The Third Circle
Welcome to Part 2 of our journey. We now know the "Why" behind the importance of teaching like a pirate (passion, immersion, ask/analyze, transformation, enthusiasm), now we'll look at the How, and then will get into the "Whats" (The Hooks).
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| The Third Circle |
Welcome to the BBQ
Burgess makes a great analogy that teaching can be like going to a BBQ. He notes that you can't just serve your guests a raw piece of meat and hope that they have a good time. There's a great deal of preparation that must go into creating a memorable day. All of the choices that go into hosting a successful BBQ can be brought into creating a passionate and enthusiastic lesson.
The Meat is your content standards and learning targets. You must make sure that you pick the right piece of meat for the lesson.
The Seasoning and Marinade are the presentation strategies (The Hooks) that will be described later. Just like a good marinade will draw you into a steak, good hooks will bring your students into the lesson and keep them there.
Fire Up the Grill! The grill is the enthusiasm and showmanship you bring to the lesson. Let that enthusiasm simmer, don't just bring the heat in the beginning. "Just like meat has to be turned and basted, you have to continually add engaging twists, turns, and changes of pace throughout the lesson." (78)
Side Dishes and Desserts are the engaging activities you will act on based on the hooks you choose to apply to your lessons. The activities are that final meaningful strategies that will help students retain the information you've presented.
Discussion Questions
- You are hosting the Educational BBQ. What items would you be able to bring with no problem? What are the items you think are most important to bring?
Don't forget to respond to at least one one other person's comment.
I would be able to bring the meat (content standards and learning targets) and side dishes (student engagement) without a problem to an educational BBQ. I would have difficulty bringing the seasoning (showmanship), as that's not my personality. However, it is becoming easier with age and experience.
ReplyDeleteI feel student engagement would be the most important piece to a lesson. If students are engaged with hands-on activities, the learning targets stick with them better. This is especially true with first graders. Anytime I can bring in activities that can get them moving helps, even in small ways. This may mean using sign language to spell out spelling words or coming up with motions to go along with rules for Funsations. Any little bit helps.