21 January 2014: Lesson Eleven: Teach Benefits

21 January 2014: Day 11

LESSON ELEVEN: TEACH BENEFITS

Today I continued with my lessons from last week, reviewing with the sixth grade classes the four basic forms of government in ancient Greece, and then teaching them a process for writing an essay on the subject.

The students were quite intimidated by the essay assignment I gave them:

Please discuss the four forms of government used by the ancient Greeks, as discussed in your textbook: Monarchy, Oligarchy, Tyranny, and Democracy. Explain how they are different from one another, and what the advantages and disadvantages of each form of government are. Choose which of these forms of government you believe to be the best. Defend your choice with reasons from your research.

The essay has to be six paragraphs long, with a minimum of five sentences per paragraph, and include at least one parenthetical citation and an MLA formatted Works Cited page.

When the students received the assignment handout (which included the description, requirements, and a scoring rubric), they were very overwhelmed by the size and scope. The other teachers I work with also felt that I was being ambitious in what I was asking of them. Students asked why I was making them do an essay in History, when they already did so much writing in Language Arts. They said they could never write six whole paragraphs.

We worked on outlining four of the paragraphs using the graphic organizer. Then we walked down to the computer lab to begin the process of turning their notes into paragraphs. As I had hoped, it went quickly. Some students had four paragraphs typed in half an hour.

I had assured students repeatedly that the method I was teaching them would make essay writing easy (or easier). So I was a little nervous about whether or not they thought it did. After we returned to the classroom I asked them to share their thoughts about the process. To my great pleasure, students at all levels responded enthusiastically that “it is easy!” They were thrilled with their progress, and with the quality of their first drafts.

(Of course, it goes without saying that there were a handful of students who had failed to do the steps outlined as we went through them in class. They struggled with the next steps).

As for the eighth graders…

Today was another bad day. Whether it was the three day weekend, the Seahawks game, the position of the moon, or the school lunch, the students arrived in class already out of control. They sat in their new seat assignments and promptly turned up the volume.

I had planned a great lesson: students defining unity and explaining how it is achieved, talking about why the post-War of 1812 America was disunited and divided into subcultures. Then we went through a PowerPoint™ that discussed modern subcultures with vivid photos: Cosplayers, Goth, Bikers, Bodybuilders, Emo, Gamers, Hipsters, Metalheads, Skaters, Straight-Edge, Trekkies, and Cowboys.

Next, we talked about the subcultures of early America (on a PowerPoint™ with interesting pictures): Yankees, Southerners, Frontiersmen, Slaves, Sailors, and Cherokee.

We discussed other ways Americans tried to encourage feelings of national pride: the rebuilding of the White House and the Capital, the establishing of national symbols including the flag, Uncle Sam, and the Great Seal.

My plan was to tie this information to what we had discussed at the end of last week. I wanted to use this history lesson as a way to guide the students into creating a “class identity” for themselves: to identify the characteristics of themselves as a group, to formulate what they wanted to be as a group, and then create symbols and/or slogans to represent themselves. It used pop culture, visual aids, and student interaction; it allowed students to express themselves and their values, to discuss this with others; it let artists draw and writers write and talkers talk; AND it made the history lesson relevant and understandable in a fun way.

And they couldn’t have cared any less.

Their participation was, for the most part, limited to snide comments and silly answers designed only to be disruptive; they would not stop talking (no matter what Allison or I did), they got out of their seats, were physical with other students, argued with anything I said…When my best efforts managed to get the quiet enough for me to hear myself—it lasted for, at most, 30 seconds. Allison tried to lecture them; I tried getting angry, tried appealing to their better natures, tried reminding them of the character lessons from Friday…all useless.

LESSON ELEVEN: TEACH BENEFITS

While students (usually) appreciate a well-planned lesson, especially one that is relevant to their lives, nothing makes a lesson stick like showing students how the material will benefit them.

The students learned how to use a graphic organizer to prepare for writing an essay, but what will make them remember what they learned is that they now know that it will make their lives easier every time they are assigned an essay. They know this because I told them (over and over and over), and because they have now experienced it for themselves.

The next time they are assigned an essay (which, unbeknownst to them, will be in about a week and a half), what are the odds they will use the graphic organizer?

Well, actually, it’s 100% since I’m teaching that lesson, too, and I will make them.

But you get my point.