Intereses nacionales. Matriz de Intereses Nacionales (MIN)

Engaging students in learning activities with easy-to-follow, uncomplicated directions during the early part of a new school session has two advantages: (a) Your students can immediately get to the business of learning without bewilderment about “What are we supposed to be doing?” (b) Students learn that your directions are understandable; consequently, they will be willing to attend to them in the future. If students are confused by your initial directions, they are less likely to try to understand subsequent

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ones. Later, after students have developed a pattern of attending to the directions for learning activities, you can gradually introduce more complex procedures.

Students should find their first engagements with your learning activities satisfying. You want to leave them with the impression, “I learned something; I can be successful!” The idea, of course, is to make sure engagement is positively reinforced so that patterns of engaged behaviors are formed. Later in a school session, it will be advantageous for you to have students working on individual levels, with some engaged in one learning activity while others are involved in a different learning activity. It is advisable, however, to involve all students in the same learning activity in the initial stages of a school session. Having all students working on the same task allows you to keep directions simple, monitor the class as a whole, and compare how different individuals approach common tasks. Moreover, until you get to know your students, you hardly have a basis for deciding how to individualize. In Case 3.6, a first-grade teacher begins setting a businesslike tone on orientation day and then plans opening-day activities that are ideal for students’ initial experiences. Cases 3.7 and 3.8 provide additional examples.

CASE 3.6

The faculty, administration, and staff of Eugene Street School conduct an orientation day for students and parents a few days before the beginning of the school year. The purpose is for students and their parents to meet the teachers, become acquainted with the campus, and learn schoolwide policies and procedures. Mr. Manda, a first-grade teacher, receives the preliminary roster for his class just in time for orientation day. He quickly examines the files of the students, noting if and where they attended kindergarten and if any had previously been retained in first grade. Although he does not have much confidence in the validity of standardized tests, he looks at the results of readiness and aptitude tests that are available. He also reviews any anecdotal records or notes in the files from parents, school administrators, or teachers. With the intent of communicating to his students “Welcome to your classroom! I am happy you are here and that we will be working together!” Mr. Manda displays a poster (see Figure 3.1) near the entrance to the classroom and, as shown in Figure 3.2, prepares a personalized storage station for each student.

Unfortunately, only 16 students visit the school on orientation day, and only 12 of those are accompanied by a parent. Mr. Manda engages in a warm, informative conversation with each student and gives them a letter for their parents. For example:

Mr. Manda: Hello, I’m Mr. Manda (shaking hands). What is your name?

Liu: I’m Liu.

Mr. Manda: I’m so happy to meet you. Please introduce me to this lady who is with you.

Liu: This is my momma.

Ms. Sun-Hu: Hello (shaking hands), I’m Fang Sun-Hu.

Mr. Manda: Thank you for coming. I’m Dustin Manda, Liu’s first-grade teacher. Let’s sit down

over here by Liu’s storage station. . . . Liu, you were in kindergarten at another school. Is that right?

Liu: Yes.

Ms. Sun-Hu: He was at Westview; we just moved into this district last month.

Mr. Manda: (turning to Liu) So these are exciting times for you—a new neighborhood, a new

place to live, and now a new school! Do you know your new school’s name?

Figure 3.1. Mr. Manda’s Poster Welcoming 24 VIPs

Mr. Manda: Yes, it is. And here’s a paper for you with the name of the school, my name . . . Mr.

Manda . . . your room number . . . 13 . . . the names of the other students in your class, and some times and dates for you to go over with your mom later today. Bring this paper back here with you on Monday at 8:30 in the morning.

Ms. Sun-Hu: What do you say to your teacher?

Liu: Thank you.

Mr. Manda: You are welcome. Also, here is a letter for your mom; it explains some things about

our class and Eugene Street School. Now, let’s take a look around the classroom and then you and your mom can tour the building. What do you see against the wall there?

Liu: It’s a picture of this room. Why . . . ? (The conversation continues.) The letter for Ms. Sun-Hu is shown in Figure 3.3.

Mr. Manda maintains a high energy level throughout orientation day, but when the last student is gone and he is finished modifying his plans for opening day (based on ideas that came to him as he met with students and parents), fatigue takes over. He reflects on the day’s activities and judges that the meetings were extremely useful for students, parents, and him. The rapport that was established with the students and the lines of communication opened with parents will pay dividends throughout the year. He’s disappointed that some students and parents missed the experience. Out of concern for getting the first school day off to a smooth start and sending the message that learning is important business, he attempts to phone or e-mail parents of the eight students who did not attend but receives replies from only five.

