Back to School: The First Two Weeks of Middle School (Part 3)

Ready for the schedule for week two? If you missed part one and two of this series, go back and check those out first!

Here is your schedule for the 2nd week of middle school language arts!

Goals for Week 2 and beyond

1. Continue to use proactive teacher language and modeling as necessary to set kids up for success.
2. Use redirecting language if students are forgetting or testing limits.
3. Look at the next few days as a time to support kids in learning to follow the rules while you give feedback and get them reading, start to teach content.
4. By the end of this week you will want to introduce logical consequences but if your class needs them earlier, then teach as needed.

Day 6

Welcome to class

Group activity:

Did you read last night? What makes finding time for reading challenging? What are some ways to fit it in? Make a plan for when to read. See pages 71-72 of BAC

Teaching Content:

Being an active reader:

Readers THINK as they read. When reading fiction there tends to be certain generalizable moves authors make that can signal significant moments in the text, usually having to do with character development and change and theme. Looking out for them can be a good way to focus our reading through critical reading skills.

Teach/Review first two signposts from Notice and Note (Links to Notice and Note Signposts and Charts, etc are in the email sent last week)

Contrasts and Contradictions

and

AHA Moments

As students read they should be looking out for these signposts. Encourage them to flag spots in the book when they find them

Share with partner something about their book at the end of the period and encourage students to keep these in mind as they read.

Day 7

Welcome to class

Group activity:

Review reading logs. Are you recording why or why not?

Teaching Content:

Remind students of yesterday’s work. Then teach next two signposts:

Tough questions

and

Words of the Wiser

Remind students that active readers read on alert for these text clues that tend to point toward theme and lesson. So don’t read past these instances.

*Note, not all texts have all the signposts. They are most likely to have incidents of contrasts and contradictions AND AHA moments.

Partner Chat: Have you noticed any of the signposts so far as you have read or maybe in books they have read in the past.

Day 8

Welcome to class

Group activity:

If I could meet any character in a book or movie who would it be and why?

Card match partners

Teaching Content

Being an active reader.

Teach signposts:

Again and again

and

Memory Moment

Give time for partners to share things they are noticing before class ends (share)

Goal Setting:

Tell students to think about what goal they would like to set about being a strong partner,

thinker, reader, writer, student, in ELA. Being better at math is a good goal but not something they will be working on in Language Arts. So it is important to pick a LA related goal.

Tomorrow they set smart goals as readers and writers. There is a link for smart goals template from BaAC if you want to use it.

Day 9 and 10

Welcome to class

Group activity:

Mix and mingle

Which rule is hardest to follow?

Why do people sometimes break rules?

At this point, students should have chosen a goal for the year or semester. It has to be related to the course content.

Teacher connects the students’ goals to the classroom rules. In order to achieve…,we need to agree to…

Rules will help us achieve these goals.

Students can share ways that following rules will help them and everyone achieve their goals.

IF TIME, connect rules to logical consequences. If not, do it tomorrow.

Logical Consequences:

Tell students that everyone forgets rules sometimes. As their teacher your job is to signal to them when they are off track and have broken a rule and to help them get back on track.

Positive Discipline (Did you know that the word discipline comes from the Latin word, disciplina, which means “to learn”? So essentially rules and logical consequences are strategies to help students learn how to behave appropriately.)

CONTENT:

Teach logical consequences

Logical consequences are always respectful (maintain the dignity of the student and the class), related (consequence is directly related to the rule that was broken. IE, If a student knocks over a pile of books, the consequence should be that he pick them up, not that he go to the office for the remainder of the period.) and realistic (consequence is reasonable…if a student playing games on his chrome book, it is realistic and related that he may lose the use of his chromebook for the day, but to take it away for a week would be unrealistic if he is to keep up with his school work).

“Sometimes we break rules. I will do my best to be clear about expectations for behavior and to remind you of those as needed. But sometimes people forget the rules and break them. It happens. But it is my job as your teacher to help you learn from your mistakes so we can all do our best work in this class. Sometimes I will move closer to you as a signal that you are off track. Another time when many of you are forgetting the rules I’ll use our nonverbal signal to redirect you. Sometimes I will use redirecting language like “Stop. That’s not safe.” Or “Stop. Be respectful” Other times I may feel that a logical consequence is necessary. The consequence is a reminder that a rule was broken.

So today, I want to teach you about 3 logical consequences for when we break rules:
Loss of Privilege

Break It-Fix it

Space and time

Model each one including what the students’ response should be. IE, If student is not working responsibly with a friend during partner work, s/he loses the privilege of working with that friend. Teacher might say, “Sally finish your work at the back table. You can try working with again tomorrow.”

Tip: Everything in school is a privilege. If we don’t handle the privilege responsibly, we lose it for a short time.

Tip: If a student loses a privilege it is important that they get a chance to “do better”. A general rule of thumb is they lose the privilege long enough to miss it, but not so long it hurts them.

Sometimes some students may need to take some time or space at a separate place in the class. This is mostly if students are not practicing self control in their current location.

Remember some students may need very few or no reminders to follow the rules, while others may need many reminders each day. It sometimes helps to think of behaving appropriately as a skill that they struggle with and therefore need more teacher support, like students who struggle with reading will need more support from you as well. So sending students out of the classroom would have to be reserved for more severe or dangerous behaviors. Creating and maintaining a positive learning environment where the majority of students are working independently and respectfully will allow you more time to work with a student who is having trouble behaviorally or academically.