Sensitivity applies to adult learners, too

In August, I was asked by our Superintendent to give a writing workshop to administrators who would be contributing to our school's web site. This assignment was extremely intimidating as the audience members including the superintendent himself, assistant superintendent, high school, middle school, elementary school, and pre-school principals, and the directors of technology and admissions.

He suggested having everyone bring in what they would be writing and that the group would give each other feedback. Although that might be fine, my teaching instinct kicked in and I thought that would be too intimidating. Even though they are all top level educators, critiquing their writing right from the start might not be beneficial to the process. When running writer's workshop, an essential element is trust building. One of the principals was new (she had just started work the week before) and although the administrators knew my name, they didn't necessarily have any kind of in-depth relationship with me.

Instead, we asked them to write an introduction to their school or department to bring to the meeting. The guidelines for writing were as follows:

1. Your piece should be no more than 400 words long, no fewer than 250.

2. Given the brief amount of time that people spend actually reading content, what do you want to get across quickly?

2. Leave an impression of warmth and welcoming.

3. Write in the present tense.

4. Consider the draft language of The Profile of a Learner when writing:

As self-directed  and curious learners, an AIS student is

• Responsible and Compassionate Citizen

• Resilient, Persistent, and Adaptable Achiever
• Critical and Creative Thinker
• Innovative Problem Solver
• Effective Collaborator   
• Skillful Communicator 
• Insightful and Strategic Researcher

However, we started the session not by critiquing what they wrote, but by looking at other pieces of writing from other school web sites. Here was the "assignment. "

The new web site will serve two functions. The one that we will focus on today is the external site that will serve as a marketing tool for potential students, parents, and teachers.

Directions: In pairs, you will be assigned two or three introductory letters to read. Please analyze the letters using the following questions:

Is the welcome message written in first person, first person plural, or in another voice? Is this an appropriate voice or would you prefer something else?

Given the short time viewers actually read on websites, is what is revealed in the first two paragraphs compelling? Why or why not? Who is the audience?

What do you learn about the school in the first three paragraphs?

Does the writer come off as affable? Professional? Competent? Or are you disconnected from the author?

This provoked much conversation and sparked energy in the room. They wrote their answers on a shared Google Doc which allowed others to see what web sites they could reference when they edited their pieces. 

Next, instead of having everyone look at everyone else's pieces, they peer edited in pairs. There is a difference between exposing your work to one colleague and many. 

.....

The results from this workshop have been tremendous. The pieces are short, warm, and informative. Also, after the workshop the administrators trusted my instruction and were more open to my edits. The feedback was great. 

Dear Sharna,

What a worthwhile hour. I found digging into models with particular criteria in mind for such a relevant task very helpful.

Sharna,

THANK YOU SO MUCH! You kept the essence and gave it a much more professional voice. I couldn't have done it better!

Truly love it.

Mission accomplished! 

Collaborating with 10th grade history teacher to reinforce proper citation methods

Making the transition back from maternity leave as smooth as possible

Probably something very few people discuss is how nerve wracking it can be to re-enter the classroom environment after a maternity leave. The students have just spent, in my case, 14 weeks with another teacher. They have gotten used to her style and her methods. One questions how they can possibly successful after such an absence.

To ease the transition, I decided to spend the first lesson with a balance of introductions and academics. I began reviewing the class rules and expectations. Then I did one  of my favorite (and most appreciated) lessons, "How to Write an Email." This allowed them to get used to my teaching style on a subject that all know and understand.

I explained to students that the purpose of learning how to write an email is to essentially get what they want. I taught them how they should address people in an email, what the email should say, not to use emoticons, and to provide a subject that summarizes the intent. All of the teachers in the school appreciate this lesson as they are addressed more appropriately and can understand what their students want from them quickly. This is a lesson that they will take with them once they graduate high school and it will benefit them in university and the work place.

Then I began the new unit with how I begin each school year, an identity chart. This is a lesson from Facing History. Students evaluate their own identities and then he redo the same for authors that we study. Their identity charts hang in the room. Not only does this provide the basis for a future assignment, but it also shows them that I value who they are.

Then they had write me an email for homework. The email asked the following questions:

1. What is your favorite subject? Why?
2. What is your least favorite subject? Why?
3. What do you hope to achieve in this course before the end of the year?  
4. Catch me up. What should I know about this class that will help me be a better teacher?
5. What should I know about you academically to be a more effective instructor?
6. What should I know about you personally to be a more effective instructor?
7. Tell me a random fact about you.
8. Ask me a question, any question. (Within reason)

Between the identity chart and the 8 questions I was able to get to know them without missing a beat. I am sure that there will still be challenges along the way with the transition, but I've done my best to make it as smooth as possible.

My Requested Endorsement of NoRedInk

I received an email from NoRedInk today asking me to endorse their product for an upcoming meeting that I assume involved funding. Here's what I wrote:

To Whom It May Concern,

NoRedInk is an invaluable tool for teaching grammar. To be frank students hate studying grammar. They find it painful, tedious, and somewhat obsolete. I know better;  understanding grammar helps their writing, understanding of the English language, and even their understanding of other languages. Given that for most of my students English is their second, third or even fourth language, understanding the concepts offered by NoRedInk is critical to their development and achievement. There are a few specific items offered by NoRedInk from which the students benefit and enjoy.

