But, first, learning:
JUNIOR HONORS
The juniors spent time today working with another Blended Strategy--working at their own pace. Students were first permitted to select how they wanted to engage with the text at hand, choosing one of the following options:
1. Have Mrs. Schmitt read the text to them
2. Read out loud with a pal
3. Read silently on own
This wasn't any "we-vote-and-majority-rules" situation. Each student got to engage with the text on his/her own terms. It was interesting to see how the different classes made their selections. Usually, when giving students this sort of choice, I'd make them put their heads down heads-up-seven-up style so that they were not selecting based on what their friends selected. I did not do this today. I let them freely choose--heads up.
The result?
Period 1:
Most choose work with a pal. ( I let these stay in the classroom)
A few choose read on their own. (These came out in the hallway, down a few paces)
Three students had me read to them. (These sat with me in the hallway, close to our classroom door)
Period 6:
Four students wanted to work with a pal. (They did so in the hallway.)
One student wanted to read with me. (He saw he was the only one, so he changed his mind--which made me feel like this:
The REST chose to read silently on their own. (Including the one who was going to read with me)
I always find it interesting to see how different each class behaves.
After the students read, they also had some choice in determining how they wanted to respond to their reading. Through Blended Learning, I'm working on incorporating more Student Choice in my classroom--and allowing students to work at their own pace.
Here they are, working at their own pace, in self-selected learning groups:
