For many of us, minilessons seem like a "been there, done that" kind of topic. However, here's a list of simple pointers that will help you stay fresh in your teaching of minilessons.
We have to tell kids what we want them to do (that's the skill...like show not tell, predict, challenge their theory), but we don't give them the how of it (that's the strategy). We look at them and say, "Grow a theory already!" But we haven't really taught them how. They're probably willing, but don't know how to do it. Make sure you include telling them how to do this.
For example, don't say, "Say something new about your character (in reading)." Instead, tell your students, "Say something new about your character by sketching them, labeling the sketch, and then writing long about the label." Of course, there are other ways to say more about a character. There are many strategies for any one skill. It's in giving our students many tools for their toolbox, or many kinds of maps of how do get somewhere, that we really prepare our kids to become independent.
For example, don't say, "Say something new about your character (in reading)." Instead, tell your students, "Say something new about your character by sketching them, labeling the sketch, and then writing long about the label." Of course, there are other ways to say more about a character. There are many strategies for any one skill. It's in giving our students many tools for their toolbox, or many kinds of maps of how do get somewhere, that we really prepare our kids to become independent.
Another quick tip is to tell why something is important. You should try to almost sell your minilesson, making it feel urgent...that this is such an important new thing they are about to learn. More of your students will see the purpose and want to try what you just taught them. Falling back on the previous example, you can say, "Say something new about your character by sketching them, labeling the sketch, and then writing long about the label. This will make you really see your character and understand new things about him!" Try it out. Talk it up. You'll see some success with it.
When thinking about your active involvement, you should make sure your students are doing the same thing you did in your teach part. For example, if you demonstrated making your writing long using certain phrases, students should do the same thing on a different piece of writing. Don't change the strategy or make them do the next part of the strategy. They should do exactly what you did, but on a different text. Also, when planning your active involvement, you should provide the example. This way, when you're listening in on partnerships talking, you know the context and it's easy to assess. You can dive right in, and comparing one partnership's work to another is easy. Another reason for this same context argument is that if kids were going to use their own book or their own writing to try out the minilesson strategy, what would you do if it didn't match what they happened to be working on? Set up your teach and your active involvement so that they mirror one another!
While demonstrating, you should voice over what you are doing. While you might be providing a really good example of how a strategy works, you should voice over (like on a DVD director's cut or bloopers section) what's going on, so kids understand how or why you're doing something. Instead of just performing the strategy, think aloud to say what you're doing. Do it before your demonstration. "Watch as I show not tell by naming things I see or hear in the setting." Do it during your demonstration. "See what I'm doing? I'm naming things I see or hear in the setting." Struggle. Suffer. Show them it's not easy. "I can't really think of anything else. What else do I see?" This will show them not to give up, and what to do when they have trouble. Do it after your demonstration. "Did you see what I did? I named things that I see and hear in the setting."
Finally, treat your minilesson like an invitation, not an assignment. Tuesday's minilesson is not necessarily Tuesday's work. However, if a student is ready to do it on Thursday, that's when it should be done. We use this terminology, "Whenever you're reading and..." or "Something you can try is..." You should have the expectation that they learn it. You should have the expectation that kids are making decisions about their work. You shouldn't have the expectation that kids are jumping because you said jump. Otherwise, they'll never do anything thinking, unless you're around to prompt them.
Hopefully, these five tips will help reinvigorate your minilessons. Try them out and see what you can add this list yourself!
RSS Feed