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Figure 3.2. Personalized Storage Station in Room 113

On opening day he walks the students through Figure 3.4’s tasksheet. Teacher directions for engaging the first graders in the tasksheet activities are included. Mr. Manda designed the opening-day activities and the tasksheet with the following purposes in mind:

• The students immediately get busy with school-like work that helps orient them to their new environment.

• The activity is relatively easy for Mr. Manda to monitor and cue individuals to be on-task. • The students begin to develop the impression that schoolwork with Mr. Manda’s guid-

ance relates to their individual interests, they are expected to make judgments, and their judgments are valued.

• Mr. Manda can use students’ responses from the tasksheets in subsequent lessons to help students understand academic content. For example, Mr. Manda intends to conduct a les- son on the concept of community during the second week. One of the activities he plans for that lesson is for students to compare their drawings from the tasksheet to demon- strate differences among views within a community. From that idea, he will conduct a question–discussion session leading students to understand that communities need to accommodate differences among their members.

• He gains feedback about students’ interests and skills that will be valuable for planning subsequent lessons. For example, as students respond to the tasksheet’s prompts, he will note variations among students’ performances in following directions, willingness to draw pictures, and what they enjoy doing.

Eugene Street Elementary School Southside School District

Dustin R. Manda August 29, 2013 Ms. Fang Sun-Husan Apartment #19 860 Shirley Avenue Dear Ms. Sun-Husan:

The beginning of first grade marks a significant event in Liu’s life. The year’s experiences will influence his (a) attitudes about himself, (b) desire to learn, (c) work habits, (d) social attitudes and skills, (e) self-control, (f) academic abilities and skills, and (g) physical development. As his first-grade teacher, I will strive for Liu’s school-related experiences to be as positive as possible. In carrying out this responsibility, my professional preparation should serve me well. But the success of the endeavor also depends on our working together cooperatively. To this end, we need to communicate routinely about how to work with Liu most effectively. I will use several means to keep you informed about my activities for the first-grade students of room 113:

1. Each month, I will post a newsletter on my Web site (http://sssd/eugenest .org/∼drmand/). The letter will have four sections: (a) “Looking Back,” summarizing class activities and achievements from the previous month; (b) “This Month,” relating upcoming goals and activities; (c) “Looking Forward,” previewing what’s anticipated for upcoming months; and (d) “From the Students,” presenting a sample of students’ writings and artwork. 2. With approximately 25 students, I’m unable to contact individual parents as frequently as I would like. By phoning two or three parents each school-day evening, however, I can converse with a parent once every two weeks. Because of the constraints of work schedules, these periodic phone confer- ences must not exceed 10 minutes. Although brief, they allow me to apprise you of Liu’s progress and enable us to exchange ideas on how we can effectively work with him.

3. The enclosed material includes an academic-year calendar for Eugene Street School. Note the four days set aside for parent-teacher conferences. Each time, you, Liu, and I will discuss his end-of-the-term progress report (the contemporary first-grade equivalent of a report card).

4. Several times a week, expect Liu to bring home samples of work he’s completed in school. Liu needs to share his school accomplishments with you and hear your expressions of interest.

5. I’ll assign homework three or four times a week. No more than 30 minutes in any one day should be spent on after-school homework. Typically, the assignment is for Liu to review a spelling-word list with you, collect materials or data to bring to school, or read a brief selection from a book.

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6. Occasionally we may need to schedule a conference to work out a solution to a problem cooperatively. The problem may involve helping Liu modify work habits or classroom behaviors. It could also be a pleasant problem such as how to help him nurture some of his special talents.

7. Anytime you feel the need to speak with me, please do not hesitate to set up an appointment by e-mailing me ([email protected]) or calling the school office (342-4065) between 7:45A.M.and 4:45P.M.on any school day. Ms. Sonya Hoyt, school office secretary, maintains a calendar for me and will be happy to take your calls and schedule appointments for us to meet in person or by phone.

8. You are welcome to visit our classroom and observe us in action anytime during the school day. Please familiarize yourself with the enclosed “Guide- lines for Observers in Room 113” before your first visit. Note that school policy requires all visitors to stop by the school office and obtain a building pass before entering the classroom areas. This policy is designed to protect our children from intruders who might compromise the safety and security of the school environment.

