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Flipped Reading Instruction, Part II

7/14/2012

5 Comments

 
In the last post, I talked about Guiding Principles for flipped reading instruction.  This is now two posts because someone...who will remain nameless...told me that it was too much for one post (he's right, of course.  I just spiral out of control when I'm excited about an idea. Or fifty).

Today, I'll deal with the last Guiding Principle, particularly as it applies to shorter works (GP 3):

4. Flipping reading has to be about process and skill rather than content

For my Essay and Exposition class (an 11th/12th grade English semester-long elective):
  • Units are roughly a week, but part of a larger sequence, planned using Understanding By Design, and incorporating my adaptation of Ramsay Musallam's Explore Flip Apply structure:
            Explore Flip Apply Explore Apply Assess

More on that in a minute.

  • Students will be about 75% self-paced. Monday will be the one day that is rarely/never self-paced.  
  • We will read a short text together on Monday - the class focus is on essays and creative non-fiction.  This includes selections from Essay Connections, The Orwell Reader and The Blair Reader, as well as Me Talk Pretty One Day.  Because I realise that is VERY different from what most people are teaching in US English classes, I've done my example here with two poems, which at least are easy to modify for your own context.
  • After reading together and assessing basic comprehension, students will either work alone or in groups to look at theme/structure/style/whatever the focus is.  This will usually take the form of inquiry.  
    • Sample Inquiry/Explore Questions (again, these are 11th-12th grade level, but could be adapted for lower levels):
    • What common structures can you find in the language in the text? 
      • skill: analyse impact of author's choices on text, analyse impact of word choice on text, CCS 11.3-11.4
      • Example with one text: What patterns can you find in the LANGUAGE (i.e. only the explicit/literal words in the poem, not the inferences you might make) in "Red Dust"?  
      • Example with two texts: What patterns in the language are found in both "Red Dust" and "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"?
    • How is the idea of (x theme) developed in the text?  
      • skill: determine theme and trace development, CCS 11.2
      • Example with one text: What explicit words and implicit ideas/inferences in Philip Levine's poem "Red Dust" would lead you to believe that the author is writing about sorrow?
      • Example with two texts: What explicit words and implicit ideas/inferences in "Red Dust" and "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" can you find?  What common theme can you draw from those patterns?
    • Compare (x text) to (y text).  What do you notice about (x) pattern in the text?  
      • skill: analyse author's choices and development of theme in two texts, CSS 11.2-4
      • Example (with two texts, obviously): What do you notice about the patterns related to mortality in "Red Dust" and "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"?  What is similar?  What is different?  Which (in your opinion) delivers the theme/impression most effectively?
    • What [figurative language/literary device/poetic meter/etc.] is used in the text?  What patterns do you notice?  What inferences can you make about the text based on those patterns? 
      • skill: determine meaning of words and how word choice impacts the text/theme, CSS 11.4
      • Example: Levine uses intense juxtaposition throughout the poem "Red Dust" - what controlling impression does that create?  What word patterns help you understand the controlling impression?
    • What personal experience have you had that you can relate to this text?  Explain the connection and how it relates to the text using specific examples of the language in the text that made you think of the connection. 
      • skill: cite textual evidence to support a claim, CSS 11.1
After they read and complete the inquiry task, we will discuss those ideas in class.  This may bleed into Tuesday (or homework for Monday night), depending on the length of the text.
  • From there, students will be self paced, using roughly this format:
    • Skill: Video on technique/theme/style analysis (flip)
    • Practice Skill: Complete task that builds skills with a similar text (apply)
    • Process-Teacher Model: Video on choice of texts with guiding questions (explore)
    • Practice Process: Analyse text of choice (apply)
    • Process-Student Model: Write/do project to show mastery (assess)
    • Work on WBP project, either as homework during the week or with left-over class time (explore/flip/apply)

I didn't want to break up the flow of that list, so here are some additional details about those steps:

The work will be completed in order, but it can be done in class or at home, as the kids find easiest/most productive for them.  They do have to be working during class time, but not requiring the videos for homework makes it more self-paced and asynchronous.  There will be a "Watch" station so they can view the videos during class.  

There is potential that some students can skip the skill/practice steps if they can demonstrate mastery.  No point in making them build a skill they've mastered, right?  In that case, the assess phase would have to show mastery AND excellence, since they are now challenging themselves beyond basic mastery.  The will probably end up also having masses of time to work on WBP, which is okay with me.

I'm using these loose definitions for the skill/practice/process terms:
[note: these are VERY under-construction.  Feedback appreciated]

Skill: anything that builds a necessary reading, writing or thinking skill.  Usually modelled explicitly in a video.

Practice Skill/Process: anything that allows a student to work on the skill or process.  It will usually be a reading assignment, a conversation, or a piece of writing.  This is the skill-building stage that allows students to move towards mastery.  This is the step I will be most directly involved in during class time.  I will be working with students individually or in small groups.

Process-TM: these are videos that I'll make with Andrew Thomasson where we model the writing process, a reading strategy, or have a reflective conversation.  Whatever process we model, students will be expected to show mastery of in the Process-SM phase.  If we show a reflective conversation, they will be expected to have a reflective conversation.  If we show writing, they'll be expected to write.  Etc.  

