It's Like Riding a Bike

I recently spend time in Renee Johnson's classroom at Hamilton Middle School. We have been planning a series of lessons about reading and writing technical text, and finally had the opportunity to teach the first lesson in the series. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous - that feeling that teachers get when they are starting a new unit or activity and they are not exactly sure how it will turn out. It's a good nervous that keeps us on our toes. Before the lesson, Renee gave me a tour of the school, introduced me to the principal, and told me a bit about her class. The students were enthusiastic about the activity, and seemed to enjoy trying something new. We first talked about the kinds of instructions they read at home, and then we shared examples of friendly and unfriendly instructions - a magic trick and instructions for operating a digital camera. Next we shared 4 different versions of instructions for making a paper pyramid. We had them prioritize the instructions from most to least helpful, then the students actually used their favorite instructions to make the paper pyramid. It was interesting to see that different students preferred different instructions. For some, their preferences changed after they actually began making the pyramid. Others couldn't follow the instructions, so they just figured it out on their own. Renee did a good job of pointing out several of the math terms associated with the pyramids. We also discussed jargon - what it means and some examples from the instructions. The lesson was concluded with a discussion of things to consider when reading instructions outside of the classroom. All in all, it was a good experience, and it felt nice to be teaching again. :)