You are probably well aware that the 3rd graders at HHAI are given lots of opportunities to make choices. Last week, we took the idea of choice to a whole new level, introducing what is called "academic choice." Academic choice is a teaching strategy that comes from Responsive Classroom. You can learn more about it here. Basically, the idea is that the teacher decides what she wants her students to learn, and the students get to decide how they learn it. When students get to direct their own learning, they intrinsically become more motivated learners. The learning becomes a part of their identity. They retain the information better and gain confidence in the process. Inspired by this idea, I decided to infuse academic choice into our current unit about civics and government by allowing the 3rd graders to choose a topic to study, and direct their own learning of that topic. The 3rd graders got to choose between two points in history where people fought for their rights: the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Suffrage Movement. No matter which topic they chose, I knew they would come out with an understanding of what it means to fight for one's rights. After they decided which topic to study, the students were given a task sheet that looked sort of like a grid. Each square had a resource to read, watch, or look at along with a simple task such as a question to answer or a poster to make. Students were assigned to read 3, watch 2, and make 1. Differentiated expectations, along with the freedom to choose which tasks to do, made for a learning process tailored to each student's needs, abilities, and interests. Once they were given this task sheet, the learning was put in their hands. Day after day, they decided what to work on and did so at their own individual pace. Being able to switch from reading a book, to watching a video on an iPad, to looking through an article helped maintain a sense of novelty and intrigue as the students gained knowledge and exposure to their topic. I circulated the room, offering support when needed. From the start, the positive effects of this type of learning were clear. The room was quiet, but alive with the buzz of learning. The information they were learning felt like treasures they had discovered, and their excitement was evident in their eagerness to share what they'd learned with their peers and with me.
Stay tuned to read about the exciting Makerspace project they will create to show what they learned during independent learning!
3 Comments
Shirley Alkobi
9/12/2018 12:32:21 pm
I’m so impressed!!!! I have to share it with my family in Israel to show them how you teach and motivate 8 years old students to work independently!!! Wow!!!!
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Shelley Schwartz
9/12/2018 12:47:43 pm
Yitzy loves your class! I hope everyone has a GREAT year..
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Mrs. Skillman
9/13/2018 05:18:11 am
Thank you! It's so fun to watch them realize what they are capable of!
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