Ask the Hard Questions

I had a conversation with a student today that made him a little uncomfortable.  I'm okay with that because it also made him think.  Hopefully, the questions I asked will make him a bit more reflective, which will in turn change his attitude and make him a better student.  We'll see--it usually takes more than one such conversation to bring about such a metamorphosis, but perhaps we are at least on the right path now.
As teachers, we often feel we are supposed to have all of the answers, that we should never have to ask tough questions because we should just be able to tell people--students, parents, other teachers (spouses!) what to do, how to do it, how it happened, how it is, etc.  However, I have found that asking questions is generally much more powerful, much more likely to get the results we want, and in the end, it goes a lot farther in building a trusting relationship with both students and adults alike.
The child I was referring to was in trouble--again--for kicking another student.  He is what we sometimes refer to in education as a "frequent flyer" i. e., he spends a lot of time in the office or in "time out".  He consistently makes the wrong choice when he is put in situations where he could potentially make a better choice. He is always seeking attention, usually the negative kind. He's smart so he knows that if he changes the subject or if he gives an alternative answer to your question you might lose focus and let him off the hook.  He was not expecting my series of questions today and it threw him for a loop and ultimately brought him to tears.  Children with these characteristics don't usually like to be introspective, they don't want to reflect.  They just want to blame other students, the teacher, their parents, anyone but themselves, feel sorry for their punishment, and then act out again.  We need to find a way to change this and I think asking the right questions might be a good starting point.

There's a balance between too stern and too friendly  and asking the right questions doesn't mean you have to act like this teacher. Image courtesy of Getty Images.

We had a good discussion. Every time he answered my question, I asked him a new one.  "What happened? Why did you kick her? What else could you have done?  How would that have been different?  What other choices could you make?  Whose fault is this?  Why is it your fault and not hers? What would have happened if. . . ." etc. until he finally had no alternative but to admit he made a poor choice and that things would have turned out differently if he would have gotten help from a teacher instead of taking matters into his own hands.  Kids want to tell us what happened, they don't necessarily want to admit they did something wrong, but they will admit it when you ask the right questions and leave them no other choice.  It turns out this kid is actually pretty sad and probably needs a mentor or someone to make him feel better about himself. Now that we've gone through the fire together, I think we'll have the kind of relationship that allows me to help him.  The last thing I said to him was, "I'm going to be tough on you because I care so much about you and I want you to be successful.  You can do better and I'll be here to help you make better choices."  I'm sure it will be two steps forward and one step back, but either way we are making progress.
When we ask students to explain what happened, what choices they made, and why they made them, we teach them about accountability and responsibility.  As a classroom teacher, I always made a point of getting a response from a student before I moved on.  There was no shruggy-shoulder or "I don't know" in my classroom. If they don't know why they did something, they are apt to do it again.  But most of the time they do know.  They just don't want to think about it or admit that they did something wrong.  We need to have these discussions with students so that we can help them to grow.
When you find yourself in a situation where a child has made a poor choice, don't just ask a string of questions and either answer them yourself or let them drift off into outer space, let the child answer you.  "Why did you do that?" (wait for an answer, demand an answer) and go from there.  You'll be surprised at how much of an impact this can really make on both behavior and the environment of your classroom.

