Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers!
Please note: I’m dropping the hyphen in Attention-ology to simplify the name. Google Attentionology blog anytime and you’ll find my posts. Thanks for visiting. Send comments!
Now to the headline: table for learning…Are new school supplies already on display where you live? Aisles of student book bags, notebooks, paper, crayons, ready-to-sharpen-pencils and other gear are a colorful reminder (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) that the 2012-13 traditional school year starts soon.
Passing by those school supplies to pick up paper goods for an August family picnic, another attentionology trick clicked in my mind…
Set new tables for learning in student learning spaces.
Use paper goods to surprise students at the start of a new semester by setting individual tables for learning! Nothing fancy needed, as you see in my blog pic here.
Five starter steps:
1. Buy (or scrap together) paper plates, cups, napkins, and plastic utensils, one set per student.
2. Make or use already-made student name tags to set at each “learning table.”
NOTE: The table items don’t have to match. Kids will enjoy a hodge-podge of items. The focus is on how each table item connects with learning. Read on.
3. Buy (or recycle) paper placemats, one per student. Optional: Ask a local restaurant to donate paper placemats for your educational project.
4. Arrange for an assistant (teacher or volunteer parent) to help you “set the tables” after school on the day before you plan to surprise the kids with this attention-getting trick.
5. On “trick” day post a sign on an easel near your classroom door that reads, WELCOME TO __________________’s (your name) CLASS-Y CAFE! Instruct the kids to find their name tags and table settings.
When your class is seated, announce that your cafe’s new tables for learning are much more than what they appear to be!
Ask students to pick up each table piece with you, one by one, and consider its (metaphoric) meaning – its connection to learning…
Placemat – represents a new study space for a new semester.
Paper Plate – stands for a serving dish, ready to receive all subjects, like items from a menu on a plate at a cafe.
Paper Cup – symbolizes drinking up knowledge. NOTE: Describe the meaning of each table item with words that are age-appropriate to your grade level. Even young children will get the basic idea.
Paper Napkin – a reminder to keep your learning space clean enough to show respect for yourself and others in the class-y cafe.
Utensils – are like basic learning tools: pencils, etc. Optional: offer more detail about each utensil. For example, you can say that the knife stands for breaking up a problem into pieces to better handle the challenge.
Open up your new table for learning discussion to allow students to offer connections they think of to make the most of this attention-getting trick. Tell the class that you want them to keep their setting pieces when you clear the tables. They can store them as you direct or take them home.
When it’s time to “eat” you have more options…serve up an edible treat to delight the kids – cookies or some “dessert” to wrap up the experience.
You can also open up a (real) pizza box and give each student a “piece” of paper pizza to put on their paper plate, like you see in my blog pic below. I’ve formatted my pizza activity sheets with instructions and a pizza shape that kids can cut out after their writing.
Serve up (paper) pizza slices at your learning tables.
Have students write down, inside the pizza piece, five personal goals for the new school semester. Explain that the goals need to connect with learning.
Setting a new table for learning offers other opportunities for teaching…
Decorate your classroom with balloons that include optimistic words related to starting something new, like a school year. WISH, the featured word in my blog pic below, has powerful meaning
Make a wish at your new learning table!
for children and adults. Other words, like LUCK, DREAM and HOPE, connect well with new beginnings, too.
Ask the class, “Does wishing, hoping, dreaming really help get good work done?”
“Do we reach our goals by just having good luck? NO! Hard work is the key,” tell your kids. Ryan Lochte, one of the (American) 2012 gold medal swimmers, conveys this message well. To paraphrase: “It wasn’t luck, or a dream, or a wish, or a hope that led me to win. I SWAM HERE!”
You may share a similar sentiment expressed by an Olympic athlete representing your country or world region.
Before you and your (older elementary-age) students “swim” into a new semester, prepare your “team” by working through a four-step process as time goes by:
STOP – Give students a “heads up” that you’ll be asking them to stop towards days’ end to allow time for a self-assessment of their learning progress.
REVIEW – Tell your class that you’ll designate time to silently think over accomplishments at week’s end. Encourage students to come up with effective review questions to use along with ones you pose.
REFLECT – Reflection is personal; I suggest leaving this open-ended during reflection-time. Encourage focused reflection on individual learning goals.
RENEW – The goal is to feel energized by self-assessments, ready for what’s ahead. Mix up renewing activities using music, art, singing, or games that fit into your teaching time and space.
Setting a new table for learning is especially effective at the outset of a new semester or school year. But, if you and your students relish this attentionology trick, use it also with seasonal themes or at New Year’s.
Remember, you don’t need to be a magician to work magic in instructional settings! Talk with you next Monday – Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers.
Look for Mid-Week Focus on Wednesday.
Barbara ♥ The Lovable Poet
