Setting Sail

Last year in my 7th grade ELA classroom, my partner teacher and I started to utilize both of our rooms for different types of learning: collaborative and independent.  Students were able to schedule their time on what we called their plan.Throughout their plan, they schedule their mini-lesson, their independent reading, and then their choice of reading or writing activities.  One of the earliest iterations looked like this:








This year, we added a team member to form Humanities (reading, writing, and social studies.)  The addition of another team member meant the addition of another room.  We have The Seminar (mini-lessons), The Forum (collaborative work), and The Library (independent work.)  Our plans, of course, changed again:






To some, the plan was a beautiful thing: necessary and helpful.  To others, the plan was a burden: inconvenient and cumbersome.  My team and I tried to weigh the reasons why students would not want to utilize this indispensable tool that we had given our students! So, we took a survey.  The overwhelming response was that, for some, the plan was too well...overwhelming.

So that brings us to Setting Sail into Spring.  We decided to adopt a bit of a nautical theme and make differentiated plans.

The Sailor (stay the course) - Given what you need to do that day, but you choose the order

The Navigator (find your path) - Given some options plus optional extension activities
.

The Explorer (broaden your horizons) - ALL OF THE THINGS and then pursue a passion project when you complete the plan.

We are now in Week 2 of our new plans, and I feel we have been able to catch those reluctant and resentful planners. Our next iteration? How to take it digital.