Here’s another tactic I like to employ with my students from time to time: making things intentionally seem difficult.
Say you’re studying spelling, and you’re working with the “ou” vowel pair. After asking the kids to spell “out” and “pout”, you could intentionally ham it up, warning the kids how difficult the next word was going to be, and then ask them to spell “sprouting”. It’s the same basic concept, and they probably already know consonant clusters and the “ing” ending, but now the kids sit up straighter and try harder to figure the word out (and are prouder when they succeed).
Or maybe you’re explaining how multiplication is the same as repeated addition. After asking the kids to represent 4 x 3 as 3 + 3 + 3 + 3, why not ask the students to rewrite something like 5 x 192 as an addition problem? Again, the concept is still the same, but the student perception is that you’ve made things much more difficult.
For some students, thinking that things are difficult will tend to shut them down, but most students will perk up and embrace something when you tell them “This is probably too hard,” or, in your most conspiratorial voice, “You’re really not supposed to learn this until next year.”
November 14, 2008 at 1:39 pm |
That’s such a great way to challenge kids and keep them interested in the lesson. Thanks for sharing.
November 14, 2008 at 2:33 pm |
[...] students challenged isn’t always easy. I read a wonderful post, Making Things Intentionally "Hard", by The Elementary Educator that had some great suggestions on ways to extend lessons and [...]
November 16, 2008 at 9:54 am |
I do the same things with my high school kids. I teach Spanish and in Spanish One, I’ll say in response to question, “that is a Spanish three concept so I’ll show you but you don’t need to know this” The all focus intently on my answer and then I ask if anyone wants to try it. Of course they do and suddenly they are doing something that is tricky. With lots of praise, the seem to flourish.
December 23, 2008 at 9:57 am |
I like to use this concept of transference by saying, “Let’s kick it up a notch.” I tell them about the chef that says that and how he says this as he pours more pepper into his dish.
In the same way, we are applying a baby concept to other, bigger areas. This is a very critical thing to teach students. We are teaching them to teach themselves. They cannot do this if they don’t know how to apply a baby concept to other situations.
Well done!
January 19, 2009 at 1:20 pm |
I agree with this post- I think students crave a lesson that either is- or has the illusion of being- just beyond their reach. Either they will feel too challenged by the new material and settle for their current level (which is our minimum goal anyway), or they’ll be ahead of the game when it comes time to learn it as part of their standards in a week, month, or semester. Either way, introducing it the way you suggested is sure to grasp their attention.
Your blog is enlightening. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and teaching experiences. I’ll be a regular reader.