1. The assignment and reference components which allow them to self assess and repeat the lesson if necessary.

2. The feedback that I receive that allows me to decide how much more instruction they need as a class and individually.

3. The personalized nature of the assignments that feature their favorite t.v. shows, characters, etc. It allows them to personally connect with the grammar which helps them remember the concepts.

There is more to say, but I'm actually on maternity leave. However, this program is so valuable that I wanted to contribute.

Sincerely,

Sharna Marcus
English and History Teacher

Empowering students to learn and publish their findings

We are senior high school students, studying at an American, international school, in Israel (WBAIS). As part of our middle east history curriculum, we are reading Side By Side, by Sami Adwan, Dan Bar-On, Eyal Naveh, and PRIME Institute. This book is being used as part of our study of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in tandem with in class videos from multiple sources such as Crash Course, and the likes of  For Critical Thinkers. We were given an assignment, to review your video, “Conflict in Israel and Palestine: Crash Course World History 223”, and using the book, Side By Side, find pieces of information that may be missing in the video, that could be critical for further discussion of the conflict.

Attached below is a chart that the class formulated.

We hope to hear back from you or your team with feedback on our suggestions.

Sincerely,

Signed: Yael Ella (Israel), Michael Rivo (Israel), Sang Woo (South Korea), Holly Madore (Canada), Noa Zilkha (Israel), Asaf N (Israel), Raphael Chew (Singapore), Isaac Castellanos (USA), Elisa (USA), Ms. Sharna Marcus (USA).
.....

UPDATE: After the students sent this they received a thoughtful response from the writer and narrator of For Critical Thinkers - Richard Bass. He offered to Skype with them, but it was a couple of days before graduation and we couldn't make it work with the time difference. The students were floored that their feedback really mattered to someone of his caliber. It was a proud moment for them and a great way to end the year.

World Zionist Congress Adaptation Simulation

This post contains links to a World Zionist Congress Adaptation Simulation lesson plan. The resources include the assignment, content materials, assessment and the evaluation from the observation including my own reflection.

This adapted simulation is not historically accurate nor is it meant to be.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Note: the bulk of the Zionist biographies are excerpts from the Online Encyclopedia Judaica.

Lesson plan with post reflection
The Assignment
The Assessment with Student Answers 
Content

Observation

Journaling

As a teacher, I've always struggled to incorporate journaling into my lesson plans. This may be surprising because I am an English teacher. However, there is only so much time in a lesson or unit, and often I have chosen to prioritize other skills such as reading comprehension, writing essays, creative writing, speech writing, grammar, and vocabulary. However, I was inspired to integrate journaling into the teaching of a new novel that I am teaching called, Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. One of the many reasons I introduced this novel (for another post) into the 10th grade curriculum is that the narrative focuses on teenagers, and after reading classical literature, I thought this would be a great way for my students to end the year. The novel lends itself to journal writing as the themes and topics are relevant to them.

Another reason is that although I do believe mastering the art of formal writing is critical to a students' success, so is the ability to express their opinions and ideas articulately in an informal setting. Also, formal writing is formulaic, or at least the way that I teach it so that they can achieve mastery. Journaling allows students to draw from their own experiences to articulate their ideas however they see fit.

In addition, just like I have written about developing reading endurance, the same is true for writing. Writing for ten minutes every class will help them to become more expressive without fear of their classmates' judgments during discussion.

Lastly, it helps me connect to my students in a non-judgmental and egalitarian way. Although, ideally I hope that I am a teacher who helps teens to be masters of their own education, oftentimes I find myself in the role of critic and disciplinarian. Journaling allows me to have an authentic interaction with my students which, I hope, will enhance our relationships. These enhancements, I hope, will lead to their continued investment in the material through the end of the year and in the future.

So why have I not always had students journal? To be honest, it is a huge time commitment both in class and out of class.  However, Google Docs makes it much easier than dealing with 50 paper journals. Also, our school uses a program called Google Dashboard that allows you to view multiple student folders and documents at once. I can even see if students are actually typing or off task. This feature brings me 1984esque discomfort, so I try to only use it if a student seems really unfocused

One last thought. The questions that you pose to students for journaling have to be both excellent and diverse. You cannot come up with questions at the last minute or your students' answers will reflect your lack of thoughtfulness.  Amazingly, the converse is true as well!

Here are the journal questions from our last assignment:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie author study

1. Do you feel like “your story” is honored by your teachers and your peers? Why or why not?
2. What stereotypes do you find people have about your background?
3. Respond: “It’s not that stereotypes are untrue. It’s that they are incomplete.”
4. Respond: “Start the story with the arrows of the Native Americans, and not with the arrival of the British, and you have an entirely different story. Start the story with the failure of the African state, and not with the colonial creation of the African state, and you have an entirely different story.”
5. Respond: The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar."
6. What is your impression of the author based on the Ted Talk?