Every Student, Evey Day!

A few years ago, I started reflecting at the end of the school day where my attention had been on that particular day.  I realized that some kids got more than their fair share of my time- as I corrected behaviors, re-taught, and signed passes.  Some students got more appropriate attention- the outgoing kids who were fun to talk to, who volunteered answers, who asked thought-provoking questions.  But in every class, there was a ghost student.  You know the one- he or she does the work, doesn't bother anybody, doesn't ask questions.  At the end of the year, you wonder how it is that you went a full year and don't really know this kid.  There were also several students who weren't quiet and shy, they just didn't want to engage with the teacher or the class.  Talking in front of other kids is risky; pre-teens don't want to be wrong in front of their friends.  Some don't want to chance being rejected, for example, by raising a hand, but not getting picked.  In some classes, there were days when I didn't personally interact with half the class!  It bothered me.

I made it my mission to make contact with every student in my class, every day.  With class sizes of 24 kids, give or take, you would think this would be easy.  And it is easy, but it is also extremely easy to overlook those quiet kids.  You, the teacher, have to realize those ghost kids are there and make the effort to engage them.  You have to somehow keep track of who you engage with.  I have come up with a few strategies that work for my class (6th grade science!)

1.  Use name sticks!

This seems like an elementary idea, but it works for  middle school too.  For each class, write every student's name on a popsicle stick.  Decorate an empty can for each class, and you're ready to go.  I pull out names almost every time that I ask a question, need a helper, or want a "volunteer".  3 - 4 names come out for the warm-up or bellringer question, a few more as we read, a couple to help pass out papers, a few to give examples of answers, connections, a few for the exit ticket, and at the end of class, I have called on every student for one thing or another. 

2.  Use all-class response cards.
I got this idea from reality tv.  In the four corners of a piece of paper, I wrote the answers A, B, C, D.  On another paper, I wrote True, False, Yes, No.  I copied these back-to-back, cut them out, hole punched them, and tied them together.  I made 30.  They are quick and easy to use with power point questions, verbal questions, questions in a book.  Make sure that you tell students not to reveal their answer until you say to!  This system gets everybody involved in answering, and you can see right away if most of the class is getting what you taught.

3.  Use a dice to pick volunteers. 
My lab desks are pushed together to make tables of four, and my tables are numbered.  Each table also has each seat numbered 1 - 4, so I can roll the dice to pick a particular seat after the table is chosen.  I love rolling the dice (I know, "number cube") to pick tables for various things.  Lining up for lunch, reporting out to the class, getting supplies.  The kids love being chosen, because then they get to roll the dice for the next selection.  It's such a small thing, but they love rolling the dice too.

4.  Confer with kids weekly; track it!
Our district is heavily into the workshop model, which encourages daily conferring with the students.  Conferring looks like different things to different teachers, but what it boils down to is talking to kids about what they know.  You can print off a spreadsheet with each student's name, and write the date in a box each time you talk one-on-one with them about their learning.  If you do this weekly, you're doing better than me!  Meeting with each kid every two weeks is more doable for me right now, although ideally, I'd meet more.  I still have those high maintenance kids taking up more than their share of time, but this way, I can at least see when it's been a while since I've given personal attention to somebody.  I have a colleague that uses the free app Evernote to keep track of her conferring.  She loves it and is able to type in notes, take pictures, and all kinds of cool things with it.  I prefer the paper-pencil tracking, but Evernote is a great option for people who prefer technology.

5.  Pick helpers of the week.
I have on the left side of my white board each class listed with two helpers for the week chosen by randomly pulling out their sticks, of course.  I only fill out the calendar for as many kids as I have at a time, so if a new student moves in, they are added the next go-round.  You would think that middle schoolers wouldn't care so much about this, but they surprised me again by loving this idea.  They check the semester calendar all the time to find out when they are the weekly helper.  They are the ones who get to return things to the library, sharpen and keep track of my pencils (see my January 3, 2015 post!), take make-up work to the office, make emergency copies, and anything else special that pops up.  They really look forward to their week.  

 These ideas aren't earth shattering, but just having them in mind helps me make sure to involve every kid, every day.  There are still days when a kid walks out and I think, "Wow, I didn't even talk to him or her!"  But those days are fewer now than they were a few years ago, and that's progress.