Regurgitated Alpha Bits: Listen, Think, then Do
I know that this is not funny if you are the teacher who is in the mist of this conversation, but I laughed reading it because I can remember having these types of conversations with my students. I can also picture certain sixth and seventh graders with whom I would have this conversation with today. What do you think of the Listen, Think, Do approach?
Update: 1/12/2011
Going back and reading through the few posts I have managed in this blog, I though I had a group when I wrote this post to begin with that matched the students in Alpha Bits's post, but this year I really have a group that would fit right in. Directions have to step by tiny step. "Open your backpack. Find your pencil pouch. Take out a pencil. Open your binder, etc." I don't envy the teachers I work with who must teach these students every day, all day long.
The first time I modeled in one of the classrooms with these interesting students, I thought I may have nervous breakdown afterwards. It was only a 50 minute class period, and I couldn't wait for it to be over. The constant inability to talk one at a time or keep thoughts to themselves was unbelievable. I love a classroom where students interact with the teacher and each other, but there must be procedures and routines in place to make it effective.
