With the first semester of school wrapped up, and I finally feel like I have a handle on all of this new curriculum. At first, it felt overwhelming trying to tackle all of these new ideas at once. There was a lot of trial and error going on; I was trying to find a balance between maintaining my teaching style while honoring the core concepts of the material. Now that I’ve found that balance, I’ve been able to take what I know about ELL best practices and implement them throughout my lessons.

At first glance, it seems daunting to do this with new curriculum. Normally, curriculum are designed for the masses; they’re scripted lessons meant for teachers to pick up and start using. If only it were that easy! We work with small humans, not pre-programmed robots. Scripted lessons will only reach a small fraction of the student population while the rest are left behind. Rarely do they account for the unique needs that we face in our classrooms every day.

This is where engagement strategies come into play. Knowing just a few of these strategies can drastically change a classroom, but knowing when to use them is even more important. I would argue that creating an engaging classroom is more of a mindset than anything else. It takes a combination of knowing what strategies exist, understanding the purpose behind them, and knowing how and when to utilize them in order to fully maximize their effectiveness. 

I’ve discovered three very simple yet effective engagement tools that can take lessons up a notch, especially for language learners. These strategies get kids up and moving while simultaneously encouraging kids to use language with one another. They can also be easily scaffolded for our students with unique needs.

Mix and Mingle

What is it

If you’ve attended a conference, you probably have experience with Mix and Mingle. At its core, it’s a more engaging way to manage the question / answer format. First, students “mix” (walk around the classroom), ideally to music. I work with little ones so we dance and play the air guitar as we walk 😉 Once the music stops, a question is posted that all of the students can see along with an indication to form a small group (maybe one, two, or three other students). Students rush to find their group members and answer the question. This strategy is flexible is that it can be used to answer questions about a text, solve a math problem, emphasize grammar / spelling, start a discussion, etc. 

What’s its purpose

I often use this as a way to retell stories or discuss key points of text that we’re reading. Often, curriculum structures these skills but in the typical question / answer format. Using this strategy, we answer the same questions but in a way where everyone can participate instead of relying on the same kids who always raise their hands. Plus, it’s a simple break in the day. We get to dance and listen to music while engaging with our curriculum material. 

Pitfalls

Management. Most classrooms have over 20 students and one teacher. It’s impossible to try and manage a dozen conversations all at once and ensure that students are not only using the language but also answering questions in a meaningful way. This requires a lot of modeling and a clear set of expectations. I’ve seen this go very wrong in classrooms; students rush through questions, answer in fragments, goof off when they’re done, or ignore their partners. It’s important to structure practice with this strategy before delving too deep into it. My first graders can do it, so it’s worth a shot.

Scaffolds

Visuals and sentence stems will amplify Mix and Mingle. For instance, I’ve used this strategy to retell parts of a story. For each question, I included pictures of the story as well as a sentence stem for students to use if needed. If using it for a math problem, perhaps include two versions of the same problem (a more complex / less complex problem). The scaffolding opportunities are only limited to the facilitator’s imagination.

Tableau

What is it

Tableau is a theater exercise where participants freeze their bodies to perform specific scene in a pay. I was first introduced to the concept of tableau during a weekend workshop by Center for Inspired Teaching (I also wrote about it here) as a means of engaging students using their entire body. In groups, We posed as superheroes, created a car, and acted as if we were in a cafe. We transitioned from scene to scene, all in silence, while communicating what we wanted to accomplish with our bodies. It’s an exciting team building exercise, but I also saw opportunity to utilize this across content areas as well.

What’s its purpose

I’m a huge fan of TPR (total physical response), which connects movement to language learning. For the purpose of engagement, it can be used as a method of team building and community development. I used it to help students access literacy concepts. What I do is project a series of images from a story we’re studying on a screen, and students use their bodies to act out the scene with their partners. When I say, “change”, students silently switch to a different character from the scene. It’s is a simple tool that requires little to no materials that can reinforce concepts by engaging the students mind and body.

You could also use this to reinforce 1-1 correspondence in math. In science, students could act out concepts like the water cycle, planetary phenomena, weather, etc.

Pitfalls

Management is the most obvious issue here. Like with anything, expectations of this strategy should be reinforced and practiced from day one. Also, students will likely be in one another’s’ personal space. It’s crucial to emphasize safe touching and what that means before attempting tableau. Shyer, more reserved students may find this activity comfortable at first, but I’ve found that even the shyest students are more than willing to participate if they see everyone having fun!

Scaffolds

Tableau is naturally scaffolded for all learners as it can reinforce any concept. The teacher can select specific concepts for students to tableau, or each group can tableau something different based off of individual needs. You could start with simpler, more familiar concepts at first to loosen kids up so they feel less shy to participate. Images can act as a visual aid for students who may require additional time to decipher vocabulary, thus leveling the playing field by providing everyone with an access point to the content.

Gallery walks

What is it

Commonly used in high school, a Gallery Walk is a cooperative learning strategy where students walk around the classroom actively engaging with learning material of their choosing. Think of a typical art gallery with paintings; the individual walks through the gallery at their own pace, choosing what to see and what to skip, while commenting on or analyzing works of art. Apply the same concepts in the classroom to create a more student driven environment.

I use gallery walks before we dive into a new book study. I’ll print A3 sizes of some of the illustrations from the book, laminate them, and them on tables throughout the room. Students walk around the room to scan each picture, then write notices and wonderings on color coded post it notes about them. They stick their post its on the picture and, when completed, we display them in front of the class and compare student notes.

What’s its purpose

What I love most about gallery walks is that the teacher is more of a facilitator. Students choose what to engage in and ask open ended questions about the material. This could be done as a whole class, but it both takes up too much time AND you’ll likely lose the attention of disinterested students. Applying an element of choice can engage even the most reluctant learner. Oddly enough, my classroom is the quietest when we start a gallery walk. They’re so focused on writing their observations that they forget to talk?

Pitfalls

Post it notes don’t usually have writing lines, so for the younger kids being restricted to a small writing space can amount to messy handwriting. Using more student led strategies can always lead to problems if expectations aren’t clear and practiced from the start. For younger kids, I started with modeling what gallery walks looked like and didn’t look like. Also, I set a very short timer for our first attempts, so students only had 1-2 minutes of practice before we gathered back as a class to debrief.

Scaffolds

Making sure writing is accurately scaffolded is key. I often review how we write notices and wonders with proper punctuation before we begin. For beginning language learners, you could focus on vocabulary like colors, shapes, etc. and expand the sentence frames using targeted language (ex. I notice that there are / there is a ______). For those ready for more of a push, notices and wonderings could be more inferential to imply deeper understanding.

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These are my favorite strategies that I use quite frequently throughout each unit. I find that they’re flexible enough to modify based on student needs, yet also simple enough to easily embed throughout lessons. Knowing these strategies is one thing, but using them creatively and effectively requires trial and error. I hope you consider using some of these strategies as well!