Week Two

I have taught 6th grade English for several years. The first few years I really struggled with keeping the students engaged because, let's face it, grammar is not always the most interesting of subjects. When the author of our book said students get tired of just sitting and listening to teachers lecture, I thought the same can be said for adults. I am sure all of us have been in those classes where all you do is sit and listen and try to stay focused on what is being said. The last few years, our 6th grade English teachers have been using a different approach to teaching English which promotes continuous student engagement. We do oral vocabulary, sing jingles, 'classify' sentences as large and small groups, have student led lessons, etc. The students stay engaged, for the most part, throughout the whole class period. I have been asked a few times by students why the class seems to go by so quickly, and I believe it is because they stay engaged in their learning. I also believe that modeling expected behaviors as well as desired outcomes promotes students' success. I try to model my expectations to the students in various ways such as 'thinking' aloud through a problem or assignment and having the students role-model. I think even as adults we like to 'see' what someone expects of us so we will feel successful in our accomplishments.