Welcome to 2012! If you are like me, your house is full of little piles of new clothes, games and books waiting to be put away.
The problem? There isn’t any room for the NEW STUFF! Which means tomorrow I have to begin the hard work of cleaning out drawers, closets and shelves. It’s hard work because each object I hold in my hand has to go through an evaluation: When was the last time I used this? Can it be replaced with the NEW STUFF on the floor? If it’s still in pretty good shape, I donate it. If it’s not in good shape, it goes into the trash.
I bring this up because teachers are known for their pack rat ways. We keep repeating lessons we created because, darn it, we spent a lot of time creating it. We repeat it because the students loved the activity, or we repeat it because we are just too tired or overwhelmed to create a new lesson.
The problem? Every year brings new expectations, new methods, and new books. Before we know it, our classroom has little piles of old and new lessons waiting to be put away.
The challenge? Begin the hard work of cleaning out your lesson plans. Here are three suggestions to simplify your teaching:
1. Remove the worksheets and workbook pages: Sure your district may have spent thousands of dollars on workbooks, but that doesn’t mean you have to use all of them! If the page isn’t being used for assessment, ask yourself, “Is this worksheet worth the time it takes to complete or would the time be better spent reading, writing, or talking to a peer?” Start removing one worksheet each week and replace it will authentic literacy time. Then start removing two worksheet activities each week. By the end of the month, you should have cleaned out the clutter of worksheets and discovered more time for authentic literacy. Remember, time spent reading results in NO PAPERS TO GRADE!
If the worksheet must be used, don’t have the students complete it in a boring way. Sit down with your grade level colleagues and brainstorm ways you can change each workbook page into a game. For example, you could place numbered cards in a brown paper lunch bag. Students pull out a numbered card to determine which question they answer on the worksheet. This same strategy can be used with dice or dominoes. Students roll the die or flip over a domino to determine the question they will answer. Remember, when the students have fun, the work gets done!
2. Use a timer to build stamina: If you are brave enough to start removing worksheets, you will need to find a motivating way to get your students reading, writing and talking for longer periods of time. Why not challenge your students by building a stamina wall. Watch this short video on how one first grade teacher is challenging her students to read for 30 uninterrupted minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyDur2Fdbv8&feature=BFa&list=FL2_ADvsj1wSuWDNYY48at0w&lf=plpp_video When students are involved in the goal setting, they are more invested in the end result. Remember, state testing requires students to read and write for 40 uninterrupted minutes for 5 – 8 days in a row. You might as well start strengthening their muscles for this required marathon and have fun while you’re doing it.
3. Teach and assess ONE thing at a time: There are many story elements, reading strategies, and vocabulary words to learn. Before you know it, students are spending 30 minutes retelling a story, 20 minutes reading one page because they have to predict, question, clarify, and summaries, or spending one hour sorting the new list of vocabulary words. Cut the clutter by focusing on one story element or one reading strategy. Your lesson planning will be a breeze because you only need to address ONE topic and your students will only have to practice ONE strategy. I know there is a time and a place for retelling a story with all the elements or doing reciprocal teaching (predict, question, clarify, summarize), but not every day with every story! Cut the clutter by deciding which stories model the one story element or require one strategy. When you cut the clutter, you turn reading, writing and talking into an authentic task rather than a dreaded chore.
Just like trying on that new pair of shoes you received over the holidays, taking the first step to authentic literacy can be uncomfortable. However, with each minute of real reading, writing and speaking you add to your lesson plans, the more your students will grow to be life-long learners.
What are other ways you clean out cluttered lesson plans?
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