My Web page contains the following items which may be of immediate interest to you:

1. Eugene Street School academic-year calendar

2. Daily schedule of courses for the first-grade students of room 113

3. Course descriptions for art and music, health and physical education, math- ematics, reading, science, social studies, and writing and speaking

4. A brief statement of my philosophy of teaching I am looking forward to working with Liu and you. Sincerely,

Dustin Manda First-Grade Teacher Eugene Street School

Figure 3.3. (continued)

CASE 3.7

It is the opening day of a new term at Blackhawk Trail High School. The bell ending the second period rings, and the bell to indicate the beginning of third period will ring in 5 minutes. Mr. Stockton, in preparation for the arrival of his third-period earth science class, turns on a DVD player that shows a video on a prominently displayed monitor. The volume is turned up rather high. As required by school policy, Mr. Stockton stations himself just outside the classroom door between periods. As students enter the room, they hear his voice coming from the video monitor: “Please have a seat in the desk displaying a card with your name. If no desk has a card with your name, please sit

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in one of the desks with a blank card. There you will find a marking pen for you to print and display your first name. Once seated in your desk, please take out one sheet of paper and a pen or pencil. You will need them when the third period begins. I would appreciate you clearing your desktop of everything except your name card, pencil or pen, and paper. This message will be repeated until the beginning of third period. After the bell, the directions for today’s first lesson will appear on the screen.” The message, printed on the screen as Mr. Stockton’s voice speaks it, is repeated until 5 seconds after the third-period bell. Mr. Stockton steps into the room. He moves among the students, gently tapping one inattentive student’s desktop and pointing toward the monitor. Several times he gestures to the monitor in response to students who try to speak to him.

The message on the video changes. Mr. Stockton’s image appears on the screen with this message: “I am about to perform an experiment. It will take 6 1/2 minutes. During that time, carefully watch what happens. When the experiment is completed, you will be asked to describe in writing just what you observed. Remember these two words—describe and observe. They will be very important during this course in earth science . . . .”

As the experiment appears on the screen, Mr. Stockton watches the students. The video directs the students to spend 7 minutes writing a paragraph describing what they saw. Then it ends. Mr. Stockton circulates around the room reading over students’ shoulders as they write. At the end of the 7 minutes, he calls on several students to read their paragraphs. Other students are then brought into a discussion session in which a distinction is made between describing observations and making judgments.

Mr. Stockton judges the activity a success because all students appear to realize that they had made and described observations. Mr. Stockton distributes copies of the course syllabus and goes over it item by item. As he discusses the goals of the earth science course, he makes frequent references to observing and recording results such as those they just shared.

Textbooks are distributed and some administrative chores taken care of before the period ends. Mr. Stockton indicates that standards for conduct and organizational procedures will be discussed at the next class meeting.

By the way, while the students were viewing the video, Mr. Stockton checked the roll, entered the data into his computer, and sent it electronically to the attendance office.

CASE 3.8

Ms. Phegley spent most of the first 2 days of the school year helping her first graders acclimate to their learning environment. She spent the majority of the time acquainting herself with the students and teaching them how to adhere to standards for conduct and follow routine procedures (e.g., for cleaning up after themselves).

On the third day, as the students are seated at their places, Ms. Phegley announces, “Everyone put your hands on your head like this.” She puts both her hands on top of her head, and the students follow along. Ms. Phegley: “Now keep your hands up there until you see me take mine off my head.” Smiling brightly, she surveys their faces with deliberation. Ms. Phegley: “Taped under your table is an envelope containing your very own word.” Roger and Ethan begin to reach under their tables. Ms. Phegley: “My hands are still on top of my head. Thank you for waiting. Now look around the room. What do you see on the wall just above the boards?” “Posters!” “Cards!” “Words!” are some of the replies. Ms. Phegley: “Yes, I agree! There are posters and cards hanging all around the room with words on them. How many are there?” “Too many!” a student says. “One, two, three, four . . . ten; there are ten!” responds another. “No, more than ten!” says yet another student. Ms. Phegley interrupts, “There are as many words on the wall as there are of you. There’s one for each of you. One of those words belongs to Louise, and one belongs to Granville, and one belongs to Marva—” “And one belongs to me!” shouts Mickey. “Which one is mine?” asks Gwynn. “Oh! I know,” says Claudia. “The envelopes under our tables will tell us!” Ms. Phegley: “They sure will. When I take my hands off my head, that is the signal for you to take the envelope from under