Any suggestions for the notes situation... please let me know!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Inquiry Plan #2
Things are trucking along! I gave the kids their first test over the first 2 chapters on friday. They all did fairly well. There were a few who did not do well, and I feel that this was due to their lack of focus while I was reading and their lack of cooperation. Other than that, I'm really excited. We started off the week with a new chapter. I have started splitting the class into two groups. The first group goes to the computer lab for fast for word, while the second group stays down to read the novel. This is working out much better than I thought it would. I am able to break the book apart more with the individual groups. The higher ability group has more DOK 3 questions asked orally, I still read to them because they are not very strong readers, but they are filling out graphic organizers for each chapter, and they all do their guided notes individually. With the lower ability group, I spend more time reading the chapter. We focus more on characterization and vocabulary. With the second group, I stop after each question on their guided notes WS and help them answer the questions. The questions are projected on the document camera so they have the opportunity to see how to spell the word. This take a lot of time, and I'm considering giving less questions on the guided notes sheet. I'm not sure though. I still want to make sure they are following along and I feel that if I go ahead and give them the "notes" they will not be as attentive as I would like for them to be. The first group is getting ahead of the second group, but I'm ok because I feel that we are progressing and the students have more time to really focus on the material read and fill out their graphic organizers. This is really progressing and I'm really excited to see that students are learning about the characters in the novel because this is not an easy book for them to relate to.
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hmm- I like that you are able to split the groups up to get more time with each. Could you have each group create questions/tasks for the other group? could you have them work on the guided notes in partners instead of whole class?
ReplyDeleteI find that I have more success when I break the students into groups. You may also try using mixed ability groups as well. I always thought that the strong kids would just do the work. But I have found that the lower level students will ask their peers more questions than they would ask me. Sometimes it sticks more when they hear a different way than when I presented it.
ReplyDeleteHey Jessica...I really like using guided notes too. It does take alot of time and it sometimes feels like I am playing a cat and mouse game with my students (In that some students will hold out and just wait for the answers to be given to them.) Maybe you could try this: As the lesson is being read, try having the students raise their hand when they have found information that goes into their guided notes/graphic organizer. Its a good visualize cue for students. Professor Clarke's suggestion has really worked well for me and that is having the students write questions for each other to answer. I found that this strategy helps students take more ownership for their own learning.
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