The Third Circle
"A good teacher, like a good entertainer, first must hold his audience's attention. Then he can teach his lesson." - Hendrik John Clarke
Burgess makes this analogy in the book- it's like riding a bike with flat tires. It takes so much more effort and time to get where you're going if you aren't properly inflated
The bike tires represent your teaching content and your technique/method. You need these! Without them, you would have nothing to teach!
"If you don't have the content element of your lesson in place, you are either just entertaining or babysitting." (Burgess p.76)
The hooks that Burgess goes on to describe in this section of the book can't be used unless you know your content. But just having the tires on your bike doesn't mean you're going anywhere. You need air in those tires! The air for the tires is called Presentation. That's the third circle.
Burgess makes this analogy in the book- it's like riding a bike with flat tires. It takes so much more effort and time to get where you're going if you aren't properly inflated
The bike tires represent your teaching content and your technique/method. You need these! Without them, you would have nothing to teach!
"If you don't have the content element of your lesson in place, you are either just entertaining or babysitting." (Burgess p.76)
The hooks that Burgess goes on to describe in this section of the book can't be used unless you know your content. But just having the tires on your bike doesn't mean you're going anywhere. You need air in those tires! The air for the tires is called Presentation. That's the third circle.
WELCOME TO THE BARBEQUE
Another analogy that Burgess uses is going to a BBQ. As the host, you wouldn't serve your guests a piece of raw meat, and you wouldn't limit the menu to just one item!So, welcome to the Educational BBQ! Take a little of everything! You can't hand a student a raw slab of meat (the content) and expect them to swallow it whole! Here, you'll find some necessities to hosting a successful Educational BBQ:
1. Meat - your content and standards. You can't make a lesson without knowing what you're covering! (If you are a vegetarian, insert Veggie/Quinoa meat here!)
2. Seasonings and marinade - your presentational strategies. Unseasoned meat is edible, but not tempting. Your students are counting on you to "marinate" your content so it goes down easier.
3. A working grill- Heat! Energy! Get things fired up, then let it simmer as needed!
"Just like meat has to be turned and basted, you have to continually add engaging twists, turns, and changes of pace throughout the lesson." (Burgess p. 78)
"Just like meat has to be turned and basted, you have to continually add engaging twists, turns, and changes of pace throughout the lesson." (Burgess p. 78)
4. Side dishes and desserts - activities, games and projects that add flavor to your lesson. These are not time wasters; they add to a student's experiences and help content comprehension.
TRANSITIONS WILL KILL YOU
Once you have everything you need to host a successful Educational BBQ (aka- a lesson) make sure your transitions from one activity to another is flowing properly. Try not to have any stop-and-starts. You may have everything beautifully planned and ready to go, yet there has been no thought as to how you will transition between activities.
"To keep your students from mentally checking out, try to get all administrative activities out of the way before beginning your presentation. If students will need materials, have them get them out before you start."(Burgess p.81)
Question #1- Imagine yourself going to the Educational BBQ and you've been asked to bring something to the table. Which item would you be able to bring with no problem, and why? The meat, seasonings, the grill, or a side dish? Which item is the most difficult for you to bring? Why?
Question #1- Imagine yourself going to the Educational BBQ and you've been asked to bring something to the table. Which item would you be able to bring with no problem, and why? The meat, seasonings, the grill, or a side dish? Which item is the most difficult for you to bring? Why?
CRASH COURSE IN HOOKS
"Much of your success as an educator had to do with your attitude towards teaching and towards kids. The rest of your success is based on your willingness to relentlessly search for what engages students in the classroom and then having the guts to do it." (Burgess p.84)
"...don't take it too seriously. Be willing to have fun with the process."(Burgess p.85)
The hooks that Burgess shares are really brain teasers for teachers when they are creating lessons. It goes back to the Ask & Analyze section of the book. I reference this section often, and I've read the book several times! If you don't ask the questions, you'll never come up with the answers. So - ask these questions!
"...don't take it too seriously. Be willing to have fun with the process."(Burgess p.85)
The hooks that Burgess shares are really brain teasers for teachers when they are creating lessons. It goes back to the Ask & Analyze section of the book. I reference this section often, and I've read the book several times! If you don't ask the questions, you'll never come up with the answers. So - ask these questions!
