(I am happy to report that the wasp met its demise and I successfully removed it from the room. It's a good thing, because we weren't going to get ANYTHING done until THAT distraction was gone.)
During the course of a recess game school assembly and introducing a new math game later this afternoon, I had a little epiphany. My students need much more practice working in partnerships.
I watched as three students missed an entire recess game because Student #1 was following Student #2 around trying to partner up, and Student #2 was following Student #3 around trying to partner up, and Student #3 was trying unsuccessfully to get the attention of Student #1 while avoiding every other student looking for a partner in his path.
I watched several meltdowns during our math game (which I modeled with students and kept very simple) because So and So ALWAYS gets to go first, and So and So is CHEATING, and So and So is taking all the pink cubes, and on and on. Sheesh. Above almost everything else, whiners and "me first-ers" can really get under my skin.
I called the groups together and tried to emphasize to students that we don't have any fun doing fun activities when we waste time arguing and bickering. I realize this is part of their age and maturity level, but we REALLY need to work on it in my room. It is partly my fault, because, as I realized today, I tend to shy away from introducing partner-based activities because of all the commotion. We focused first on whole group behavior, then small group. We are coming to the point where we are working well in small groups of 5 to 7. Now, I think it is time to hone in on our partner work behaviors.
Some of the questions I have as I reflect on moving towards this...
- Is it better to assign partners or teach children to choose their own partners?
- What are some "ground rules" about working in partnerships?
- What is an appropriate reaction from me when students approach me with a problem?
Some of my thoughts...
- I think I need a consistent system to start with. Something that will be catchy and pre-posted so their attention is diverted and there are no questions about who is working with whom. I would LOVE for them to eventually get to the point where they can nicely pick partners on their own, but I don't think we are ready for that yet. A few months ago, a presenter suggested assigning "peanut butter and jelly" partners for Read to Partner time. I went to my favorite store (Dollar Tree) and they did not have the peanut butter and jelly cutouts, but I found mustard and ketchup cutouts. I just need to get magnets on the back, work out a partnership list, and get them posted. My list will be based on both academic and behavior considerations; aligning students who are at similar academic levels and who complement each other's personalities. Besides, "work with your ketchup partner" just sounds so much better than "work with so and so." :)
- Ground rules...my kiddies do really well with anchor charts that they discuss with me, help me make and can refer back to. Actually, our behavioral anchor charts are more often used than our academic anchor charts. So, I guess we will have to have a class meeting about working with partners. We'll discuss how:
- You don't have to be with that person forever.
- Strategies for deciding who goes first (i.e., roll a dice and go with the highest number)
- No angry voices or snatching, Provide appropriate alternatives instead, "Please pass me..." etc.
- Choices for what to do if there is a problem (work it out, or work alone)
- Ask "Does it matter?" Pink cubes don't matter. Winning and losing doesn't really matter. Learning and having fun DOES matter!
- If the above has been done, then, unless the problem is life-threatening, I think my reaction will hopefully be....nothing. I can redirect their attention to the chart, suggest an alternative response, and ask them what they will choose to do.
Time to go off and plan some good partner-based measurement activities!
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