Part 2:
Crafting an Engaging Lesson
DISCUSSION QUESTION #8: 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; the meat, seasonings, the grill, or a side dish? Explain.
DISCUSSION QUESTION #8: 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; the meat, seasonings, the grill, or a side dish? Explain.
I believe I would bring the seasoning. I know there is the meat already provided, but I want to be sure that I soak it with great taste, flavor and spice. The lesson needs to have spice and a zing to engage my students.
ReplyDeleteI would also be the cook that continually bastes the meat with the seasonings throughout the cooking time to make sure every morsel of the meat gets the flavoring. The lesson needs this throughout my teaching it, because I want to be sure that I don't hook just one or two students. I want to continue to reel in more of them along the lesson. Each student will hopefully be filled and ready to return for more the next time I teach.
I love your example and analogy! What a great way to describe good teaching that pulls students in!
DeleteWonderful analogy! Wouldn't it be nice if every teacher felt this way!
DeleteI love the deeper thinking of continuing to add seasoning! Differentiation to the core!!!
DeleteI never would've thought of this! Great way of explaining it!
DeleteGreat thought on being the spice. Flavoring needs to be continually supplied through the cooking process
DeleteI love your analogy. I agree that it is important to make sure every student gets the seasoning! It is important to make sure kids master concepts. We need to make sure we are not making it the next teachers job to do so.
DeleteI would bring the side dish. Anyone can bring the meat and potatoes to a lesson, but sometimes I feel the side dish has just as much to offer and helps drive the lesson home. It can help embellish the flavor of things or draw out that one key thing.
ReplyDeleteI think side dishes are what makes the meal more interesting. When I hear teachers explain concepts, it's the little extras that make the lesson memorable.
DeleteSometimes I enjoy the side dishes more than the main dish. I still enjoy the main dish but that side dish adds more to the meal. Activities that draw a student into the main concept helps the concept become ingrained in their brain.
DeleteSides give a lot to a meal and conversations. Sometimes they are overlooked but are vital to the meal and a discussion.
DeleteMany people are picky on what they eat but can usually find a side dish that suits them.
DeleteDrive the lesson home is what I do and maybe got the extra mile to find the answers with a different strategy or in a different way, or even a different approach so that they can understand it in their own way.
DeleteI'd like to bring the seasoning for the meat and the side dishes. Spicing things up is what keeps excitement alive and people engaged in the activity. Adding a little extra flavor makes everything more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love that perspective! I'm not huge on seasoning, but you're absolutely right: spicing things up is what keeps excitement alive.
DeleteYour last statement is right on. I think that is how most of us get through our lives sometimes by having a little bit of excitement to go with all the craziness.
DeleteSometimes it is just that little "extra" flavor that helps a student get it and look at the activity with interest.
DeleteI think I would bring a side dish. I enjoy finding a way to make the content fun. Side dishes add a little more to the main dish and different ways of teaching the concept would be like that. What can I add to the main idea to make it more fun or interesting? What can I do to help make the main idea stick?
ReplyDeleteI always remember the lessons I learned as a kid that were sprinkled with a good dose of fun!
DeleteI think I do the side dish really well. One teacher has started reading A Christmas Carol with her classes. I work with a few students who are reading the book with her. When I pull them out, we usually discuss what they’ve been reading and move on to the activity I planned. The other day I decided to spend more time talking about Dickens and the novel; we got to talking about Scrooge and how greedy he was. We were able to have a really good discussion about present economics, the welfare system, school budget cuts, and the responsibility of the government due to this original idea about Scrooge. I walked away amazed by the ideas the students talked about and their perceptions of Scrooge and poverty.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t present the material, but I was able to complement the material with some in depth, critical thinking questions.
Sounds like the perfect "side dish". I bet your students will remember that discussion for a long time.
DeleteWhat a good side to add, kids have a lot of stuff to share if we just let them.
DeleteWow, that is a great way to explain or tie current econnomics into modern times. Great outside of the box thinking!
DeleteI agree that it is important to take the time to dive deeper with the students. That is when higher level thinking occurs, which is the best kind of learning!
DeleteJessica-
DeleteEven though you weren't able to present the material you had planned on doing, I feel like your students probably had an as good, if not better, learning experience because you were able to engage their higher order thinking skills.
ReplyDeleteI would bring the dessert.... something to leave a sweet taste in their mouth. I like to help student find out that little bit of extra knowledge or detail that
will hopefully catch the student's interest, allowing them to understand or remember the content. For example finding out that one of the gentleman who sent down with the Titanic was a mover and shaker in the financial world and was opposing a financial bill that was before Congress and backed by one of contractors who built the ship
I love the idea of a dessert, that little bit of sweet to finish the lesson. Just enough to keep them thinking about it until the next class.
