Let's All Teach!

     In my previous post, “Brainy, Brain, Brain,” I shared some reasonings behind the whole body, whole brain teaching idea. As educators, we are ALWAYS trying our best to engage our scholars every day. To be honest, we are exhausted by this time of year, right? With testing knocking on our doors, man, oh man, we cannot relax a bit. 

         Why not let our scholars teach each other instead of having US do all the heavy lifting? Many of our colleagues, including my self, we utilize Kagan structures throughout our lessons to give our scholars the power to take charge of their learning and thinking. We hear it often, “Students will learn best from each other.” 

         We have many passive scholars in our classroom, and we also have many eager scholars. I find that by using “Teach, OKAY!” with “high-five switch!” it gives our scholars the power to showcase what they can recall from our mini-lesson along with the kinesthetic aspect to get their blood moving. The best of all? the “Mirror” part is short, and to the point, even the most reluctant or struggling students can part take and make it their own!

“You will either step forward into growth, or you will step backward into safety.”

          Let’s break it down! “Teach! Okay!” is such a fabulous way to reinforce concepts and ideas throughout the lesson. This practice combines seeing, saying, hearing, and doing. It gets students involved and talking. If we can transfer some of our “teacher talk time” to our students, they can take more control of their learning. Plus, it sticks in their brains better!

1. Scholars work in pairs, usually shoulder partners. ( A ad B partner) If a partner is absent, they just joined in the nearest group and made a group of three. 
2. During a lesson (math, ELA, science, writing, etc.), I would teach a key point or concept. 
3. Then, I would look at the class, tell my students A or B will teach first, clap twice, and say, “Teach!”. The class would clap back twice and say, “Okay!”. 
4. The first partner will stand and teach their partner. The first partner will say “mirrors on” just like the teacher and show what we had just learned. They would use the vocabulary and any gestures I did during the lesson. 
5. When the first partner has completed his or her’s portion, they will say “mirrors off!” followed by a high five with their shoulder partner, and the second partner will stand and teach their shoulder partner the same concept. 
6. If their partner is stuck or happens to forgot a vocabulary or concept, the sitting or student partner can help with gestures or even say the word(s) to assist.
7. Partners will continue with “Teach, Okay” and “high-five switch” until I call for their attention. ( usually 2 mins)
8. By having the “teacher” stand and the “student” partner in the sitting position, not only does it give me an easy way to assess, but it also adds another kinetic element to get the blood moving!

         It is such a thrill to see and hear the vocabulary and the academic language the scholars pick up from each other. There are many times I hear a different way they present the short concept and ideas, and I made sure to point it out after and give some kudos for making it their own! You will not believe how much laughter and smiles that come from this quick exercise.  

          I also included a short clip of my UA scholars participating in “Teach, Okay” and “High-five switch!”. Added bonus? Some of my passive scholars wanted to teach the whole class! It made my day, and I really hope you will give it a try! 

Happy Teaching,
Eileen Wunderlich