United StatesCreating Opportunities When You Only Listen
Sometimes teachers are first-rate talkers and second-rate listeners. It's easy for us to interrupt, over explain, finish a student's ideas, give advice, correct someone too quickly, or make sure we have the last word, especially if it's clever or funny. It takes a conscious effort to ONLY LISTEN without responding. This simple gesture surprises students when we do it. Here are a few ways to try it out.
- Check yourself during discussions. When you really want to listen to what students have to say, use a timer, set it for 5 or 10 minutes, and invite students to respond to an open-ended question that might generate lots of different viewpoints.
- When you've made a choice to conference with students one-to-one (especially when you believe that there's a worry or problem), use your favorite opener to invite someone to talk. (For example, “So what's going on?” or “How's it going?” or “You don't seem your usual self. Anything going on that's getting in the way?” Then STOP. Don't fill the air space with conversation. Sit with the silence and then only listen.
- When you have a few minutes, invite students to share stories that can
help you discover more about who they are and what's important to them. For
example, you might ask students to share reflections about:
- Something you do at home that helps out your family.
- Something you've done that's special for a brother or sister or other relative.
- One change you would like to make in the schedule or curriculum.
- One reason why it's great to have a family pet.
- One thing that makes it hard to do homework all the time.
- Someone you would like to “shadow” for a whole day so you could learn more about what they do.
- One thing that would make your community a better place for teens.
- Your favorite show on TV and why you like it.
- The best and worst thing about having siblings.
- Something weird or unusual that you've seen on TV or read about in a magazine or newspaper.
- At the end of a learning unit, after students have written down their reflections, take a few minutes and listen to students' responses.
- More Personalizing the Secondary Classroom
Adapted from Partners in Learning: From Conflict to Collaboration by Carol Miller Lieber.
Provided by Educators for Social Responsibility
Asian-Pacific-American Heritage Month
May is Asian-Pacific-American Heritage Month! Don't overlook this opportunity to study and enjoy activities about the history and culture of Asian-Pacific American communities.
The recent rash of tornadoes in Oklahoma, which killed at least two dozen people, may have your students wondering why such natural disasters occur, how they may be affected by them, and what they can do to help. Use these resources to teach the geography of Oklahoma and the Southwestern United States, to explain tornadoes, and to discuss the resulting crises with your class.
Top 10 Galleries
Explore our most popular Top 10 galleries, from Top 10 Behavior Management Tips for the Classroom and Top 10 Classroom Organization Tips from Veteran Teachers to Top 10 Free (& Cheap) Rewards for Students and Top 10 Things Every Teacher Needs in the Classroom. We'll help you get organized and prepared for every classroom situation, holiday, and more! Check out all of our galleries today.
May Calendar of Events
May is full of holidays and events that you can incorporate into your standard curriculum. Our Educators' Calendar outlines activities for each event, including: Backyard Games Week (5/23-29) and Memorial Day (5/27). Plus, celebrate Asian-Pacific-American Heritage Month, Clean Air Month, and Physical Fitness & Sports Month all May long!
Common Core Lessons & Resources
Is your school district adopting the Common Core? Work these new standards into your curriculum with our reading, writing, speaking, social studies, and math lessons and activities. Each piece of content incorporates the Common Core State Standards into the activity or lesson.