In this example, we will talk about the three texts as a preview and walk through the beginning of each text, showing the beginning of the process we expect them to finish (like marking up figurative language and analysing the impact on tone).  This will evolve as we start trying it [as of now, we've only hazily talked about it and this is probably the most complete description he's read at this point...so Andrew, if you have feedback or think this is a stupid idea, we can/will talk about it more...].

Process-SM: this step is where the students use the exact same process Andrew and I modelled in the Process-TM to show that they've mastered the process AND skill taught that week.  So in the unit I've outlined above, students would have to film themselves (alone or in a team) walking through the process we modelled on a brand new text, or they could mark up the text in writing or in a VoiceThread.  That would be assessed, and if students need to go back to build mastery, they will repeat the Skill/Practice steps with more explicit guidance from me.


*****


This is overly reductive, but using that model means that the content you use (i.e. what you read/watch/talk about) doesn't matter NEARLY as much as the process and skills you're building.  You can read a Cornflakes box and make it work in this format if you're clever enough.

I also know that I tend towards overly complicated systems and structures.  It always gets more simple as I bounce it around with Andrew and the rest of the Cheesebucket Posse.
5 Comments
Rachel
7/14/2012 01:21:10 pm

I've been stalking (in a non-threatening way) you and other ELA flippers for a few weeks as I develop what it means to flip my classroom (7th grade humanities - heading into my 2nd year of teaching). I've got tons of resources compiled and am just now starting to piece things together for how it will look in my classroom. I really jive with this process that you have developed and have a few questions...
1) Can you be more explicit on the difference between skills and processes? I think I know what you mean, but am a little confused about the "processes" side of things. It seems like, for example, a culminating response to lit essay using the skill practiced in the beginning of the week? In this case, the process-TM would be about the writing process. Also, this "process" video could be used multiple times throughout the year?
2) What is reflective conversation, as mentioned in the "process" piece.
3) Do you find that your lower performing students have time to get to and complete the "Process- Student Model" each week?

Reply
Cheryl Morris (admin) link
7/14/2012 02:11:55 pm

Hi! Glad you commented. It's funny because I just finished a shoot with Andrew where we address basically all of these questions. It will take a few days to finish the editing, but I hope it should help you as you conceptualise how to make this work for your classes.

The way I'm using language here is:
skill - definable, measurable step, like identifying a theme
process - how you talk, read or write about themes

There will be overarching processes (like writing a lit analysis essay) that cover lots of skills (determining theme, finding examples of theme, providing objective summary of text, etc.) within a single unit. So let's say the unit is research papers (since I have process videos nearly complete for that).

Within the four week "research paper process" arc, the skills could be anything from "write a thesis" to "find evidence that supports your thesis" etc. But the process videos are meant to help walk students through the HOW, not give them the WHAT. Content is the WHAT, process is the HOW. Skills are the tools you need to get to demonstrate. Again, this will become clearer when our video is done.

2. Reflective conversation is about active listening, responding using evidence rather than just opinion and being thoughtful in your response. I'm basically talking about Socratic Seminar, only on a smaller scale.

3. The student model tasks are on-going, so if a student falls behind, there is consolidation that happens. If there are skill steps that can be condensed so they get more practice, I'll make that judgement on a case-by-case basis. What I've found is that I can manage 99% of the learners in my class by giving them clear deadlines and asking them to make use of time at home if they fall behind. If a student is genuinely working full-tilt in class, I'll often shorten the assignment to the bare minimum for them to show mastery (if they were supposed to write a page, I take 1/2 a page or part of a paragraph, or whatever is reasonable and demonstrates the skills.

This is all largely conceptual right now. Andrew and I will make our next video about the practical application of all of this. And he'll probably write it up in a far less confusing way than I have because that's just what he does naturally.

If I didn't answer your question(s), please ask follow-up questions! It's late and I've been talking educational theory with Karl and Andrew for hours so I may be missing something obvious.

And most of all, thanks for commenting and reading! I'm excited there are more middle school English flippers in the works. Troy will be really excited!

Reply
Rachel Sparks
7/14/2012 02:43:51 pm

Thank you, that helps a lot... I was thinking how would a student write the typical 5 paragraph essay by the end of the week?!?! Now I see that is not AT ALL what you are saying.

As for lower performing students, being that they are not writing a whole essay in one week... it seems way more do-able! and how you explained the way this works in the classroom is exactly why I want to have a flipped class. I work in downtown LA with many ELL students / students who are 3-4 grade levels behind, so my students desperately need more work time / time with me in the classroom to apply skills! I'm super stoked and super nervous at the same time. Shout out to you and all the others who are making this process easier for me.
Really looking forward to the video!

Reply
Nicole Cremeens link
7/14/2012 03:24:41 pm

I have been following your work as of late and you are an inspiration to wannabe ELA flippers. A lot of what you do is too complex for my 7th/8th grade students, but it gives me ideas that I can adapt for my students. You are the main driving force behind my desire to flip my classroom. Thanks for being so awesome!

Reply
David Collins link
10/10/2023 03:40:15 pm

Thiis was great to read

Reply



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    I'm a math teacher masquerading as an English teacher. I write about my classroom, technology, and life. I write in British English from the Charlotte, NC area.

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