them and how to find the answers. The grade is based on them copying what I do. (Warning: don't expect all 100s on this.) With the second practice assignment, I read the passage, they tell me how to mark the text, and they tell me the answers to the questions. Either they or I explain how they got the answers. Again, the grade is mostly based on them copying what we did as a class.
Then the third and fourth practice assignments they work individually or together. I walk around, ask questions, and ask them for their answers. I ask Why they got the answer they got, for both right and wrong answers. Talk them through the thinking process with questions leading to the answer. Make them read all or part aloud, as needed.
Always start with the non-struggling students to model what the process looks like. The non-struggling students, or at least the less struggling or most confident students, will appreciate the help. They won't be embarrassed by the questions or the attention. They will model what help looks like and how to ask and answer questions.
NEVER EVER START WITH THE MOST STRUGGLING STUDENTS! NEVER EVER EVER!
Praise right answers: Good! Perfect! Excellent! You got it.
Even the simplest answer. Don't be overly excited like you're surprised. Just confirmation that they got the right answer.
As the year goes forward, many of the Didn't over Can't will start to Do. It's very exciting! However, don't show your excitement until they do. Don't make a big deal over it, unless they are "asking" for a big deal over it.
There will still be some that Don't and won't. Sometimes you will find that they have learned a lot, but still won't Do. Sometimes you will find that they have learned other skills, which are as or more important, but can't really be graded for class. There is only so much you can do. They are still responsible for their actions.
Always greet them and expect work from them. Never show exasperation or frustration with them. Always reinforce that they can and that you know they can.
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Kathryn Coxwell
850-610-2778
dkwcoxwell@gmail.com
