Students are back in school, and teachers are trying out new strategies they hope will engage their students. I remember those days very well myself.

 

During my second year teaching fourth grade, I attended a CRISS Strategies in-service training at my school. CRISS Strategies is a teaching technique utilizing graphic organizers, story plans, and power notes to help students connect to the material being taught.

 

The moment the instructor started explaining the strategy labeled "power notes", I knew I could use it in my classroom for science lessons. It seemed like the perfect way to show the connection between concepts and possibly make the amount of material taught per unit more manageable. Power notes were going to be my salvation, or so I thought...

 

Power notes resemble the style of note taking where the topic is a roman numeral; the first main idea is the letter A, and so on... CRISS strategies, however, uses only numbers as a way of simplifying the strategy.

 

I left the training session full of enthusiasm. The next few evenings were spent disecting the science material to be taught in the next unit. Then, PowerPoint presentations in the form of power notes were created for students to copy as I discussed them. Finally, I devised mini-hands-on activities to be used during the power point presentations to make the concepts more concrete.

 

I decided to introduce the new science unit and accompanying power notes strategy on a Monday. I gave each student a new three-prong folder labeled Power Notes with paper already attached inside. We were ready to begin.

 

I told the students we weren't using the science textbook for this unit. Instead I had taken the information they needed to learn and created PowerPoint presentations to use to teach it to them.  They would be expected to copy down the notes after we discussed them and use them as a study aid.

 

Even my most uninspired students seemed to momentarily perk up. Everything was going just as planned. The first slide appeared on the Smart Board screen,... and that is when things started going downhill fast. This is an example of what it looked like:

 

1. rocks

    2. igneous

       3. (scientific definition)

            4. examples

    2. sedimentary

 

The room became very quiet as 27 students stared at me like I had lost my mind. They had no clue how to connect 1 to 2 or 2 to 3, etc....

 

It was time to regroup. I hadn't planned on them not catching onto the concept of power notes as quickly as I did. To me, it just seemed so logical. To them, it seemed like I had forgotten how to count.

 

I had to find a way to make them understand the concept of power notes first before using it to teach actual science lessons. Whatever concept or idea I used had to be something every student could relate to. My mind began frantically searching for that one concept.

 

That is when inspiration struck. As I glanced around the room, I happened to notice a student trying to slyly pick his nose without anyone noticing. Boogers - everyone has them, and everyone knows at least one thing about them. Boogers were the answer.

 

I changed my Smart Board back to the main writing screen and asked the following question.  What do you know about snot? Just about every hand shot straight up into the air.

 

As they told me their responses, I began to separate them into three categories on the Smart Board: color, texture, and usage. Once every student had a chance to respond, I started transferring the information from the categories into a power note format with their help.

1. boogers

    2. color

        3. olive green

        3. translucient

        3. reddish brown

    2. texture

        3. rough

 

It did not take long for them to catch on that #1 was the topic. #2's were main ideas related to the topic. And, #3's were details about the main idea they were directly under. By the time we finished creating our Boogers power notes, every single student could explain how power notes worked to the other 3 members of their table [4 desks facing each other].

 

I actually did a happy dance in the front of the room to celebrate. Power notes became an official part of my science curriculum after that. The results were amazing.

 

I know some of you are saying "Gross" or "Disgusting". But if something works, don't knock it. If you want to reach students today, you have to get their attention any way you can and find something every student has in common. Sometimes, that one thing turns out to be boogers.

 

Until another thought blooms... 

 

The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

- Anonymous

 

School has started. Students are back at their desks. And, teachers are already counting the number of teachable days left until state testing begins. The pressure will only continue to climb for both groups. That is why it is so important for teachers to add a little laughter to their lessons plans, for both of their sakes.

 

Kids are already stressed enough these days. They are not immune to the pressure teachers feel. It oozes off teachers and presses down on the surrounding students impacting every aspect of the learning process. A little daily dose of laughter can change even the toughest learning environment.

 

During my years as a fourth grade teacher, I always had extremely diverse classrooms filled with tough street kids, bored trouble makers, shy introverts, and over-achieving academics to name a few. Add academic levels that ranged from way below grade level to 10th grade reading abilities, and you have the composition of most of my past classes.

 

In order to keep everyone's attention, I would occasionally throw in a funny story about my past to lighten the mood. My students loved finding out that their teacher wasn't immune to screwing things up. Laughing at myself seemed to put them at ease and make me more approachable when it came time to ask for help.

 

Once in a while, I would act out a lesson in some funny way especially if teaching it even bored me. It felt a little like being a standup comic on those days, but it was worth it. We all had fun escaping from the normal routine teaching methods for a few minutes.

 

Yes, kids will tell their parents and friends that their teacher is crazy. But what a small price to pay if it means holding their attention by keeping them guessing at what is coming next. Students actually become engaged in a lesson that they might otherwise ignore because of the possibility that a little humor might be embedded somewhere within it.

 

I remember trying to teach my students about the Straits of Florida. Just reading out of the book wasn't working nor was just looking at a map. Actually traveling through the Straits of Florida seemed like the only way to get this lesson to stick in their minds.

 

Since their desks were already arranged in Kagan groups (sets of four), it was easy to split them down the middle to create a big body of imaginary water in the center of the classroom. Three sets of desks on each side of the room lined the "big body of water".

 

Next, I created mini-land masses using the sets of four desks bordering each side of the "body of water". Finally, the individual sets of desks were aligned so that straight passageways went from each opposing classroom wall, passed between sets of desks, and emptied into the large "body of water" in the center of the room.

  

I made everyone stand up and pretend they were paddling canoes. To get to the big body of water, we had to travel along the straight passageways between the sets of desks. Back and forth we went paddling along the straight passageways into the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico. We chanted some ridiculous saying I made up on the spot that talked about going straight through the Straits of Florida to get to the Atlantic and sail away from my crazy teacher. I led the way paddling spastically, and they followed howling with laughter.

 

Silly as it sounds, each one of them could explain the difference between the Straits of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico from then on. I guess the point I am trying to make is that laughter makes you smile even on the most stressful day. Laughter makes people feel comfortable. A comfortable person will absorb what you are trying to teach.

 

Think back fellow teachers. Don't you remember things that have made you laugh? You may not be able to quote a punch line verbatim, but you remember the core part of the joke. It is the same with students. They will remember the lesson you are teaching if you make them giggle during it. And, they will pay more attention in the future so that they don't miss out on another chance to burst into uncontrollable laughter at school. Other students will get jealous, and before you know it you will be the teacher every student wants to have.

 

So fellow teachers, squeeze an unexpected giggle every now and again into an otherwise stressful lesson plan. You'll be surprised how well your students remember it when testing time comes around. And, teaching will be something you enjoy doing despite all the stresses that accompany it.

 

Until another thought blooms ... 

 

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.

- e. e. cummings