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Written by Shaolin Censullo | shaolin.censullo@uamaker.nyc
Problem
I have been struggling to engage students at the very beginning of class, losing them somewhere throughout the lesson, and not wrapping up effectively, resulting in haphazardly transitioning to the next lesson or topic. This makes the classroom environment a bit chaotic, and seemingly not put together.
Hypothesis
If first and last fives are intentionally planned to capture student attention and adequately assess achievement of the learning target, class will begin more promptly and will end more meaningfully, as measured by a decrease in the time it takes for completion of first/last five and increased engagement in the first/last five.
Target group
10th and 11th grade Earth Science students, and 10th grade Living Environment students
Planning & resources
Book I Chapter 9 - Planning Units and Lessons.pdfData collection
Data collection
Baseline data
I began by recording the time it took for classes to begin the first 5 and last 5, and when the first and last five ended. This at least solidified that I had a problem on my hands when I noticed these quick, meant to be engaging activities were taking nearly 10 minutes to complete, and in a lot of cases weren’t happening at all.
Measuring success
I attempted to measure success by looking for the time it took to complete these activities to drop. Then I transitioned looking at relative engagement in activities from students who previously seemed unengaged.
Overall findings & impact
Overall this was successful in small ways. I found that taking the time to intentionally plan the beginning and end of my lessons did allow for the classroom to run somewhat smoother. There was less of a chaotic feel, and the lessons did wrap up in some way. This was in contrast to teaching up until the end of class almost every lesson, or ending early without something to close us out. Having students self reflect at the end of the lesson gave me a better opportunity to plan for intentional grouping, which increased engagement and in some cases, scores.
Actionable steps
If you want to use this strategy in your classroom, I recommend …
Begin everyday with a captivating first 5 that does three things: connects to students, peaks inquiry, and establishes the what/why/how of the lesson
End each lesson with a way for students to reflect on their learning for the day and think about the next coming lesson
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