Redding School District

Visual Models & Say, See, Do Teaching - In order for students to work independently, the teacher needs to be assured that at least 80% of the students sitting in the room understand how to do the content.  After the direct instruction has occurred, it is a good idea to leave a step by step visual model on the board for students to reference if needed (see Fred Jones Chapter 7).  If you follow the Say, See, Do Teaching method (Chapter 8, Fred Jones) students will be more prepared to do independent work.

Get all students on the task before helping individual students - When you give the students directions to start their independent work assignment, it is not uncommon for students to immediately raise their hands with questions. Do not be distracted. You need to focus your attention on monitoring student behavior, narrating those who are following directions ("Jane, Sharon, and Michelle are getting right to work."), and if necessary, correcting those who are off task.

Use Help Cards - Have students use Help Cards during independent work time. Give each student or have each student make a tent card that can be easily seen when placed on his or her desk. One side is blank, and the other side has the word "Help" printed on it in a bright color. When a student needs your assistance, the student simply positions the card with the word "Help" on his or her desk where you can easily see it. This is similar to AR Reading time "Status of the Class" strategy of colored cards that indicate what help students are needing, Green - Ready to take a quiz; Yellow - starting a new book; Blue - continuing a book.

Praise, Prompt, and Leave - In order to not become the problem solver for all the students who have made a habit of raising their hands or students who haven't yet learned to persevere, using the Praise, Prompt, and Leave method can help. (Chapter 6, Fred Jones)

• Praise simply means to focus on what the student has done right so far rather than upon what the student has done wrong. Rather than being gratuitous "nice, nice, talk," praise describes one or two aspects of the students' performance in simple, declarative sentences. "I like how you set up the problem here"
• Prompting with the visual and physical models on the board or the room can help.  You should simply say some thing like "The next thing to do is....look at step 6 on the board and see if that can help you" or "The next thing to do is look closely at the face of the mask and see if there is more to describe"
• Leaving right after the prompt signals that you have confidence in their ability to complete the work with the prompt you have given.  Ever tell them that.  As you leave say, "You can do this" and leave.  The most important thing is to give really effective prompts so the leaving is easier.  Work heavy on the prompt part of this process so students know what to do next to get unstuck.

Check for understanding -Often no student responds when teachers ask if the students have any questions after structured practice. Yet when the students get to work, the teacher faces a sea of hands. It is important to carefully determine if the students understand how to do the assignment.  Use the  Engagement page to find some Individual; Partner; Small Group; and Whole Group response techniques that might help you determine if your students are understanding what the target content is. Possible suggestions might include;

• Students give an individual thumbs up if they understand and a thumbs down if they don't and/or a thumbs side-ways if they are not sure.
• Students pair off to see if their partner can explain how to complete the concept to another.

Learning to Mean Business - Independent work by definition needs to be done independently by the student. That means there should be no reason for students to be helping or talking to one another.  With that being said, you may have a quietly help you neighbor policy in place for simple things.  Ultimately if you allow little things for talking that usually translates, for students, to all things.

All too often the students will work without talking at the beginning of the independent work assignment but begin talking within a few minutes. Do not "shh" or give ineffective reminders if students start talking.  If students start talking, immediately narrate the behaviors of the on-task students. If this is not effective, approach the students who are still talking and correct their behavior with methods from the Corrective Actions section.

Section 6 of Fred Jones is a great resource for learning to Mean Business in your classroom while still establishing relationships and creating a culture of cooperation and not authoritarian.

Let Students Know What to Do if They Finish Early -  Have a plan for what students will do if they complete work early.  Make sure the options are not so desirable that students will not focus on learning the assigned content and just finish quickly to get to the "get done early" activities. Options can include:

• A more challenging assignment based on the independent work.
• Silent reading.  It is a good practice for students to have one or two books of their choice at their desks or in their backpacks at all times. Be sure the books students select are at an independent reading level.  Please review the AR Status procedures for clear directions on how to help children select books.
• "When you finish early" list. Develop a to-do list of activities students can choose if they finish an assignment early. Post this list in a prominent place in the room, and allow students to choose from a number of activities, such as double-checking their work, reading silently, or working at the computer or at another center. Update the list periodically to keep it fresh and motivating.