The Cacophony of Guided Reading

Often, when I have observers, I get feedback expressing disbelief that I could possibly listen to the tin of my guided reading groups all day long, reading along in disharmony and various speeds and rhythms and walk out the door as fully sane as I walked in that morning.  And to the unpracticed ear, I can understand why people would say that.  Most reading teachers get it--they, too, can listen to multiple children read different sections of text at different paces and not be any crazier for having done so--but teachers of other subjects, some administrators, and occasionally the reading teacher with a different preference often has difficulty following along and wonders how I can do it.
I prefer to let each child read at his or her pace, aloud, so that I can hear them and correct errors, or assist as they work through unknown or difficult words. I know there are various philosophies of how best to conduct a guided reading group, but here are my thoughts as to why doing it this way yields the best results.
1. Every child is reading the entire time.  There's no "follow along" as someone else reads. Each child is responsible for decoding every single word in the text.  Therefore, they spend a longer amount of time actually reading, which, as we know, is the best way for them to grow as readers.
2. There's not as much "listen and repeat." When student are choral reading or reading as a group, they tend to echo the person next to them. If the person next to them is a faster reader, they're going to be way ahead and this gives each reader a lesser chance of echo reading.
3. Each child can read at his or her own pace.  There's no waiting around for someone who isn't as quick or trying to rush to keep up and making a ton of errors. Each student can read as quickly or as slowly as s/he needs to.
4. Students who get finished can move on. There are several ways you can handle this.  If a child gets finished, I usually have them start over and work on fluency.  However, you could let them move on to comprehension either by asking them some questions quietly or having the questions already written down and letting them answer in a journal.  Alternatively, you could just have a standard journal assignment for your guided reading groups so that they know when they are finished, they have to write about whatever the topic is that you generally assign.  Either way, they haven't wasted a lot of time waiting on someone else to get finished.
5. I can still hear everyone and work with each student.  When a child is reading in my group and they need help, they put their hand forward so that I know they need my attention. Otherwise, I am taking turns listening to each student and helping those who need help.  If I get a single that a child needs my assistance I can help them and then allow them to continue.  At first, some students need reminders as to why it is important to single for help when they are unsure of a word. Sometimes they just want to skip over the word and pretend they read it. I can usually catch this and then we talk about why they shouldn't do that. I don't expect to be able to help every student decode every word but when a child needs help, they have to feel comfortable asking me for it.
I have observed some amazing teachers who do not run their groups the same way that I do and I think that's perfectly fine.  One great teacher I know has the students read silently until she taps them and then they read aloud for a page or two while she listens.  The other students can still signal for help but it's much quieter.  I think variations on this are great and they can still be very helpful in growing our students as readers. What I think we need to reconsider are Round Robin reading groups, Choral Reading, and Popcorn Reading.  Research shows that students do not learn reading skills as quickly in these situations so if we know better, we should do better.
If you work for CISD and you would like some pointers on your guided reading groups, please invite me in. I'd love to help! If you work elsewhere, please feel free to email me any questions.  My reading groups have great results because of the strategies I've learned to employee over the years but I could not have developed them if it hadn't been for the great models, coaches, and administrators that worked with me to make the changes I needed to in order to help my students become more successful.

Guided Reading books from one of our many kits

Designing More Engaging Lessons

Yesterday, I discussed the importance of making lessons engaging and relevant to our students.  I talked about the different levels of engagement that Schlechty identified in Working on the Work and how you can tell what at which level each of your students is engaged.  Today, I'd like to dig deeper into Schlechty's book and discuss the 10 qualities teachers need to keep in mind when designing lessons so as to create work that is meaningful, relevant, and engaging to students.

Love this!  Doesn't this just hit the nail on the head?  Cartoon courtesy of jeffersonchae.wordpress.com.

