Question of the Week

I'm always looking for ways to communicate, share thoughts and reflections, and connect the students - both with each other and myself.  Reflections can be long, and I need to help the students with the HOW of thinking deeply about their thinking and learning.  I've asked them to think.  I've asked them to reflect, but I haven't really given them the tools to do it properly.

Writing.  Just writing down your thinking.  Letting the thoughts flow.  It comes easy to some, harder for others.  I have students who truly struggle at writing without being given specifics. They worry about how long it should be, about their grammar, their spelling - and the question that I think I hate more than anything, "Is this for a grade?" 

What have we done to our kids to straitjacket them this way?

Since when has a number overpowered learning?

So, I wanted to come up with something that was different.  An idea that would help them to think about their learning, grow their thinking, move them towards metacognition - while keeping communication going, and allowing the students to be more than participants, to have the opportunity to grow and lead conversations as time moved on.  And so the Question of the Week was born.

I'm sure that it wasn't my idea.  I'm certain that I got it from somewhere - a Podcast? An article? A book?  A Tweet?  Regardless, someone gave me a spark that has already shown itself to be something that is igniting a fire of thinking and collaborating. The good ideas are always there, waiting for us on a plate.

We have had a practice week, this week we play for 'real'.

Is it for a grade?  Absolutely, positively not!  I am guilty of playing to the extrinsic motivation in that they WILL receive a check-off on their Gold Sheet.  My goal, however, is that the check-off is only a motivator for a handful.  Using Google Classroom allows students to answer, then to see other students' comments, then to respond/reply to those comments too.  A conversation is developed.

How else can I use this?

This is going to tie so nicely into our Writing Workshop that I am almost literally rubbing my hands together in glee.  Question number one involved thinking about a word for the year - #wordoftheyear.  An ingredient for them to include on the Writing Portfolio, or maybe a blog? Question number two kicked off today and asks them to think about the words that they came up with while sketchnoting their 'I' in our first Writer's Workshop.