Today I placed each student with their aisle partner. Together they examined their rock collections, looking at the colours and sizes. I created a workbook for groups to work through where they document the different properties using ven diagrams and different charts.
My goal today was to ensure students are aware of class expectations of raising hands to share ideas and listen while others are sharing. With this goal, my co op teacher recorded how I spoke to students during the lesson. I was quick to notice that I say “shh” more often than I would like. My teacher also recorded how often I circulated the room and visited each group. I was happy to see that I naturally move around the room and circulated even more than I had thought.
Moving forward I will consciously make an effort to reduce the use of “shh” and implement more descriptive words as an alternative that helps guide students in a gentle way.