The first design focus Schlechty discusses is Content and Substance.  We know that our students need to be challenged and that we need to raise the level of questions we are asking and, therefore, the answers we are getting, so as to prepare our students for the future.  In order to elevate the thinking of our students, we must design lessons with the end in mind. If we want our students to think critically, our lessons have to be designed in such a way that analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information is built in to the lesson.  Through the use of rich text, project-based assignments, cross-curricular lessons, and materials that build upon our student's background knowledge and increase their levels of understanding, we can design lessons full of substance that cover the curriculum in a way that does more than allow us to check something off of our list, rather we will be able to see a true understanding of the concepts in the products our students create.
These types of lessons often take more planning on the front-end but less work from the teacher on the back-end.  More student involvement equals less work for you!
Product Focus takes the first design quality a step further and emphasizes that students are almost always more engaged when they are working on a project.  If students are given the opportunity to research an idea that is interesting to them and then use that information to create a product of their choosing, they are far more likely to be authentically engaged through-out the process.
Our students should never have to guess why they are learning about a particular topic and they should especially never have to guess what they are learning about!  In the past, I have walked into classrooms and been very unsure what the objective of the lesson was. When I have asked students what they are learning and why they are learning it, they are often unclear.  Let's not keep it a secret from our students, rather, let's make sure we have an Organization of Knowledge that is apparent to our students and to anyone who walks into the classroom.  This would also include tying ideas together across subject areas every time it is appropriate to do so.
Using rubrics, checklists and models can help develop Clear and Compelling Product Standards. It is even more powerful when students are allowed to help create these rubrics and checklists.  Students need to be aware of what the end result is supposed to look like and they will do even more work if they are challenged to go above and beyond.
Our classrooms must be environments where students feel both physically and emotionally safe.  They have to know that others are not going to make fun of them when they fail.  If we can create this type of an environment, our students will be assured that they have Protection from Adverse Consequences for Initial Failures.  They must also feel that it is alright in your eyes if they take a risk and they are not successful.  The use of sarcasm or teasing can often make students feel that it's not okay to try and fail and this prevents them from taking risks.  We can help build an environment of safety by using a Social Contract, which students must sign stating how they will treat others--with kindness, respect, dignity, and fairness.  Likewise, we can encourage students to use kind words and be helpful to each other.  This will allow students to feel more comfortable with their risk taking both socially and academically.
Affiliation is another way of looking at cooperative grouping or projects where students depend on others to complete the assignment.  Much the way that students become loyal to a sports team, they can create a bond with each other that encourages engagement.  Project based learning is an amazingly powerful tool that teaches the types of skills students will need in the workforce--the ability to work together, to communicate effectively, to delegate, and to synthesize various information from multiple sources.  Giving groups a team name and allowing them to socialize and focus on getting to know each other better is a great way to encourage affiliation.
Another way to encourage students to do their best and become authentically engaged is through Affirmation.  This includes praise from the teacher, other students, and other adults like various staff members, parents, visitors, etc. If students know their work is to be displayed or viewed by multiple people, they are more likely to put in extra effort.  Portfolio based projects are an example Schlechty gives that provide opportunities to design lessons highlighting affirmation.
We all know that students love to have the opportunity to choose, so the next design quality, Choice, is no surprise. Likewise, it is not difficult to work some sort of a choice into most lesson plans. Whether you are letting students choose something complicated like a topic for a project or an end product, or something simple like which chair they would like to sit in to complete an assignment, choice is an important way to create an environment where students are happy and engaged.
Students also love Novelty and Variety. There are hundreds of apps and computer programs that we can use in our classroom for legitimate teaching purposes that provide novelty and variety for our students. Try to work as many different technological programs into your lesson plans as you can.  But that's not the only form of variety we can employee.  Costumes, props, artifacts, samples, videos, songs, all of these things go a long way in building higher levels of engagement in our students.
The final design quality is also one of the most important. It's Authenticity and it's vital not only to encouraging engagement but to ensuring students understand the relevance of what they are learning. If we do not allow students to create products that are meaningful and relevant to them, we will not be able to teach them at the level they need in order to be successful.  Whenever possible, place an authentically engaging activity in your lesson plans in place of a menial task like a common worksheet.  In fact, replace all menial tasks with authentically designed activities and you will see that the level of authentically engaged students in your class will also increase. It just makes sense that authentically designed lessons will breed authentically engaged students.
I challenge you to use at least three of these qualities in your lesson plans the next time you sit down to plan. When you are planning with your teams, pull this list out.  Talk to them about ways you can all incorporate some of these qualities into your lesson plans.  If you hear someone suggest a worksheet, be ready with a more authentic lesson or activity instead.  Let us know how this affects the level of engagement in your classroom and the student learning outcomes.  We would love to hear success stories of how you've taken a not-so-engaging lesson and turned it into something amazing.