"I LIKE TO MOVE IT, MOVE IT"
KINESTHETIC HOOKSPEOPLE PROP HOOK
SAFARI HOOK
LONG LIVE THE ARTS
PICASSO HOOK
MOZART HOOK
DANCE & DRAMA HOOK
CRAFT STORE HOOK
MOZART HOOK
CRAFT STORE HOOK
WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?
"It's human nature to ask (or at least think), What's in it for me? We all want to know how current events might have an impact on our lives." (Burgess, 103)
STUDENT HOBBY HOOK
REAL-WORLD APPLICATION HOOK
LIFE-CHANGING HOOK
STUDENT-DIRECTED HOOK
OPPORTUNISTIC HOOK
REAL-WORLD APPLICATION HOOK
LIFE-CHANGING HOOK
STUDENT-DIRECTED HOOK
OPPORTUNISTIC HOOK
Question #2 - Choose TWO of these Hooks. How have used them or what ideas do you have for the future to engage your students?
Question #1- Imagine yourself going to the Educational BBQ and you've been asked to bring something to the table. Which item would you be able to bring with no problem, and why? The meat, seasonings, the grill, or a side dish? Which item is the most difficult for you to bring? Why?
ReplyDeleteI like side dish/desserts. I like to do projects in class. Hands on keeps them moving and problem solving helps them remember. The hands on projects allows team work or individual work which is a plus. Some students are helpers so the team concept is in play. Projects also project the “real life” aspect of what we teach. The projects are in part or the whole of skills they can use over and over.
PCC – we get them to look at colleges, classes in college majors that compare to classes they can take in HS to give them a start and determine is this for me.
Foods , ARR– not only nutrition but understanding how nutrition plays a part in family budget, good health and how to cook a variety of foods helps save the budget as well. If you can prepare food maybe you will not eat out as much saving on the cost of food.
Housing – figuring size of room for making purchases for floors, paint. Knowing how color works together, teaming activities, costing out the parts of a home.
Textile and Design – knowing how a garment goes together helps to understand how to design a garment. Understanding the uses of fabric helps in textile industry as well. Again playing/working with color plays a big part in market as well as fashion/construction.
The most difficult is Seasoning. Presentation is usually straight forward with PP or discussion. Questions and answers.
It sounds like you serve a variety of delectable sides!
DeleteMrs. Boyles: great idea about the music. I like they made a connection with the culture not the assignment necessarily.
ReplyDeleteQ 1 - I would bring the grill. I like to move at a rapid pace to prevent boredom and tuning out. Even the most interesting topic can be turned dull of there is no energy behind it. Typically I will use two or three transitions, debates, questioning, etc to keep it going. I find the side dishes to be the most difficult as its sometimes hard to find things of that nature that are efficient.
ReplyDeleteI like to use the kinesthetic, real world, and opportunistic hooks. Usually these just go with my content better than the others and in all subjects I try to place an emphasis on making information practical and useful. The one I lack in is the Picasso hook. I think that because my own art skills are quite poor, I find myself tentative to incorporate it even if it would probably add something to a lesson.
Troy, I enjoy how you break your class period up into different activities that involve use of different modalities.
DeleteQuestion #2 - Choose TWO of these Hooks. How have used them or what ideas do you have for the future to engage your students?
ReplyDeleteStudent Directed – I have the students start with material in the book on a specific topic and add at least one other bit of material found outside of the book. With the kitchen remodel each team was required to incorporate an actual visit with a contractor, dealership, flooring expert ect...
I also found this useful when discussing insurance, and real-estate to go out and ask the experts. I began with the intro and asked them to choose from topics we needed to cover and go find the info.
Real-World Application – in several of the classes we are expected to teach finance in various forms to always include budgeting. We do games, activities, scenarios and interviews with parents.
A1- I would bring the meat to the BBQ because I know my material inside and out. After teaching for 14 years, I can teach my subject without the book or notes. I study my material and graduated with a BS in Biology. I feel that the part that I lack is the seasoning. I try not to do the same thing everyday, but I have to set the table for more advanced study.
ReplyDeleteA2-I use the Kinesthetic Hook all the time. A lab that I do with my AP Bio class is called Urinalysis. They drink different things and then collect their urine. They measure it, smell it, test pH etc... They talk about this lab for years later.
Another hook that is use is the Real-World Hook. I always try to connect my lectures to what is going on in the world. For example, I taught about cancer recently and informed my students that they are now using HIV to cure cancer. It blew their mind.
