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• Elona Hartjes, MEd (Candidate), Ontario Certified Teacher

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I try to engage my struggling, reluctant students by using a variety of online applications as teaching tools for me and as learning tools for my students.  There’s so much available online now that I can use. Finding engaging teaching and learning tools is not a problem. Finding the time to learn how to use all these tools in the classroom is a problem sometimes.

Bitstrips which is a user- friendly, online comic strip maker is an excellent teaching tool and learning tool. I’m presently using it to have my students demonstrate their learning.

I’ve asked my grade nine students to use Bitstrips to create a graphic-non-fiction booklet about the teenage brain based on the PBS video Inside the Teenage Brain. The the  booklet  would be for grade seven students to read so they could understand  how changes in the teenage brain might affect them as they enter their teen years.

I teach my grade nine students  about the teenage brain, and how it  is responsible for the characteristics we associate with teenagers- sullenness, difficulty going to sleep, difficulty getting up, engaging in risky behaviour, just to mention a few behaviours.  Students enjoy learning how their brain affects their behaviour because they finally can understand why they behave the way they do, and why adults react to them the way they do.

I planned the unit on the teenage brain  mindful of two things.  First,  my students enjoy spending  lots and lots of their free time online watching videos of one sort or another and little time reading, and second my students enjoy novelty. When I introduced the teenage brain assignment, my students  were quite keen on learning why they  behave as they do, and when I asked them to demonstrate their learning by creating a graphic-non-fiction booklet, they seemed to relish the idea.  If someone had complained about creating the booklet using Bitstrips, I would have entertained other options.  But, no one did, so we were good to go. I suspect  my students would  rather create a graphic-non-fiction booklet than write an essay to demonstrate their learning.

I introduced the teenage brain unit by asking them to do a placemat activity to generate the characteristics of  teenage behaviour.  After we talked about teenage behaviour, I asked them why teens acted the way they do.  Hormones is the answer I got.  I told them it was more than hormones that caused teenage behaviour.  It  was the teenage brain itself that caused teenage behaviour.  The teenage brain is different from the child’s brain and different from the adult’s  brain.  The teenage brain is unique, and they were going to find out why and how. I had their interest!

After our introductory discussion, I outlined what they would be doing during the unit. They would be learning about the teenage brain and how and why it affects teenage behaviour. They would be

• watching the  PBS video  Inside the Teenage Brain;
• taking notes from the video and a transcript of the video using the note-taking  graphic organizer;
• using the note-taking rubric to be mindful of  note-taking expectations;
• using the story board to plan the graphic-non-fiction-booklet;
• using the rubric for the story board to be mindful of the storyboard expectations;
• using the Bitstrips application to create the graphic-non-fiction booklet;
• using the rubric for creating the booklet to be mindful of booklet expectations.

I asked my students  to take notes during the video using the  Inside the Teenage Brain note organizer I created just for this assignment. I’ve  noticed  my grade nine students take notes better if they aren’t faced with an empty 8.5 x 11 in.  lined page. I think they’re intimidated by an entire empty 8.5 x 11 in.  lined page, so I  create graphic organizers to help them.  I’m hoping that given more practice note taking and more confidence, my students won’t need these graphic organizers or if they do, they can learn to create their own using Word.

I’m using this kid friendly  note taking rubric I created for the note-taking assignment.

Since many of my students have difficulty taking good notes while watching a video, I provided a link to the  the transcript of the video so they could read what was said during the video  and add to their notes.  Then I met with my students and we evaluated their notes using  the note-taking rubric to discuss strengths and next steps.

My students have almost  completed their note-taking activity and are ready to go on to planning their graphic-non-fiction booklet using the Inside the Teenage Brain Story Board legal size .

I haven’t had my students complete a graphic-non-fiction booklet before, so I’m not quite sure yet how many frames or pages would be reasonable to expect from my students. I’ll discuss this with my class,  and once we’ve decided on a range of possibilities, we’ll create a rubric to use as a guide for the booklet.  I’ll share all this in my next post.

If anyone has any hints about creating graphic-non-fiction booklets, I’d sure appreciate hearing them.  Creating a graphic-non-fiction booklet is all new to me.

I’ve been using a timer to help my students focus on the task they’re supposed to be doing, and it seems to be working very well.  Students are more relaxed and able to focus during the  task when I use a timer, and they don’t distract each other by  asking how much time is left in the activity. They simply look up at the screen where the timer is displayed, and they  see exactly how much time remains.

Most of my students tell me that they like using the timer during activities because

• they  know exactly how much longer they have before the activity ends;
• they won’t spend more time on the activity than they are supposed to because I forget about the time;
• they like the different sounds the timer can make at the end of the activity.

I’ve had one student tell me she didn’t particularly  like the timer because she felt pressured to do more during the activity.

