Student Engagement

     Some of my favorite PD sessions focus on cross-curricular teaching strategies.  Although this post is tagged as "reading", it is applicable to any teaching.  Last year, I attended a WestEd workshop on Student Engagement.    Their message is to shift from engaging students, to engaging ALL students at the SAME time.  Here are some suggested ideas:

• "Show Me" - students each use white boards, ABCD pockets, yes/no paddles, etc.
• Think-Pair-Share
• Parking Lot - students' response on sticky notes placed on a chart
• Cooperative grouping - each member with a task
• "Chain" explanation - While one student starts an explanation, at any point the teacher says, 'switch' and another student continues to add.
• Journaling
• "Pictionary" - game to guess concept/idea/detail (without words)
• Choral Response - all students repeat their peer's answer
• Fist of Five - students show the teacher their level of understanding/agreement

     Taking a suggestion from the popular "Whole Brain" methods, I also have had great success with  Teacher: "Oh, cLaSs?" Student: "Oh yEs?"    T: "You just heard me tell you about ______.  Now I want you to ... TeAcH!"    S: "oK!".  At this point, the students turn to a partner and share what they just heard you tell them.  They can both speak at the same time, take turns repeating you, or add a comment.  Both your message and their sharing is brief - and focused on the essential understanding.  Here's a few more ideas to get you thinking:

• While you take attendance, ask a student to lead others through a short SmartBoard lesson or formative assessment
• Musical Chair Share - the one without a chair shares thinking to the class.
• While the teacher is talking, students engage in a mind map or thinking web
• Note-taking with the Frayer Model or Cornell Notes
• Foldables
• "3-2-1" - Students each write 3 big ideas from lesson, 2 ways it is helpful/useful, and 1 question still unanswered.

     The one I most often use is "Rivet" vocabulary.  I have been using this a couple times per month, and have not had any complaints yet.  It is like a variation of playing hang-man, but gives the teacher the opportunity to repeat the meaning several times while students are attending to the spelling and trying to guess the word.  I ask any that guess before we're done to give me a big smile, then check their spelling as the rest of us finish. 
     The Frayer Model is another one I use often with vocabulary.  There are many PDF of this graphic organizer found in a Google search.  There are also pocket charts or large work mats available at ReallyGoodStuff.com.  I recently had a substitute use the organizer.  Each child got one with a word already programmed into the center.  After their investigation, they presented their word to the class (prior to reading).  This would also work for a jigsaw format within a cooperative group.
    I'd be happy to extend my thoughts on any engagement ideas that interest to you - just e-mail or post a comment.  I hope there's at least one thing here for you to try out, and please ... SHARE with others what is working!