Group Work
Group work!!! Working with a group of people has been so helpful as I have done my Arts Bridge visits. In my particular classroom, there are 16 fifth graders and 16 sixth graders. Sheri Davis, the teacher, has been given the challenge to teach both 5th and 6th grade curriculum at once. This is a tricky task, but she handles it creatively. As I observed her classroom before teaching I noticed that one tactic she used was group work. She split the students up and let them work together as groups while she circled the classroom and instructed where needed. The students were mature and responded well. I knew in that moment that I needed to incorporate group work into all of my lessons. So far it has worked like a charm.
Last week we worked on fractions in my lesson. In the end of the lesson I split the students up into 2 groups and gave each a "fraction dance". The "fraction dance" was a piece of paper with a list of various instructions that they had to follow. All the instructions put together resulted in a group dance. It was so much fun to see how the students worked together. Both elected a leader and the leader read the instructions aloud. The rest of the children helped to make the dance come to life. I was so impressed with the end result as I watched their dances. Next week I will post the videos of the fraction dance. (I am missing 3 of the media release forms still).
I loved that you observed what was working already in the classroom and the type of environment your teacher has set up and applied that in your lesson. I think it's so important to observe and alter lessons due to the needs of the students. It sounds like it worked out well due to your careful and thoughtful preparation!
ReplyDeleteGreat job taking a hint from your classroom teacher on how to work with the older grades, group work truly is a charm! But only if it's set up right. Have you asked your coordinating teacher how they established group work norms in their classroom or how she trained the students to work together so smoothly? I would be interested in her strategies.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see your lesson plan for the fraction dance! How did the students explore fractions in their creative assignment to create a fraction dance? How did you explore fractions through movement prior to the group work exercise?
Nice work, Adrienne! Collaborating in group work is one of the greatest benefits of dance in the classroom. I love the way you integrated math and dance to teach about fractions. I would also love to hear about the movement explorations or preparations in the first half of the lesson to get the students ready to work on these fraction dances. Great job!
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