3. Asking questions

This seems to be an obvious strategy but there are a few things that make sure it is effective.

Cold Calling or No hands up!

If you only ask the students who have their hands up, then students who are not attending think they will not be asked a question. To avoid this there are a few strategies.

Ask the question like this…

“Emily …spell “morning” for me. (Only Emily is listening and working out the answer.)

“Spell “morning for me” …Emily” (Everyone is listening to the question and working out the answer.)

This way every child in the class is attending because they are listening to the question but also for their name.

Time to Think

Teachers can ask up to 400 questions a day and the average pause time is half a second to 1 second.  This does not give students enough time to actually retrieve an answer from their long-term memory. One strategy that I use is I tell students I am going to give them thinking time.

We are going to spell a tricky word out loud. I am going to give you some extra thinking time so wait for my signal.

“Get ready..” (all students know this is the attention signal to look at me)

“Spell…morning” (I hold up my hand like a stop signal)

Wait for at least the count of 3…

Give response signal…open palm face up

All students respond together.

Enjoy this classic clip from the 80’s movie Uncle Buck…

4. Provide Models

This practise is very evident in classroom especially high school Science settings but it can be used in any grade. This might look like..

• A physical representation of a completed task. In Visual Art, when Year 3  learn about different ways of using paper for creating dioramas this reference is displayed for students to use a guide.
• Conceptual models. When Year 4 are learning about the layers of the Earth this image would be displayed.

• Explicit narration of our thought process when thinking through how to solve problems or undertaking a creative activity. During Maths lessons students often find videos like this one helpful to explain step by step.

Education of the Whole Child

“ Catholic schools work to improve the education and faith outcomes of students by creating communities of faith and learning. This task means joining the “work of education with the explicit proclamation of the Gospel” (Evangelii Gaudium, no. 134), and by doing so, helping students to be good citizens in society and prepare them for their eternal life with God.” (Catholic Education Commission NSW)

 Here are some examples of how we educated the whole child this week..

Kenny Chan Manga Artist Workshops

Frisbee Clincis

Year One watering the seeds they planted.

Kindergarten Literacy Groups

Let me know if you have any questions or comments. stephanie.stewart@cg.catholic.edu.au


God bless,

Stephanie Stewart