Teacher Chitter....

We might not be "Rolling Stones" here at FBCS, but we're definitely rolling something. The school year is now underway and those involved are slowly beginning to breath in a more rhythmic pattern.

A lot of apprenticing gets done in the first three weeks of school. Many of my classes are being taught by student teachers right now. I spend much of my time looking over their lesson plans and watching them teach. The question is...who really is the apprentice? Much of the time I feel like I'm learning as much or more than the student teachers simply by watching THEM teach!

We spend a lot of time talking about lesson plans, and I spend a portion of each day looking over the student's lesson plans for the following day. This has got me thinking about my own lesson planning.

Being one who is willing to try most anything (even utterly stupid things), last year I began experimenting with something that I've never heard of before (The fact that I've never heard of it before DOES NOT connotate that it isn't out there somewhere...it simply means that I never heard of it).

Normally we write up lesson plans for one class period. For example: I write a History lesson plan for Monday....another one for Tuesday...another for Wednesday...etc. Each lesson plan basically includes an Introduction(hook), body of content, and closure. We rightly call these "Daily Lesson Plans" because that's exactly what they are. I have been experimenting with something slightly different, and I think I might like it better. The jury is still out, and I'll have a stronger opinion by the end of the year hopefully.

I have been trying "Thematic Lesson Plans" rather than "Daily Lesson Plans." Do not get "Thematic Lesson Plans" confused with scoping out the year. When I say "Thematic Lesson Plan" I am actually speaking of the detailed lesson plan that you will teach from each day. One "TLP" will be bigger and may cover three or even four class periods though.

Maybe I would like to talk about the earth's crust over the next three days. Rather than write up three separate lesson plans about the earth's crust, I write one larger three day lesson plan ("TLP) that will cover the earth's crust. Five strenths of the "TLP" that I've found are:

1. You will find your text books are more adaptable to the "TLP." Have you seen any text books that are arranged into 180 neat little packets of equal day size pieces?

2. Students/people learn best when information is presented to them thematically(this is why we arrange books this way). Teachers are often caught red handed, thinking of themselves more than their students. A daily lesson plan feels better/comfy/safer to me as a teacher, but I found that my student seem to learn more if I put good work into a thematic approach.

3. The "TLP" has more elasticity. If you get a little behind on you lesson plan the first day, you can plan to pick up the pace just a bit over the next two days and easily get back on schedule. If you get behind on a "DLP"..."thats all she wrote"..."its over"..."she's dead!" If the quiz at the beginnin of class had a hiccup, you can't recover with the "DLP." With the "TLP" you also have the freedom to willfully slow down for a little if students have good questions. The "TLP" simply gives the teacher some healthy elasticity.

4. It is unnatural and inappropriate to have a jazzed up introduction to each class period anyway. A good juicy introduction to a new theme is great. Once you've introduced the theme really well...simply pick up tomorrow where you left off today. This will connect the information and the theme better in the minds of the students. Jazzy introductions in the middle of a theme only breaks up the theme and works against the way people learn best.

5. It is subconcioiusly frustrating for a teacher to share information that is divorced from its surroundings. When the information simply becomes free floating bubbles in the wind, I subconciously get tired of seeing them pop. I also begin to question why I teach, and if I really have anything that is worth sharing with the students. When I see themes emerge, I get excited, and enjoy what I do.

Keep in mind that this IS simply "Teacher Chitter." I am only experimenting, and I know for a fact that there ARE weakness to the "TLP" as well. I simply thougth I would chitter away, and share my experiment with you. Go chitter with your students...and your chitter better be full of LOVE!