DeleteDessert can really make the meal feel complete, just like the extra facts. Sometimes, to me, that can be a little clip or a game that helps tie into the dish. You don't have to have it, but it helps bring that little extra something to what you're doing.
DeleteI love the idea of dessert - ending a lesson well is just as important as beginning one well!
DeleteGreat idea! And in teaching, just like in real life, some kids need that dessert first!
DeleteI like the idea of the dessert, it's that competition to see how many kids can fit in the box, or the origami swans that makes the lesson really stick with you for a long time.
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ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt, I love it when I can bring a side dish or dessert. It's fun to bring something to pair with the main dish to give it that little extra something. The side dish can stand out on its own, but it's best when it helps to highlight the main dish. This is how I feel about accompanying activities to really drive the main point home. They are just as important, if not more so, than the main goal of the lesson. You want something that ties everything together and fills in the gaps. Something that helps it all "make sense" or "come together."
ReplyDeleteI love that "A Ha" moment when kids make that connection. That is what is so important about those accompanying activities!
DeleteI totally agree that it is fun to bring something to go with the main dish. Every main dish does need that little extra something, and so do our students.
DeleteAs a chocoholic I would bring the perfect dessert to compliment the main dish. Probably along the lines of a dark chocolate dish that is gooey good! A perfect end to the meal that all will remember. Like the ending of a good book, something to remember and talk about.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you! The dessert is the grand finish! It will leave a lasting memory and the drive to return for more!
DeleteKim-
DeleteI'll volunteer for letting you try out this concept on me. Please bring something chocolatey to work on Monday, and I'll let you know how well I remember it when I see you again on Wednesday ;-)
I'm a little bit of a control freak - everyone comes to our house for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, and my husband always makes the turkey and ham, I do all the potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, rolls, drinks, etc. I only have people bring relishes, salads, and desserts. So I guess I bring a little bit of both the meat and the sides. I really want students to learn the content and I like the idea of seasoning it, marinating it, slowing cooking it, etc. It takes time and repeated exposures to material for out students to learn. We can't just serve them one dish, we have to keep giving them little portions at a time to keep them learning.
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy. We can't serve just one dish. We have to round lessons out by showing them how to apply the basics with a dash of this and that.
DeleteI think I'd bring a side dish and a meat. Sometimes I just can't make up my mind on one recipe so I'd take two. And if I'm teaching, they need to know the "meat" of the lesson before they can get to the side dishes. Like in First grade common core math they have been learning to take an addition problem such as 8+6 and make it 8+2=10 and then add the 4 leftover from the 6 to get 16. But if they don't know that 8+2=10 they can't get to the side dish.
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DeleteI'm with you. The meat needs to be the main event and we spice things up from there.
DeleteI would be able to bring the seasonings and spice things up. I do well when given the meat/core curriculum and then modifying it to make it more creative, engaging, and more at students learning level when it needs to do so. For example, we do Pathways in Kindergarten and it has us do the same activities over and over again, which is awesome for repetition, but can also get boring for the students after a while. Therefore, I have been creating games to go along with the concepts being taught so that they are getting the same concepts over and over again, but in a more exciting way.
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple of curriculum units that I teach that are very repetitive as well, and the kids are ready to move on. Adding in games or other activities that help us get through those repetitive lessons makes it more enjoyable for those kids.
DeleteI would definitely bring the main dish. What's a BBQ without the burgers, ribs, or brisket? A good meal is analogous to education or construction. You have to have a foundation to build on and that is what I do as a teacher. I almost always have to go back to the basics and begin there. A lot of times that means jacking up the house to rebuild the foundation because it was never built properly in the first place. Unfortunately for our kiddos, quite a bit of the foundational math or reading skills they need are not taught after 2nd grade. More and more stuff keeps getting thrown in on top but without a strong foundation, their little academic houses crumble.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, the main dish is the foundation. Without a good solid foundation in your lesson plans the rest is just garnish, appealing but not really substantial.
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ReplyDeleteDefinately side dishes! The main dish for a BBQ is fairly easy; hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, ribs, etc... But the sides are far more complicated to work out. For example- who has an allergy to strawberries, who is senstitive to tomatoes, who can not have any bread or pasta, who is a diabetic, who does not like broccoli, and other such limitations/restrictions ahost considers in regards to their guests. You want to satisfy all your everyone and make them all feel like they are a part of the BBQ. This is just like a classroom. After the main dish, or foundation, of the lesson has been established the teacher needs to accommodate everyone in class. Who is ELL and needs more visuals for comprehension, who is gifted and needs enrichment activities, who is sped and needs modifications, who has been absent and is behind, who is leaving early, and other circumstances that are part of every classroom. These are the sides that need to be carefully considered so every student in class can fully grasp the "main dish" and get the most out of it!
ReplyDeleteThat is a good way of looking at it. Who needs this and who needs that in regards to the main content. This is where differentiation takes place.