A1- I would bring the side and desserts to the table. Those are my favorites anyway! I use the computers to have the students do activities and and see how they are actually happening in real life. I was able to have the use of computers with my lab before the chrome books so I have been doing this for a while. I suppose the seasoning are more difficult since I seem to do the same things with tweaks. Although I am trying many new things and ideas with new technology this year and I am liking the results and so do the students.
ReplyDeleteA1 I am thinking that I would bring the seasoning to the BBQ. My students depend a lot on that small group presentation of the material. My students don't always understand or focus during large group presentation. I try to break the information down and help the student to try to make sense of what they are doing and apply it to their interest.
ReplyDeleteA2Question #2 - Choose TWO of these Hooks. How have used them or what ideas do you have for the future to engage your students?
I have used the real world application hook. Like I have mentioned before my students and I are together for 4 years and we are intentional about talking about and preparing for the future. So anytime possible I try to help them to see when this could help them out in areas of life they are interested in.
i at times have used food as a hook. The students know that if they come to the resource room they must work. Sometimes I will have fruit, donuts, candy... in the room available to them while they are working in the resource room. Yes, that sounds life a bribe but it has helped in getting the students in there, which helps with work and building a relationship. I also try to teach life lessons as often as possible.
I think you bring everything to the table. You have to change your hat for each student and for each subject. You build such a wonderful and meaning relationship with your students.
DeleteA1 I would say the meat may be the most difficult for me because I have been trained in many areas but not a specific content area. I fit very comfortably into the saying" Jack of all trades master of none!" i have to work with the students in all areas of their education but I don't have a major in a certain subject!
ReplyDeleteA1- I would bring the side and desserts to the table. Those are my favorites anyway! I use the computers to have the students do activities and see how they are actually happening in real life. I was able to have the use of computers with my lab before the chrome books so I have been doing this for a while. I suppose the seasonings are more difficult since I seem to do the same things with tweaks. Although I am trying many new things and ideas with new technology this year and I like the results and so do the students.
ReplyDeleteA2 I use the real world hook quite often since what we cover in class is what they will be using in the world and they often see that. I use projects to simulate real life, credit cards, debit cards, interest for loans and on checking and savings accounts. Bank reconciliation is a major struggle for students but they realize they will use it.
ReplyDeleteI tried the students directed hook and was pleased with the results. In global econ I have them the topic verbally and told them to research, explore and run with the idea and they surpassed my expectations! This class wants to do well and would like step by step instructions so they can receive a top grade. I think they impressed them selves and had fun learning about our topic. Will continue to use this!
Today, I had students stand up and started my first-year class with a rhyme and motions for 10 prepositions. First, they went through it with me and then had to chant it and act it out on their own. They have been working on drawing and coloring posters of a house and labeling rooms and other things (30) in their house in Spanish to work on vocabulary. They were going to write sentences to tell what was where in the house and yard, in relation to other things. I also needed to teach them "estar" the other verb that means to be, which up to this point they have only used for ¿Cómo estás?--Estoy bien, map, etc. (they already know "ser"). I started with another rhyme...For how you feel and where you are, always use the verb estar. I sang the 6 conjugated forms of the verb estar to the tune of the Mexican hat dance. They thought I was a little "loca", but it might stay in their minds...they may even do it themselves to remember! (They will sing it too!)
ReplyDeleteThey had to write the sentences 15 sentences using a variety of prepositions and the verb and house vocabulary. Because that was not enough time to internalize the information, one student read the sentence to me and the other showed me on the poster what the other was saying. Since the students were at different points in the assignment, it worked well. The partners who finished everything up to that point wrote paragraphs describing the imaginary family that lived in their house and what they did in each room, using previous vocabulary and the current one...chores! One set of partners finished all that, so they started on a crossword over the house and chore vocabulary. They got to choose what they included in their houses, whether they drew a floor plan or a side view...or something more complex, they could use crayons, colored pencils, or markers and could work at desks or on the floor. Monday, I played music in Spanish that we are going to use in a song bracket contest while they drew and colored, but today, they were testing in math, so it needed to be a little quiet. My higher-level students were doing similar projects designing cities. (Last week they had to sing the irregular preterit first-person forms to the tune of "La Cucaracha", after we listened to and sang the real song). So, I guess the hooks were movement, art, and music.
Sorry! That was more than I realized...it's hard to tell when it's in the little box!
ReplyDelete