Routines and Procedures
8th Grade Social Studies: Development of Political Parties
Collaboration
Collaboration comes in a variety of options for my students in every unit. First of all, authentic collaboration comes with every practice task and on Aspire to Dos. Students have the ability to work with their chosen peers to complete practice tasks and Aspire to Dos together.
Another way my students collaborate is through the inquiry activities that typically come at the beginning of every unit. Groups of four/table groups work together on making observations about primary sources that “hook” them into the content of the unit. Then sharing occurs as a whole class.
Teacher Time
One-on-one instruction: Using data collected from previous work, I meet with students individually to help build their skills and make corrections. I will work on revising Mastery Checks with these students. Once students have completed their revisions, they put their names on the board in the “Needs Assistance?” block to notify me that they are ready to meet with me to request a retake.
I will also work with students one-on-one based on the information shared on their Do Now. If they share that they need help, are struggling with the content/skills, or are having a rough day, I will call them up to my instructional nest to work with me. Sometimes the instruction I provide is about how to deal with life and the obstacles thrown their way. This is something that I can’t predict, so it varies depending on the day.
Small group instruction: Small group instruction happens mostly when I notice that the same students need reteaching. This typically occurs after students have completed a Mastery Check. I take the data from the Mastery Check and design mini-lessons to address their misconceptions.
Other times, I pre-teach before a lesson. If I have data that tells me a learner might struggle with the material coming up again, I pull them to do some small group work. I will review that previous lesson and rework the skills to make sure they are ready to tackle the future lesson. This often happens with my DBQ writing lessons.
I use my public pacing tracker to notify students who will be part of my small group work for the day.
Whole group instruction: Each of my units has a whole class activity like a debate, simulation, or seminar. These are implemented to help the students learn how to work as a large group together.
I also teach mini-lessons to my whole class based on Mastery Check data. When I notice a very large percentage of my class struggle with a concept/skill, I will take 5-10 minutes at the beginning of class to provide instruction to clear up the misconception.
Daily, my students get whole group instruction related to the lesson that is "on pace." During these times, I will introduce the lesson parts, review the essential question, explain the directions of the lesson, and answer any questions the students have.
Teacher Tip
My favorite teacher tip when implementing the MCP model is understanding the power of the Do Now.
I learn so much from my students from just a few questions I ask. This helps me build a strong relationship with all of my students. One Do Now that I use is Disney Do Now. The best part is that former students help me create the different varieties of Do Nows so that they don’t get monotonous for my learners.