Refreshing our Structures and Routines to Have Greater Impact
With extremely full days in the elementary classroom, ensuring that we make the most our time with our students is critical. Here are three shifts to consider making to keep all learners moving at a pace that continuously pushes their thinking forward.
Shift One:
Reframe your Mindset on the Minilesson... Exposure as Opposed to Mastery
The minilesson is a place where we can get all learners on the same page. It's where we build the foundation of a unit, and where we show students what is expected of them as a learner at their grade level. It is also a place where we can get stuck as teachers, hoping that all students master (or at least attempt) the strategies we are teaching them. This can cause one day minilessons to go on for multiple days all in the name of, "There's so much to cover here and it's all SO important."
We have to let that mindset of getting all students to master the minilesson go. The truth is, the minilesson is amazing, but it cannot meet the needs of all learners. Spending extra minutes and days on this portion of a unit is not the best use of our time.
Instead, we must shift to the mindset that the minilesson is for exposure, not mastery. The purpose is to give students a bank of skills that they could use to do the work of the unit. This may be something they could apply immediately, or it may be saved for a time when they are ready.
With that being said, we still expect our students to work, and work hard. But the work we really want them to engage in is that which meets their needs. This may be what was shared in the minilesson, but more often than not, it is a strategy that is foundational or builds upon what is put out there to the whole group. It's the strategy that gets students working in their zone of proximal development.
So with the minilesson, we need to embrace the turn and talk, the approximation that comes during the active engagement, and begin the heavy hitting work of conferring and small groups (which where the magic happens when we are targeting our students' exact needs).
Shift Two:
Don't Get Locked in...Remove Yourself from the Teacher Table
The teacher table is a place where so much good can happen. It's a place where multiple children can gather, where social interactions happen, and where kids can get pointed feedback from their teacher. It is also a place where a teacher can get stuck and never escape. Instead of making a schedule where students are constantly coming to you, free yourself by making your routines independent from the students' work with you. The first step to think about is instead of calling students over to you to confer, move around the room and join them at their spot. This not only cuts down on transitions for the student (which can be cumbersome when moving texts, writing, or materials around the room) but it also allows other students in the proximity of the conference to eavesdrop on the teaching you are doing (this is a good thing!).
The second step to consider is to take set "teacher table" times out of your workshop. By this I mean starting every day with the mindset of, "I will meet with the blue group first, green group second, and red group third." Instead of set blocks of time that children come to meet with you, which can stifle flexibility to be responsive to unique needs during your workshop, let students know that you will be meeting with them at a variety of times, not just a single time every day. This will still provide you the time to meet with small groups, partnerships, and individuals for varying lengths of time to meet the needs of your class.
The last step to contemplate is to take a day to just sit back and observe your workshop in action. Kid watching can be very powerful and give you plenty of feedback. You can notice engagement, partnership behaviors, and tools students are utilizing that you would never notice if you were locked into your teacher table.
Shift Three:
Bring Intent to the Last Part of the Workshop...Rethinking the Share
Every day our workshops come full circle with a share. This is an integral part of our day that oftentimes gets underutilized as a place to continue to move our students forward in their thinking. More often than not, this portion of the workshop is used as a time for celebration (like an author's chair) or a time to check in on our students' daily progress. Both of these elements are important, and should be a part of your share routines, but there are many other ways we can really get a bigger bang for our instructional buck.Use the share to solidify the teaching of that day or celebrate a new strategy attempted. Be purposeful in the student or students you ask to share at the end of the workshop. Chose someone that tried a strategy from your minilesson or a strategy that you believe many of your students could benefit from learning. This could mean looking at a section of a piece of writing or looking at a page of a reading response journal or jot. Celebrating student work to remind the class of the strategies you have introduced or would like more kids to try, is a powerful use of this time.
Use the share to encourage kids to reflect on their progress. The end of the workshop is a perfect place for self-reflection. Kids could think about the work they are doing and how that relates to the big goals of a unit. Providing a tool like a checklist or rubric is helpful when reflection is a part of the share.
Use the share to push students into the next lesson. If you know the next day's lesson is a big one, you might use the share to get your students to begin the work that you would like them to do. This could mean you ask them a question to think about ("Tomorrow we will talk about____. What's one way you have______?"), read a mentor text (published or student), or even problem solve ("Today I noticed...tomorrow you may try...").
Sometimes small tweaks can make a big difference.
If you have any tips about shifts you've made in your classroom, please share them in the comments or on Twitter!
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