Hey everyone!
Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow. I congratulate those that have someone special to share this romantic and loving day. For those that aren't so fortunate, give thanks and love to all the good things you have in your life. This can include your health, your career, your family, your pets, anything that makes you happy.
Alright. Let's get serious. So my fifth hour class is the class I have directly after lunch. This class acts in two different ways, and you really never can predict which mood you will get that day.
1. Somber and sleepy zombies that stare with a blank expression. You are not even sure if they understand the content, unless you specifically call on names of students (many are dozing off, and you HAVE to do this to keep them awake).
2. Crazy, enthusiastic, uncontrollable japper jaw kids who's main focus after lunch is to figure out what happened DURING lunch, what's the news on homecoming this week, or who broke up with who. They are very difficult to get on task, and must be asked several times to get their act together and focus.
With two completely different variations of moods, it's difficult to predict which mood you will get from this class after lunch. For the first mood, I tried a Friday Afternoon Dance Party to start the class. I put on song with a great beat, and had the kids get up and stretch their arms, legs, necks, and shake out all their parts of their body. This seemed to work decent, but I need a better strategy.
For the latter, I thought that better utilizing an warm-up exercise to not give them the CHANCE to instantly get off task would work. It's been efficient, but there is still chit chat and conversation among the students.
This is the ONLY class I have behavior problems, and they are pretty minimal in all honesty. I contribute my rapport to starting two weeks early in student teaching, and starting the first day of the semester let the students know that I was on board for the behavior expectations the CT had for them. However, there is always room for improvement, and that's what I seek.
So, what strategies can I use for a class that comes in sleepy eyed, not interested in the material at hand? What can I do for the opposite? A rambunctious, energy-filled group that can't seem to focus either? Thanks guys!
Spencer
Hey, Spencer.
ReplyDeleteWhat a dynamic class you have right after lunch!
After searching online, I found a few different resources that might help you with both of the class's temperaments.
http://www.ehow.com/info_12146059_keep-student-awake.html
This website has some great ideas to help keep your class awake and attentive. While you have already tried an activity strategy, you could try the role reversal idea mentioned on the site. Since you're in a journalism class, you could have students give short presentations about the articles they are writing for the newspaper and allow other students to provide feedback.
When you're class is particularly rambunctious, you could simply turn off the lights, pull up the shades and have students free write for about 10 minutes in order to calm them down and focus their attention.
http://www.heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/instant-free-writing-prompts/
This website has free writing prompts if you're struggling to think of topics.
I hope these tips work for you, Spencer! I look forward to reading about what ends up working in this class.
Good luck!
Spencer,
ReplyDeleteI have been fortunate to have a great 5th hour class, but sometimes I struggle trying to find my energy after lunch! I don't recall the source but one of our prior textbooks suggested starting off class with a set of goals. Of course, many of us often start by telling students the objectives for the day but perhaps we should reword it to say class goals. Then, we can share the topic and have students make some suggestions for a question of the day to address at the end of the hour or a goal that students will hopefully want to achieve after having some say in the matter.