Sine Curve Theory Of Lesson Planning

Submitted by: Will Lin

I’ve been thinking a lot about why some lesson plans succeed beautifully and why others fail. At times, the key factor is the “Age + 2” rule, where kids stay in the same learning modality for an excessive amount of time or activities last longer than 15 minutes. Yet, sometimes when we vary the activities in a lesson, it can still go horribly wrong. Hence, my new corollary to “Age + 2” (a person’s attention span is approximately their age in years plus two): the Sin-Curve Theory of Lesson Planning.

Here’s the theory: if we think of lesson activities as either active or passive, activities should fluctuate between active and passive (and active and passive) every 12 minutes or so. If there are two (or three) active activities in a row – games, find a partner…, kinesthetic exercises, group work – the class’s energy level shoots off the charts and kids may become unruly. If there are two (or three) passive activities in a row – independent reading, note-taking, seat work – the class grows bored and kids will become unruly. Ideally, lessons should alternate between active and passive activities every 12-15 minutes or so. Mathematically, this is like a sine curve.

Teachers are historically good at direct instruction and lecture. Many of our high schools and higher education institutions function with heavy amounts of both. However, teachers often struggle the most with coming up with ideas for active lesson activities. Here are eight simple, active activities that are applicable to any content area:

1) Guess my word – The teacher thinks of a word (usually a vocabulary word). Students start guessing. Teacher responds with ‘before’ or ‘after’ based on the guessed word’s relative alphabetical placement in the dictionary.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxUt2AHAkJ0[/youtube]

2) ABC cards – Create a set of 26 cards with a problem on one side. Each group of 3-4 has to answer all 26 cards on one answer document. The name refers to labeling the cards with letters A-Z (or the names of countries that start with A-Z. Robert scores groups who solve correct answers sequentially. In other words, a group with correct A and B but incorrect C earns two points.

3) Around the World – One student volunteer stands next to another student. The teacher asks a question. The student who calls out the correct answer first moves on and goes “around the world.”

4) I Have… – Each team has a set of “I Have…” cards. In one version, groups need to put them in the correct sequential order. In another iteration, every student gets one or two cards; as a class, kids have to read their cards in the correct order.

5) Knock out – Everyone stands behind their desks with a partner. The teacher asks each pair a question and gives them 10 seconds to answer. If they answer correctly, the teacher moves on. If they answer incorrectly, the teacher moves on to the next partner who can “knock out” the pair that made the mistake.

6) Category Pyramid – Create 10 boxes in a pyramid formation (4 in the 1st row, 3 in the 2nd, etc.). Each box has the name of a different category (States that border Mexico, things that fly, adverbs, renewable resources, etc.). Break kids into groups of 3-4. One person in each group is the clue-giver. S/he must call out objects within each category starting with the first row. The other group members must guess the six categories in two minutes. The catch is that they can only move to the second row after they’ve guessed the four categories in the first row.

7) Numbered Heads Together – Break kids into groups of 2-4; each student numbers off within his group. Ask a question; kids discuss for 5-10 seconds. Then, the teacher calls out a number; kids with that number can raise their hands.

8) Round Table – Break kids into teams of 3-4. Each team is given a Roundtable handout with a prompt (i.e. Write out fruits starting with different letters in alphabetical order”) and takes out one pencil. One student makes a contribution, then passes the paper and pencil to the student on their left (clockwise). The paper and pencil go around the table.

About the Author: I have been in the educational sector for over 7 years. My students have grown by two grade levels each year, and I have been the School Leader of a Title 1 Academically Distinguished School. Please visit my website (

lulu.com/alastingwill

) for eBooks and FREE videos for teachers

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=1409557&ca=Parenting