I like using the timer because it signals the beginning and the end of the activity.  For example, I have some students who would gladly not read at all and have difficulty starting the daily reading activity and others who would love to read for the entire 75 minutes of class and have difficulty stopping the reading activity.  When I use the timer, I don’t have to keep nagging and telling my students it’s time to start or time to stop reading.  The timer does that for me.  I love it!

I used to use a mechanical timer I bought at the dollar store, but it was small and difficult for student to see.  It did the job, though. Sometimes it would “disappear”  for a day or two. I guess some students just can’t resist.  Now, I use a timer I found online and display it on a large screen for all to easily see. Students assume the responsibility for setting the timer, and the class develops a consensus as to what sound the timer will make at the end of the time period.  Amazingly, this just takes a few minutes at the beginning of class and provides an opportunity for students to practice coming to a consensus respectfully.

There are a number of timers available online, I use this one because it counts the time down and give students choice of timer formats and sounds the timer makes when time it up. My students have great fun auditioning different timer formats and sounds.  I’m O.K. with that because the fun my students have  choosing the timer and the sound it will make at the end of the activity rubs off on the activity itself so that it becomes more fun.  My more reluctant, struggling students are more likely to complete an activity if there’s a bit of fun attached to the activity. Come to think of it, so will I.

Years ago, I started using a timer to time the silent reading activity at the beginning of the class and the journal writing activity that followed the reading activity. When I saw how well students focused on the task when I used a timer, I extended using the timer to other activities.  I think I’m going to start to use it in my grade 9 math class as well.  There are some reluctant, struggling students who have difficulty getting organized at the beginning of the class. I’m always waiting and nagging them to get their books and other materials out so we can start the class. I think I’ll have the timer displayed on the white screen as a reminder that class is going to start in 3 minutes, and they need to be ready.  I’m hoping the timer will refocus everyone, and we can start the class on a more positive note.  I hate nagging. It takes too much energy.

I’d love to hear about your  ideas for time management and motivational during activities in your classroom.  I definitely could use more strategies in my tool-kit.  Using the same strategies all the time loses its effectiveness.

In my last post, I spoke about the classroom management challenge I was having because the Board unexpectedly unblocked YouTube. It was quite a surprise to me when my students found they could access it. I certainly would have appreciate a heads-up on that one. My grade nine students went wild over the fact that they could get to YouTube at school. You wouldn’t believe the excitement. My students actually stayed in class until after the bell rang. Believe me, that says a lot.

I decided to have a class meeting to establish a class YouTube policy. We had the meeting next class where I raised my concerns about the inappropriate use of YouTube, and the class reached a consensus that they wouldn’t access YouTube unless it was part of an assignment or until they  had completed all their work. One student suggested that we skip the daily reading and go to YouTube instead. He has such a sense of humour, that one!

I wish I could say that our student generated policy for using YouTube in class was working well, but I can’t. The lure of YouTube and what it has to offer is too much for most, if not all, of my students. So, it was back to the drawing board today to come up with another solution. I decided this time to ask my colleagues for help. I didn’t want to ban kids from using the computer because they need to use the online information computer technology to complete assignments. Getting banned from the computer could be another excuse for not completing assignments.

At lunch, I shared my dilemma about managing the use of YouTube in my classroom and got some wonderful suggestions.  I am so grateful.  Thanks.   I’m going to start by using some of S’s  suggestions and next class and for subsequent classes I intend to do the  following:

• have students know there are certain expectations around computer use in a classroom just like there are in a place of business that are different from the ones at home;
• help students understand  the YouTube videos they choose to watch should add value to what they are doing in class;
• encourage  students to think critically when watching YouTube videos to determine if the videos have the potential to add value to the task at hand;
• have students practice thinking critically about the videos they are watching and evaluating them.

I’m going to create a chart type graphic organizer for students to use while they practice evaluating the YouTube videos they watch. The headings across the top of the chart , at least the first draft, will include :

• Name of Video
• Short Description of video
• Score  for Adding  Value   ( 1,2,3,4)
• Why it doesn’t add value or how it can add value.

We’ll talk about this of course.  They’ll have 15-20  minutes for this activity. I’m not sure how long the activity should be, but since the activity is helping kids develop critical thinking skills  I think 15-20 minutes is worthwhile. I have my students  read for that long each day and do a metacognitive reflection on what they’ve read, so they’re  familiar with thinking critically about what they read. I don’t think its much of a stretch for them to think critically about what they have seen.  They’ll be expected to complete an entry for each video they choose to watch during this activity.  I’m not sure how many classes I’ll have them do this activity either. I guess I’ll just have to play it by ear.

Any suggestions or comments about what I’m doing or trying to do here?  I’d appreciate the feedback.

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• Dislcaimer

  These are my personal views and not those of my employer.