Hello again,

Finally found some time to add a post to the blog.

Today I stressed my kids out.

I gave them a surprise quiz.

As soon as I told them to clear their desks, I heard the complaints.

“You didn’t tell us we were going to have a test.”

“We didn’t have time to study.”

“That’s not fair.”

I just ignored it.

It was all part of my plan.

We actually have the real test tomorrow. Today, I wanted to make them struggle a little.

I’ve learned over the years, especially in my own life, that the more you struggle with something, the more you learn and retain the information.

I had earlier given them this list of questions as a worksheet where they had to find the answers in the book. They were allowed to share answers with their neighbors, so that everyone got the correct answer. I told them, “It’s not cheating; it’s collaborating.” They spent about 20 minutes searching the textbook for the answers and writing them down.

We then reviewed the answers together, and I told them to study it for the upcoming test. I’m sure none of them ever looked at that sheet again.

Today, I gave the same list of questions, but this time I called it a quiz, and I told them that they couldn’t use their book.

I made it sound like a real test - “Clear you desk. No talking. Keep your eyes on your own paper.”

Then I told them to begin.

I monitored and watched as they struggled to remember the answers to the questions. Many of the students had some of the questions answered, but nobody was flying through the quiz. They were all struggling. It was cool.

The reason I do this is to force the students to concentrate on the question. They focus on trying to remember the answer that they know they know. You can see them searching their memories for the answer. You can feel them getting frustrated that it’s just not coming to them.

After about 7 minutes of quiet testing, I ask the question, “How many would like to use the book?”

All of the students raise their hands.

Then I say, “Too bad. You can’t.”

The class groans.

Then I say, “but—You can use someone in the classroom.”

You can hear a collective sigh of relief as the students start looking at each other’s papers,  getting the answers to the questions on the list.

As I walk around the class, I hear, “I KNEW that was the answer. I just couldn’t think of it.”

The students are helping each other remember the right answer.

What I’ve found is that the struggle that the students went through trying to remember the answers during the earlier testing, helped them own the answers. They won’t forget them anymore. They’ve had it seared into their brain by all that concentrated memory searching.

Again, we go over the correct answers as a class, and I tell them that tomorrow’s test will have some of the questions found on this quiz. I let them take the quiz home as a study guide. I won’t grade it. The grade they get on the big test will be the grade, and now, it should be a better grade since they’ve had the information “stressed” into them. (Is that a word? Can I use stressed as a verb? Oh well.)

I can’t have these fake quizzes all the time. Eventually,  the kids catch on, and it loses its effect, but until then, I like making my students stress out a little in order to get the wheels in their brains turning.

I know a lot of people feel that a teacher shouldn’t add to a student’s stress level, and I agree, but when you have a big test coming up, and the students aren’t motivated to study for it, I sometimes have to force the issue.

What do you think? Is the use of fake tests going too far? I look forward to your comments.

Also, keep an eye on this blog. I’m just about finished with my ebook – 101 Practical Tips for New Teachers. It will be a free download to anybody interested in learning from my 23 years of experience as a teacher. Follow me on Twitter or sign up for my newsletter to be notified when it’s posted. Stay tuned!

Thanks,

Sam

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37452987@N06/

Today I was reminded about one of the tips that I give my student teachers. If you want to get more students interested in an assignment, have it revolve around them.

I wanted to give them an assignment to reinforce the information we were learning about the Texas independence movement, but I didn’t want to give a boring notes review assignment.

I went back a few years, and I found an activity that seemed interesting, so I tried it yesterday.

I call it My Name In Notes.

What the students do is use their name to create an acrostic that reflects the information from their notes. For example, if their name is Sam, they could do something like:

S – Santa Anna - the president of Mexico who led his army against the Texans

A – Alamo – the mission where the Texans gave their lives for independence

M – Mexico – Americans came to live in the Texas territory of Mexico.

The requirements were:

1. You need to use at least 10 letters. A lot of students used their middle name or just their last name depending on the length. Some students couldn’t make it work without using more than 10 letters. They complained. I just smiled.
2. You can only use words that were part of the lesson we were learning. Otherwise, they’ll go back and use terms that won’t help them on the next test.
3. Include the word and a short description.
4. Create a colorful final draft that displays your name in notes.

Today, the students came in with their final drafts.

Almost all the students brought in their homework. The turn-in rate was unusually high. It caused me to wonder why.

Then, another surprise.

I didn’t have any plans on having them present their papers in class, but a lot of students asked if they could. I was so surprised that so many students wanted to volunteer to share their work. So I let them.

It wasn’t that interesting. In fact, it was a little boring. They all were basically sharing the same information, just in different ways depending on the letters of their name.

It was interesting, however, that the students were begging to be the next one to present.

Like I said, it reminded me of what I tell my student teachers: Let them talk about themselves, and they’ll have a higher motivation to complete the assignment, and not only that. They’ll want to share what they’ve done with others.

Why do students like talking about themselves?

Because we all like talking about ourselves. We don’t do it, because it makes us look conceited, but we like it. We want to let people know all about us. We want to toot our own horn. We want people to say, “Wow!”

Too bad our society doesn’t allow us to do that, because I really think I’m pretty amazing. (You didn’t hear that from me, however.)

So the next time you have a review assignment planned, don’t give your students another boring worksheet. Come up with an activity that allows your students to talk about themselves and review the lesson at the same time.

Your turn-in rate will be higher.

Until next time, don’t forget to sign up for my RSS feed or follow me on Twitter.

Thanks,

Sam

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/44136636@N06/