Step away from the textbook
Jun 9th, 2009 | By Laurie | Category: High School, Laurie's Playground, The ToolboxDo you need to re energize your classroom and get the students involved in their educations again? I have a suggestion for you. Put away those inherited textbooks and lesson plans, and let the students explore their initial understandings of the concept at hand.
It’s difficult to do, isn’t it? However, once you do it, you’ll never turn back.
I recently used a Meyers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) quadrant activity as a beginning for a good and evil unit. I typically use the introduction found in the textbook as an in-class read for the students, followed by discussion of the main points. This activity was much more stimulating than reading the intro – which I don’t actually even like!
I had the following options listed on the board when the students came in the room.
|
ST List or Categorize Good and Evil |
SF Create a role play demonstrating good and evil |
|
NT Create a situation and argue both sides of why it’s good and evil or not |
NF Create an image representing good and evil |
The students had 30 minutes to create a product. When they were finished, the students each shared their work, performed their role play (which was a partner option), or argued both sides of their situation (also a partner option).
I was not prepared for the depth of thought my students conveyed. Several students illustrated the good and evil present in all humans. (One drew a face with a beautiful woman on one side and Medusa on the other). Other students looked at antithetical companies (the Red Cross and Wal mart, which this student believes caused the closing of our town’s local Ben Franklin store). Students also looked at technology (including cell phones and computers).
Two partners chose the role play option. One role play, created by two girls, illustrated that everyone has some evil, but good will ultimately prevail. The other role play, created by two boys, was about the evil and the good of smoking pot, with one young man trying to convince the other one to stop smoking. They assured me afterwards, without me asking, that this was not a real concern. One girl argued both sides of a case where a murdered woman’s husband in turn kills the murderer; another girl expounded on the good and evil of sex. One group argued both sides of an abortion scenario. Several students created collages, and one categorized good and evil.
Undoubtedly, this took time (a full 80 minute block), and the content was not nearly as “safe” as the textbook. Were the students engaged? Absolutely. Were they thinking critically? Most definitely. Did we have content to refer to as we progressed through the unit? Yes.
The emphasis was off my beliefs (or worse, the textbook editor’s beliefs) about good and evil. The students were forced to consider their own ideas, and they had the opportunity to chose how to convey those ideas to their peers. The results reinforced the importance of acknowledging learning styles and personality types when creating lesson plans.
So, do it! Energize your classroom; step away from the textbook and let your students explore their own ideas. You’ll be amazed at the results.
Related posts:
This is a positive authentic approach that I incorporate often. When I return to using the textbook, the class environment always seems to lose steam. In History, I will incorporate primary source documents and scholarly articles. I sometimes jigsaw, sometimes not. Authentic projects promote creativity and also demonstrate the student’s understanding. I find this method keeps students engaged and motivated. However, the comfort of the structured textbook is often needed. It does provide a good framework and should not be completely discarded.
William,
Thanks for your comments; I absolutely agree with everything you’ve written. Yes, the textbook is a solid framework – I’m thinking of my American Literature classes, which we teach chronologically and separate into 3 phases. It does help to have the basic outline of the history of our country (which is provided in the textbook) so the students can see how history impacts literature (or lit. impacts history). In recent years, however, I’ve found that my students know much about the history of the U.S., and tapping into their existing knowledge has been exciting. It’s been more fun listening to their mini-presentations after one 80 minute block of group prep time, than watching them read the book and create outlines to present to the class.
Thanks again for responding.