A Beginner's Guide to Understanding Rigor

You asked for it--you've got it!  I just finished a short beginner's guide, which addresses why you should care about rigor, what it is, and what it looks like in the classroom.  Enjoy and share with others!

Caterpillars?

Do you see the caterpillar?

Ahhh, things are not always as they seem!  Have a good weekend. 

Are your students frustrated with the books they are reading?  Here's a few guidelines for choosing texts for your students.  Keep in mind the Common Core State Standards provide recommendations at each grade that are appropriately challenging for growth as opposed to easy reading. 

Considerations for Text Selection

Is the content of the text pertinent to my standards or objectives? Is the content of the text appropriate to the purpose of the assignment (independent reading, research, partner reading, etc.)? Is the content of the text appropriate to the age or developmental level of my students? Is the content of the text appropriately challenging for growth (not too hard, yet not too easy)? Is this the only opportunity my students will be given to read, or are they allowed choices at other times?

Valuing Depth

In our culture, we are often bombarded with the message that more is better. We can find ourselves so focused on covering material that we only skim the surface; therefore, our students often log information in their short-term memory rather than truly learning and applying it in the future.

When it comes to rigor, less is more. If we expect students to learn at a high level, we must focus on depth of understanding, not breadth of coverage.

I worked with a school district that encouraged summer reading. High school students read one book over the summer and then gave a brief summary of the book during the first week of school. As you might imagine, the quality of the presentations varied tremendously. Some students were creative and provided great detail about their books, while others stated surface information that was available from the internet.

            As an alternative, one teacher required her students to create book webs. In addition to the presentations, each student drew a web connecting their book to their classmates’ books. It was their responsibility to talk to each other and discover ways the books were related. In addition to shifting responsibility for learning to the students, the structure of the assignment forced students to move beyond basic, summary information to look for the deeper connections among the various books.

Tonya Woodell points out that rigor is applicable in all subjects. “As a beginning band teacher, the music standards would allow my students to play all grade 1 pieces. The grading scale of music is set from 1 – 6. Grade 6 music is generally played by very good high school bands and colleges. Although I could allow my students to play only grade 1 music, I expect them to be able to play grade 2 and 3 pieces. And they are able to do it! In Choir, I could allow them to simply sing ‘crowd pleasing’ songs. However, I expect my students to sing at least one foreign language piece a semester. I also expect that they sing in three-part harmony when unison or two-part would be acceptable.”

Students and Respect

Do you have a student who does not show you respect?  I come from a background in which students were taught to respect teachers.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure that's the case anymore.  Last year, my husband and I had a foster son, who had been homeless for 6 months prior to living with us.  His perspective was totally different.  He believed that, until a teacher showed him respect, he should not show respect to a teacher.  That was a real challenge for me and his teachers.  But  between us working with him at home, and the teachers understanding the issue and working with him, things were ok.  They weren't great, and they never became great except with two teachers, but they were acceptable.  How would you respond to a student who feels this way?

Unlocking Mazes and Puzzles for Students

Do your students feel like this?

Mine did.  There are a variety of ways we can help students, but one is to start with a belief that we can navigate the mazes and puzzles of life. I really like this quote from Brian Tracy:

Life is like a combination lock; your job is to find the right numbers, in the right order, so you can have anything you want.

Here's my version:
Learning is like a combination lock; with your effort and the help of your teacher, you can find the right numbers, in the right order, so you can learn anything!

The Fruits of Your Work

In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work.  It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.  ~Jacques Barzun