As many of you know, I took a years break from the listserv. I entrusted the moderation role to Jennifer and she has done a superb job. Jennifer will continue to retain the title "moderator" again this year. As for me, especially after attending Stephanie Harvey's 2 day institute, I am ready to reenter the arena of the talk you all do so deeply here. I am especially interested in talking about the beginning of the year stuff. I think revisiting the procedural/routine training steps and the early strategy lessons will not only help me get back into the groove of thinking "school" (why is it I always seem to forget how to start the year when I'm away?) but will be a support to new teachers and teachers new to this teaching. I invite you all to reflect on how you begin your year and please jump in and share!
Every year I start out by laying the groundwork for my work all year. I believe very strongly in establishing clear routines and expectations. The time we take at the beginning of the year to model and practice the routines (transitions, how to sit in the gathering area, active listening, turn and talk, etc.) simply prepares our students to do the learning work with us throughout the year. To get myself ready for this crucial beginning work, I make a list of all the transitions (entering the room, lining up for specials/lunch/etc., coming to the gathering area, end of the day), and other routines we will be following all year. This helps me to be clear on what I need to explicitly teach my students. I need to be very clear on what I want in their everyday behaviors so that I can model and teach them what I am looking for. It ensures success if we teach them explicitly up front. A great book for this "training" phase is The Daily 5. While the book is written to help set up the structure of the reading workshop, you can easily transfer the "talk" they use with their students to all situations where "training" is involved to point to success. The very first day of school I make a ring of seats in a circle and have the children take a seat. I have an easel with chart paper already filled out with many pages of a T-chart I use (and wish EVERYONE would use, because it is SO POWERFUL!!!) that says: LOOKS LIKE on one side and SOUNDS LIKE on the other side. I teach my new group active listening first. It is a strong piece of the foundation of engagement for the year. I talk to them about how I'm sure they are so used to having to face the teacher when he/she is teaching but that now they are going to be turning their bodies and eyes to whomever it is that is speaking in the room. So I walked around the outside of the circle and asked them to show me what it would look like if they were doing Active Listening "on me" over here. They all rotated their bodies and faced me. Then I pointed to someone sitting over there on the carpet (say John) and said if we pretended he was sharing HIS thinking next how would it look to do Active Listening "on John". (I know that is not correct grammar but you'll see why I use it in a minute.) So they all rotated towards him. I walked over to where John was sitting and talked to them about how at first this will probably feel VERY uncomfortable because typically we are not used to having the entire class facing us when we are talking. But the reason we do it is because we all believe that what John has to say is VERY IMPORTANT and worthy of our respect. That we can learn from John's thinking. That maybe what John is about to share connects with something we were thinking. That RECEIVING the thinking of our classmates is a very important part of what we will be doing all year. In order to RECEIVE that thinking best it helps to face the person sharing. Then I walked back to the head of the group and reinforced those who turned their bodies and eyes on me as I walked. For those who did not I simply say "Active Listening on me now." "Eyes and bodies facing the speaker." "I'm the one sharing my thinking so you need to face me now." This next part I tend to forget until we get going but when I remember I also teach the person who is sharing/answering to turn and face THE GROUP and not direct his/her words TO THE TEACHER. You can't BELIEVE how powerful it is when the child looks into the group (or faces the direction where most of the class is sitting) and talks to THEM rather than turn to the teacher and respond to the teacher. It is a HARD habit to break, especially the older they are, but doing this changes the feel of the responding. So when we get going and someone is asked to share back we all "do Active Listening" on her and SHE looks at the kids NOT ME when she shares back. It is SO cool! We then chart what Active Listening LOOKS LIKE and SOUNDS LIKE on our T-chart. LOOKS LIKE: bodies turned toward the speaker hands quiet faces toward speaker eyes on person talking mouths closed ears listening person sharing looks AT THE GROUP NOT THE TEACHER SOUNDS LIKE: one person talking at a time everyone else silent My expectation from this point on is that each time someone shares (or is called on to share) we will ALL do Active Listening "on that person" and that person looks toward to the group when sharing. Now they don't just start doing it naturally after this. It takes TONS of redirecting them and what I do (which can sound like interrupting but I believe it is the only way to shape behaviors as they happen) is this. Say Mary is raising her hand to contribute/share. Before I call on her I remind the group this way. I say, "See me looking over to Mary to signal I am going to be calling on her? That's your clue to start turning toward Mary to do Active Listening "on Mary". (I know. I know. That's not proper English. But is sure works!) I tell Mary not to start to share her thinking until she sees everyone facing her. Those who are not responding get a visual cue from me if I can catch their eye (I point over towards Mary and circle my finger in a circle to tell them to turn) or they get a tap on the shoulder from me or a nudge to turn around. I even help them rotate if they are just turning their heads and not their bodies. (Yes this seems ANAL and time consuming but PLEASE remember that this is the "training" stage and the benefit will show itself soon IF you stick with this and go this deep! It is SO worth it!!!!) Then I encourage Mary to share her thinking. If she turns to tell ME her thinking I point to the kids and softly say "Tell the kids, not me. I'll listen too!". I point her back to the kids with my hand. We've trained our kids by habit now to just look at us. It doesn't feel natural to talk to the class. Mary might try to look into the group and within seconds she is back looking at me (possibly seeing validation? Isn't that something we need to wipe out! Instead honor sharing as ALL valuable??!!) and I AGAIN point her back to the group. When it starts to click in them and they do it automatically you will be SO AMAZED at the engagement during these "answering/sharing times". No longer will it be just one person getting called on to talk back to you. They will all be receiving the "answer/thinking" and the student sharing will feel listened to and that their thinking is important. When they start to slip back into being more passive I step it up again and verbally remind them and redirect them. I am very big on the reflecting over how it went part too! How did they feel it went? What do we need to work on? Teaching THEM to be reflective on group processes is important and worth the time it takes. I've got more to share but I'll send it in several emails. It feels great to be back. Ginger W. Mosaic owner grade 3 _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
