competence and achievement; opportunities for self-definition; creative expression; physical activity; positive social interactions with adults and peers; structure and clear limits; and meaningful participation in family, school, and community.
physical movement. It’s not enough for tweens to move between classes every 50 minutes (or every 80 minutes on a block schedule)
learn to function as members of a civilized society
Strategy 2: Treat Academic Struggle as Strength
show students that not everyone starts at the same point along the learning continuum or learns in the same way.
make academic struggle virtuous.
model asking difficult questions to which we don’t know the answers, and we publicly demonstrate our journey to answer those questions.
affirm positive risk taking
explore their undeveloped skills without fear of grade repercussions
we frequently help students see the growth they’ve made over time.
Strategy 3: Provide Multiple Pathways to Standards
We don’t limit students’ exposure to sophisticated thinking because they haven’t yet mastered the basics
invite individual students to acquire, process, and demonstrate knowledge in ways different from the majority of the class if that’s what they need to become proficient.
can teach a global lesson on a sophisticated concept for 15 minutes, and then allow students to process the information in groups tiered for different levels of readiness.
present an anchor activity for the whole class to do while we pull out subgroups for minilessons on basic or advanced material.
we should never let the test format get in the way of a student’s ability to reveal what he or she knows and is able to do
In differentiated classes, grading focuses on clear and consistent evidence of mastery, not on the medium through which the student demonstrates that mastery.
may give students five different choices for showing what they know
grade all the projects using a common scoring rubric that contains the universal standards for which we’re holding students accountable
Of course, if the test format is the assessment, we don’t allow students to opt for something else. For example, when we ask students to write a well-crafted persuasive essay, they can’t instead choose to write a persuasive dialogue or create a poster. Even then, however, we can differentiate the pace of instruction and be flexible about the time required for student mastery.
llow tweens to redo work and assessments until they master the content, and we give them full credit for doing so
Our job is to teach students the material, not to document how they’ve failed.
Strategy 4: Give Formative Feedback
provide frequent formative feedback
Tween learning tends to be more multilayered and episodic than linear;
helping them compare what they did with what they were supposed to have done
provide that feedback promptly.
short assignments
When we formally assess student writing, we focus on just one or two areas so that students can assimilate our feedback.
exit card
3-2-1 exit card format can yield rich information (Wormeli, 2005)
Strategy 5: Dare to Be Unconventional
transcend convention
substance and novelty
Shake me out of my self-absorption” age, being unconventional is key.