Journal Question #3

This entry answers #3 of the Reading Methods Journal

How does the teacher engage students in thinking? (i.e. are the students doing the thinking?) If not, what would you do to encourage their thinking?

My practicum was in the morning from 8:30 AM to 11:10 AM, so I was able to see the morning routine every single Tuesday morning. Though Mrs. Overstreet is a phenomenal and caring teacher, there were many times that I found myself wondering to myself, “when will the children start doing the thinking?” Each morning the children were expected to come in quietly, sit at their desks, eat their breakfasts, write their assignments for the day in their planners, complete a word sort, turn in any library books, take Accelerated Reader tests, and rush quickly off to specials (all in a 45 minute time allotment) after which they learned a math lesson. The children were expected to be silent throughout the “morning responsibilities” and then during their lesson, but I found that it seemed very difficult for the children to be quiet and composed during this time, for most of the children arrived to school with loads of stories to tell. Mrs. Overstreet continually had to push her kids to remain quiet and focused during this morning time, punishing by having them “sign the book” or “pull a popsicle stick” as forms of punishment (resulting in no recess). It seemed that Mrs. Overstreet was always very weary after the morning routine.

I realize that children oftentimes have to speak when they think. Sometimes they process what they are learning through their conversations. Ceasing conversation may be impeding the learning process. Children should be able to use their words as they process concepts.

Though I realize that I do not have even a fraction of the experience that Mrs. Overstreet has, I feel that the morning time is precious and sets the tone for the day. If the children are required to stifle their thinking and expression at the beginning of the day, precious thinking time is wasted. Having to complete a word sort in a rushed and hurried manner, trying to get to the next task is not the most effective way to utilize a word sort.

To her merit, I must say that Mrs. Overstreet took time to answer all of her children’s questions during the early morning routine (and there were many!). It seemed that the children wanted to just come up with questions to give them an excuse to roam the room. While Mrs. Overstreet did an awesome job of giving each of her kids her attention, I feel that perhaps an address to the entire class might have helped (for many questions were identical and Mrs. Overstreet had to answer the same questions over and over). Also, Mrs. Overstreet did a fine job of utilizing teachable moments. When a teachable moment arose (typically about behavior), Mrs. Overstreet used it as an example for the whole class (i.e. when a student was being super responsible, she’d point it out to the entire class).

In order to encourage more thinking in the precious early moments of the day when minds are most fresh and ready to learn, I would include activities that challenge the children to think, comprehend, and/or engage in the conversations that they are so eager to have. Perhaps starting the morning off with a morning meeting in which children are encouraged to engage in conversation about a specific topic or even take part in a writing activity like a journal entry or the creation of a list of things to do for the day (rather than a planner) would be different activities that could be completed in the morning time.

I understand that having procedures and structure to the day are incredibly important, but I think that both can be implemented without sacrificing good thinking time for the students.