It's Not Over 'Til It's Over

Yup. It's mid-May. State-testing is just about wrapped up. Educator evaluations are being finalized. June, and, with it, the end of the school year, is literally right around the corner.

It can be hard to stay motivated and engaged at this time of the year, for students and teachers both. But we must, mustn't we? After all, there are still weeks and weeks left of learning (don't shoot me; I'm just the messenger, y'all!).

If you're having difficulty holding onto a feeling of excitement for the classroom right about now, maybe it's time to throw caution to the wind and try something new. It might be just the thing to give you that burst of energy and enthusiasm to carry you forward until that last bell rings.

The great thing about trying something new now is that you know your students SO well at this point. It can be tricky to "experiment" earlier in the year, especially when you're just getting a handle on who's who in your classroom. But if you try something out now, with students you know well, you may feel comfortable enough with it in the fall to begin the year with it!

So, if you're interested, think about the following possibilities:

• Maybe you've never felt quite comfortable with -- or never even tried -- a workshop format with your students. Why not try it out now?
• Perhaps you know you should use formative assessments more often to inform your instruction, but the day-to-day life of a teacher has slowed you down and distracted you from this. Now could be a great time to play around with it a little more.
• Maybe you find yourself using the same ol' activators and summarizers you always use -- or maybe you find yourself having strayed away from these valuable tools. Now could be the time to learn about some new strategies to use at the beginning and/or the ending of a lesson.
• You've always thought about trying to tier a lesson, but you're just not sure how. Now's a great time to learn more about this, especially with your knowledge of your students!

The possibilities are endless! If you'd like some guidance and collaboration, you can always contact your district's friendly instructional coach. *wink, wink.*

A Few Tips for Tiering

I've been thinking a LOT about tiered instruction lately since I'm working with a few teachers who are venturing bravely into that particular type of differentiation. I say "bravely" not because anyone should be terrified of tiering, but because starting anything new or changing up your practices and getting a bit outside your comfort zone is always scary.

Managing your class when groups of students are working on different tasks from one another can seem overwhelming. This post will outline a few very practical suggestions for managing the time and space structures of your classroom when tiering (hopefully making it all seem a bit less scary).

First of all, try to reduce the amount of time (and noise!) it can take for students to get into groups. Post a seating chart on your board all filled out with students' names and the locations they need to report to. This way, as students enter the room (before the bell has even rung!), they can make their way to their assigned spot for the day. No need to spend class time getting everyone to where they need to be!

Here's another thing you can take care of ahead of time: at each table or group of desks where groups will meet, place a folder with copies of that particular group's assignment and any other materials they may need. Once again, this saves you from spending class time getting each assignment to each group, and it also allows students to get started right away.

Speaking of students getting started right away, here comes my final tip for today: be explicit! A huge part of ensuring that tiered instruction will be successful is giving students the tools they need to be able to work independently. If the assignment and its accompanying directions and instructions is explicit, detailed, specific, in student-friendly language, and contains models of what students will be doing, then I promise you students will be able to get right down to business without you (I can make this promise because I have seen it happen, my friends!).

There's more to tiering your instruction than what this brief post has covered, but thinking of effective and easy ways to manage the time and space of your classroom is a wonderful starting place for being able to envision how this can all work . . . and work well!

Happy Tiering!