DeleteI am a side dish bringing type of person. I bring the things my "family" will eat because I have a Picky eater. If I bring a side, I know they will get some nourishment. As this applies to my classroom I am a support staff for most of my staff.
ReplyDeleteI would bring the spices! I like to make lessons interesting, tasty, and memorable. I always try to add a little something.
ReplyDeleteI guess in my mind I would bring the side dish or perhaps the desert. For this reason I feel that I am the side dish or dessert is that I am perhaps the support that I provide or bring to the students when I am either in the in the general education classroom or when they come into my resource room for extra assistance or help. That's what I would probably be providing most of the time. Other times I would probably be the steak because of the very developmentally delayed students that I have had. I would have to work more with them then the general education teachers. So I would have be the main course so that is can work extra hard to make the student's time in my classroom beneficial their favorite part of the meal.
ReplyDeleteI would bring the sides. I am the teacher who can get off track occasionally. I add little sidebar lessons or when a student asks a question, then I want to explain that and have him/her understand.
ReplyDeleteI would bring the dessert because I'm the type of teacher and person that likes to have things wrapped up and to let my students and friends have a satisfying end to what ever they are doing. I like there to be a close at the end of each day, so my students feel like they have had a great day and closure until the next day.
ReplyDeleteThats great! Closure is great, I don't think I'm very good at this. I always want to keep going. I'm not very good at ending one lesson and starting another, I think I blend them all together. I do that with my food too actually haha. Just mix everything together. Yum.
DeleteHonestly, I would want to bring it all. I am a bit of a control freak. Ok maybe not just a bit of a control freak, but a major control freak. I would want to make sure that everything was present so the meal turns out fabulous. Dessert is my favorite food group, so if I had to choose I would pick dessert. Dessert is the last meal of the day. I like to leave those that I work with on a good note and you can't go wrong with dessert.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I like this! I feel this way when I plan groups so a para has a group or for a sub. I hate it because I know it won't go how I have it pictured in my head. I know parts that I love or would "spice up" get lost when someone else teaches it. Not saying it's bad, I just know I would do it differently.
DeleteI think there are a lot of us teachers that are a bit of a control freak. It's about the details and making sure that it all works out the way it was supposed to work. But dessert...I agree, you can't go wrong with dessert!!
DeleteI like that you chose dessert. Sending your students home on a positive note is important in order to start strong the next day.
DeleteI would also have to bring it all, although I probably wouldn't end up getting it all out. I would make sure it was all there, the meat would already be there, but it might need flipped more than twice. The grill to make sure it's all started cooking and some hot seasoning because it might need charged up a bit!
ReplyDeleteI think that I would be a dessert. Bring something fun to the lesson. Something that will help the students remember what was taught.
ReplyDeleteMaking the lessons fun is definitely something that is important and will definitely help them remember what they were taught!! :)
DeleteI believe I would be the seasoning and side dishes. The main dish, I believe, is already there. I like to put my own spice or twist on the content that I have to teach. I like bringing in personal experiences, letting the students bring in theirs as well. My favorite, is when the lessons become personable, when the students can relate. It creates so much more meaning to what they are learning, then they remember it, that connection sparks meaning and memory.
ReplyDeleteI think that I would bring the side dish...something to enhance the meat and potatoes of the lessons. I think the side dish could be a different way to look at the meat of the lesson or a way to relate it to everyday real life. Side dishes are very important in a meal. ;)
ReplyDeleteSide dishes are important and making the content relatable to our students is very important as well.
DeleteIf I were to attend I would say I would bring the meat seasoned and marinated. The meat because it is important to lay down the foundation for the level I teach. Working with k-2 many of my students are lacking foundational skills needed in order to move on to higher level skills. I also season and marinate the meat by adding flavor and spice to the dish. Teaching foundational skills can become mundane and redundant but with creativity and enthusiasm we can make the basic skills fun and exciting to learn.
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm on the same page with you. The meat is the foundation and you need to make it a little spicy to get their attention and keep them wanting to come back for another serving!
DeleteI would bring 2 things: the seasoning and the dessert. The seasoning because you need the spice to make the meat intereting and enjoyable. Not many people like bland meat.
ReplyDeleteI would bring a dessert because that's the grand finish of the meal. It's the last thing you taste and the most memorable.
This compares to teaching. You need the seasoning to make the lesson interesting and exciting and the dessert to finish the lesson to make it enjoyable and a memorable experience. It leaves the students wanting to come back for more.
I think I would bring a side dish. I feel like from the experience in my profession, I could play a solid supporting role and bring something complementary to the overall meal (i.e. support plan for a kiddo) that adds in a beneficial way, but maybe isn’t the absolute focal point.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I feel ilke, in the psych. role, we do a lot of prep, but don't stay for the meal, or get lost in conversation and don't get back to the table until it's time for the dessert, the three year celebration, when a student has been successful.
ReplyDelete