Entry # 14: "I have never been quite
so excited in my classroom."
A loud argument broke out across the room.
"You're wrong!"
"No I'm not! Besides, we all voted against you."
"Mrs. Berg!"
I summoned the two students to a more private area of the room, and the
two little faces of Tina and Rod, obviously distraught, appeared in front
of me. Tears began trickling down Rod's face.
I went through the routine of asking each student to tell his and her own
side of the story. When I found out what they were arguing about, I broke
out into a huge grin, hugged them, and congratulated them both.
It might be one of the proudest moments of my teaching career.
The Great Fairy Tale Debate
Last week my students were split into five jigsaw
groups to read one of five common fairy tales. In their groups they
were required to create story maps, to decide what if any lesson there was
to be learned from the story, and to see if any magic was involved. Once
each group completed their task, I broke them into five new jigsaw groups.
Each jigsaw group had one member from each of the previous groups so that
all five stories were represented.
The jigsaw groups shared their stories and the information they collected
in the previous task. They were required to find five things that the five
stories had in common and to use that information to create their own definition
of a fairy tale. At the end of it all, they had to create a visual aid and
give a presentation to the class. I was more interested in their critical
thinking rather than a textbook definition or a specific set of five common
elements.
Back to the arguing students. Usually when arguments or disagreements break
out in my classroom, they are about Johnny talking about Sue, or Sue tripping
Johnny, or Johnny refusing to participate. I was ready to give the usual
talk about personal space, staying on task, or respect for others, but this
time I was faced with something new.
They disagreed about the definition of a fairy tale.
Tina explained that the group had settled on a definition that Rod agreed
with, except for the last part. They believed that a fairy tale always had
a happy ending, while Rod believed that wasn't necessarily so. Both sides
offered evidence to support their positions. It was apparent that both sides
had put a lot of thought into it, and they definitely understood what they
had read. They were debating something related to their work even though
they knew I wasn't going to take off for imperfect definitions.
THEY CARED ABOUT THEIR LEARNING!
I have never been quite so excited in my classroom. Somehow, after years
of practice developing high-interest lessons, I had succeeded. My students
were looking past the grade to a higher level, a need to know and to understand.
They were moving beyond the trite answers that we sometimes get when we
ask probing questions. They were thinking!
Some of what I saw
I had done this particular activity earlier in the year when we studied
myths. I was pleased with the results then, so I decided to use the same
structure with fairy tales. The results this time were even better.
I observed groups who systematically went through their stories, looking
for commonalities. Some found that the specifics of each story were different,
and commented, "We've got to look for bigger things. Like in the myths,
they had different gods in them, but they usually had gods." Other
groups debated what "magical" meant; some thought that talking
animals were magical, while others believed that magic had to be performed
by a wizard, witch, or other supernatural being. When they asked me what
I thought, I told them it was up to them to think it through and come to
a consensus. They did.
I saw group members chastising other members for being unprepared. "We
need your information to do this," they said. "You shouldn't have
been playing around when you were supposed to be working." The offending
party looked properly humbled and came to me to ask for a copy of the story
he was supposed to have read. "I'm sorry Mrs. Berg. It won't happen
again."
As groups prepared their posters and presentations, I watched as they ran
through the requirements, checking and double-checking to see if they were
at a 4 level (on our scoring guide). More debates erupted around this topic.
Many groups included more information than I asked for to ensure their preparedness.
As the groups presented, they touched on many of the textbook elements of
a fairy tale. Among them were, all fairy tales have a good guy and a bad
guy; the good guy always wins; men are usually the heroes; they are make-believe
worlds; they often start with, "Once upon a time..."; there's
something supernatural happening in them. I could go on. The depth of their
understanding never ceases to amaze me.
What can I learn from this?
So, that is one lesson that has been successful for me. I could put that
in my files to use again next year, believing that it was the topic, the
group of kids, or just a fluke that it worked so well. However, this is
where the real reflection needs to take place so that I can learn a lesson
about why and how this particular activity was such a success. What can
I learn from this that will help me apply it to future lessons?
I don't have all the answers. I do know that every time I use jigsaw groups,
it is successful. Not only do students have the opportunity to collaborate,
but they are also held accountable for their knowledge with their peers.
Their peers can put more real pressure on them to perform than I ever can.
I also think it worked because it hooked into their prior knowledge. To
my low readers, fairy tales are very non-threatening. Except for my Bosnian
kids, most of them have read them, heard them, or seen the cartoon version.
Even though the stories I used are written on a higher level, not one of
my students expressed a difficulty or unwillingness to read. They were familiar
with the subject, so they were more comfortable with it. I must remember
to hook into their prior knowledge with all future assignments.
I think that requiring my students to problem-solve open-ended tasks is
a motivator as well. The first time I did this activity with the myths,
my students expressed a lot of anxiety, constantly asking me if they had
the "right" answers. Once they finally understood that I was looking
for their understanding of myths and later fairy tales, they relaxed. The
only requirement was that they had to explain their thought process if I
didn't understand. I learned a lot from their creative interpretations of
what they read. They were more than valid. They reflected their own lives
and experiences.
They owned the learning
My students also had to take the responsibility for their own learning.
I was the facilitator, not the giver of knowledge. As they asked me questions,
I questioned them back, trying to help them clarify their own thinking.
It wasn't until every group had given their presentations that I finally
gave them the textbook definition of a fairy tale, and by then, I had their
undivided attention. Many took pride in the knowledge that they had created
a definition that was very close to the official one with nothing more than
their own mind power. How powerful is that?
I'm watching my children gain more and more confidence in themselves as
learners. Isn't it sad that so many teachers chase that out of them so early
in life with their endless lectures, knowledge level right and wrong answer
tasks? Yes, I agree that there are many facts that children (and adults)
need to know. However, can't we achieve that goal while striving to not
only make that information important to children while also teaching them
how to use that information to solve problems? We can be stuffed full of
knowledge, yet be perfectly helpless because we do not know how to use any
of it.
I choose to let my children help themselves become lifelong learners.
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