Format Matters

Kids speak in fragmented sentences all day long. Trying to coach them into whole sentences takes work, lots of work. Some were getting the hang of it, and remembering for later turns. Overall, the quality of speaking is going up.

FORMAT MATTERS means setting an expectation for students to speak in complete sentences using correct syntax at an audible level. Sounds easy, not so much. Especially when they are unaccustomed to this level of accountability.

Here's my biggest issue--my 9th and 10th graders talk over each other like crazy. Interrupting is normal, cutting off even better. Steal the floor, steal the show. How do you create a discussion that flows? It's either too stilted when I try to wrangle them in, or breaks down into chaos when I don't. Only my Honors class seems to get the hang of this, most of the time. I'm hoping this will get smoother with more practice. In many schools, the classes that seem the calmest are often the ones where the teacher just dominates. I'm not a big fan of this, but know that participation needs to be more orderly and meaningful than I have it structured.

If you look at the videos for Uncommon Schools (the schools that inspired Teach Like a Champion), those teachers have their elementary kids whipped into shape with the classroom expectations. Their high school classes had only seven students. How does that work with bigger classes funneled into a small room? My room is a disaster for instruction. I have little access to students and we are all cramped into a small space. Questions, questions. If only I had a mentor to answer them.