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Instructional strategies Case Study Grade 4 teacher Deborah…
Instructional strategies
Case Study
Grade 4 teacher Deborah Hamilton has recently begun a social studies unit on building communities. Today’s lesson focuses on how it feels to be a new person in a town or city and what can be done to address this issue.
“Being alone in a new place can be scary, boring, and lonely” Ms. Hamilton tells her class. She has her students think to themselves for a minute about being alone in a new lowing discussion ensues with the students and Ms. Hamilton.
Ms. H.: What is one thing a person could do if he or she is lonely?
Samantha: One thing I would want to do right away is make some friends!
Jason: I would want to do something about my fear of being alone.
Ms. H: These are two very good suggestions. Does anyone else have any other ideas?
Chad: I guess I would want to get involved in something.
Ms. H: Well class, I think these are some very good beginning ideas about what you can do when you are by yourself in a new place. I would like the class to split up into three groups, and you can discuss with one another things you would need to consider with respect to making friends, dealing with fear, and getting involved. Everyone with last names beginning with the letters “A” to “H” go to this corner and get ready to discuss considerations for making friends.
Everyone with last names beginning with the letters “I” to “p” go to this corner and get ready to discuss considerations for dealing with fear. Everyone with last names beginning with the letters “Q” to “Z” go to this corner and get ready to discuss considerations for getting involved.
Once all of the students have gone to their respective corners of the room, Ms. Hamilton distributes journals to each group, in which students can write their responses.
She gives them a couple of minutes to get organized and reminds them that they have to pick people for different task roles- for example, facilitator of discussion, recorder, checker for understanding, time keeper, noise monitor, and consensus taker. Also, she reminds everyone that they have 20 minutes to discuss their subject matter and that they must be prepared to share their ideas with the rest of the class after this 20-minute period.
TEACHING CONNECTIONS
Consider the following questions as you read and make connections between research and teaching practice:
How can you plan effectively for instruction, both on a daily basis and over the course of the school year?
“How can you effectively teach new material through expository instruction -that is, by directly presenting the information you want your students to know, understand, and apply?
How can you also help students acquire new knowledge and skills through more hands-on approaches?
What strategies can maximize students’ ability to learn from one another as well as from the teacher?
How can you best accommodate students’ diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and needs when you plan and implement classroom instruction?
Are the students in Ms. Hamilton’s class engaged in the lesson? What evidence is there to indicate active learning?
What specific instructional strategies is Ms. Hamilton using to engage and motivate her students?
