Teaching Tip #174

Teacherscribe’s Teaching Tip #174

I came across this interesting read on Twitter last week: 8 Pathways to Every Student’s Success.

2.  Sociability.

How do we build time in to our lessons or units that allow kids to socialize in a constructive way?  I like the way the authors phrase this.  For usually students “socialize” one of two ways in my classes: via their phones or group work.   That needs to change.

“We impact children's sociability when we help them understand that the words they choose make a difference to the relationships they create. When we teach them that every social interaction is tied to an emotional reaction, we help them avoid impulsive behavior and think through difficult situations before acting. We also build their capacity for collaborative teamwork.”

One of my favorite examples of this came from my College Comp 2 unit on Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist.  As a class we jigsaw the book.  I give an overview and teach a lesson on one key chapter.  Then I share a document with the class stating the rest of the chapters.  I call for each student to sign up for a chapter she or he finds interesting.  There can only be 2 students (depending on the size of the class) per chapter.

Last semester, Richard and Jace and Ethan and Cole decided to pair their chapters together and teach a double lesson to the class.  Ethan and Cole had one half of the class shooting baskets while Richard and Jace had the class watching them conduct a science experiment before them.

I was in awe at how they first dreamed up and pulled off this complex lesson, but I was also in awe of how they immediately engaged every student in class and had their attention from the second they began.  They truly mastered how their words could engage and interest the class.