Stella got her Groove, I've got my Sparkle (AKA Strategy #1: Don't Give 'em the Answer!)

So, lately, I haven't been giving my kids any of the answers. And it kind of infuriates them. But, I've found its soooooo sooo effective. Here's what I do.
1. I give them a chart, a short article (that they DON'T read right away) a picture of a skull, a diagram etc.
2. I have them fill out a 3- column chart.

The first column says "I see" -- they describe what they see. If it's an article, they write bold words, describe a picture, write the caption-- anything that sticks out. They just use their MIGHTY POWERS OF OBSERVATION (totally a science skill). Anything they notice, they jot down.

The second column says "I think" -- here they make predictions, inferences, judgment calls, etc. based on what they saw. Anything they can imagine based on what they have, they write. Here, without knowing it, they are using their MIGHTY POWERS OF.... er.... HYPOTHESIZING!

The third column says "I wonder"-- here they write any things that popped into their heads that they didn't have the data to answer. Anything that they were thinking but couldn't answer. These questions, then, drive the rest.

After that, they write a line under everything they had. Next, they share with a partner and add any additional material they didn't have. Then, we share as a class. And then, after I give them a little more information to lead them in the right direction, we do the whole thing again, but only in a more interactive, activity based form.

For example, last week I put 4-5 different pictures (colored! woo!) of skulls on the tables. They did the see-think-wonder chart and I could tell what level they were at-- were they using words like "predator" or "carnivore" or no? Day two, I introduce some words they knew but had probably forgotten. Then, they had a partner and 20 skull pictures. They first categorized them into fish/mammal/reptile or amphibian/bird and had to give justifications. They asked me questions, but I just fired back more. I played devils advocate. I asked them what rules they were creating-- how did they know what category to put it in? Did that rule apply to all?

Then, they organized them by diet-- was the animal an omnivore? Herbivore? Carnivore? And again, provided justifications for each category. After each group discussed their choices with me, and I obnoxiously pestered them with questions (but that looks like it has a beak. why isn't that a bird?...so then they put it in the bird group... but guys, it has teeth. none of these other skulls have teeth! ARRGGH MISS J!!!! heh heh heh), they glued their choices down and wrote their justifications. I made sure that each group had "wrong" answers that could be debated.

The next day, I handed out one sort to each group-- one sort from another CLASS! They had to first prewrite-- what do they see-observe-etc. Then, they wrote a letter to the students, told them what they would change and why, and give them a grade and justify that. If they did something well, this was also added. The final day, students got to look at their classmates evaluations and make any corrections. Finally, they wrote to me, said what they would change, given new information, if they wouldn't change anything, they had to improve their justifications etc.

So, then their grade was based on three things: the sort/justification itself, their letter evaluating another's work, their final reflective letter to me. It's not about accuracy, its about what you were thinking, I told them, and how well you articulated it.

Booyah. I never told them what skulls they were looking at. It still drives them crazy. So, then at the end of last week, I posed this question:
"Why did was it so important to figure everything out on your own?" In other words: why did I question you but not give you answers? What is the method to my madness?

These are some of the answers I got:

"You probably feel we are capable enough for this challenge and you are making us think twice about what we see. And we are looking at them at different perspectives. You're challenging us! Good one! :) "

"Maybe because you want to see what we know or what we can imagine."

"It teaches us to think beyond what we see and think! It may also be that you want us to practice the scientific method."

"We need to figure it out on our own because if you give us the answers we will be depending on you constantly. We won't learn to work on our own. We'll practically become lazy and not try hard."

"So we can learn stuff and get through life without something being handed to us. Or someone telling us all the answers. It just shows us we don't need people in our life to give us all the answers."

"Because when we get introduced to something new and have no clue what it is, we figure it out and compare it to other things. Scientists discover unknown things all the time!"

"It makes us think more and makes us think of questions that we wouldn't think on a regular basis. It also lets us be creative."

"You want us to have good skills of observation and for us to understand how it works FOR OURSELVES."

"You want us to figure it out on our own because we'll be able to understand it better if we can explain it to ourselves and others."

"You wanted us to think about it and actually use our brains instead of you always giving us the answers! Think outside of the box!"

"Sometimes not all the answers will be given to us, and we are going to have to do it on our own."

"On the test you won't be able to tell us the answers. It will benefit on the test when we are alone."

"Because usually the answer is right in front of you, or to see if we were paying attention when it came down to it."

"Because we don't learn anything if we always get answers. And if we think we're right about something you always want us to prove it.

"When we get in the 9th grade, our teachers/professors might not help us. It will only be up to us."

"To show us how we can accomplish anything on our own. And to show that we need you because you show us everything that we need to know."



That weekend, I got an e-mail from a really, really bright student. It said:

Ms. J,

You have been one of the best teachers I've had here @ ________... You always make me think OUTSIDE the box and you make the most BORING subjects interesting and fun to learn. That's why I love your class...

Thanks for being such an awesome teacher,

Jessica

Let's just say.... Miss J is back.