Stick It To ‘Em: Velcro Learning for Middle Years
How Does Talking |
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OXYGEN FEEDS THE BRAIN!
When students are talking, more oxygen gets sent to the brain. If we don’t have our students actively engaged or talking about their learning, the brain becomes deprived of oxygen and it goes to sleep. A yawn is the brains way of giving itself oxygen. Talking also stimulates the frontal lobe of the brain where most of the learning takes place. If your students are yawning, get them talking!
Incorporating constructive student talking into our classrooms can keep students’ brains engaged and awake. The following strategies encourage on-task, student engagement while feeding the brain with oxygen:
| 1. Think-Pair-Share This strategy, conceived by Frank Lyman and Arlene Mindus in 1977, focuses on providing students with “think time”, having students interact as a pair to discuss the learning, then having students share their thinking with a larger group. When one student answers the teacher’s question, the brains of other students shut down. Using this strategy, we can keep all brains engaged! Some examples are provided below: |
Ways to Think!
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Ways to Pair!
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| 2.Wraparounds: Participants for a circle. Each individual takes a turn telling the following information or design own topics for students to discuss:
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| 3. Talking Topics: Students form partners. Partner A tells a fact to partner B. Partner B gives another fact back. Partners keep swapping facts about a topic until they run out of facts. |
| 4. Conversation Circles: Form a circle with a group of three students. Each group member takes a letter: A, B or C. “A” starts talking until the teacher gives a signal. “B” continues with the topic. The teacher gives the signal again and “C” takes over and picks up the topic. This continues until there are no more facts or ideas to add to the topic. |
| 5. Rotation Reflection: Post chart paper around the room with a related topic written on each sheet. Small groups gather at each location to give ideas and view on the chart topic. A recorder fills in the charts with the great ideas. When the teacher gives a signal, the group moves to the next chart and responds to that topic. Groups continue around the room, visiting and adding to each chart. The last group remains at the chart, consolidates the information, and reports to the large group. |
| 6. Grand Finale Comment: As students are leaving the class, each student makes the “Grand Finale Comment”. These comments can give the teacher feedback about the learning that occurred. Some examples are as follows:
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