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Scaffolding lessons is about your planning. It’s about:
Having an end goal in mind
Breaking that goal into manageable and logically sequenced steps.
I talk about breaking things down, but really, I should say ‘building on’. Apart from the more positive connotation of ‘building on’ this latter definition is more accurate in describing the mastering of one skill before moving on (up!) to master the next stage.
Analogies:
Driving – students must learn the ‘feel’ of steering and how to work the brake and accelerator first…okay, maybe putting on their seatbelt first??
Martial arts – basic balance or posture first perhaps, then another million steps to reach your black belt.
Swimming – learning to crouch and fall into the pool as stage one of becoming an Olympic high diver (perhaps learning to swim should be stage one, actually!)
The italics in the examples above, while given in jest, show how the planning of these steps is vital. Have you missed a step? Are you trying to get students to high dive before they can swim? To run before they can walk?
The careful planning of steps is vital!
Scaffold like a champ - 5 Strategies:
ONE: Have a clear goal.
What specifically is it that you want students to learn? To study a novel is not a goal. To be able to describe and explain key aspects of the main character in our novel is.
TWO: Break it down – Define your steps.
One skill should build on to the next. Map this out with a bullet pointed chart. Empathise with your students (have a struggler in mind). Be prepared to swap things around as you rethink sequence. Be prepared to slot extra things in or take parts out that are a little off piste. Plan it out and get it right BEFORE you start teaching towards that goal. 'That'll do' leads to some serious 'AAAHHH BUGGER!' moments when you realise you should've taught students ... before you took them through...that morning. There'll still be those moments (trust me!) but at least try to nip trouble in the bud beforehand!
THREE: Watch your language
Are you asking students to find evidence or examples? Do they understand that evidence/examples can include quotations or descriptions of something from the text? Personal responses: am I going to ask students to discuss ideas or their thoughts? If I ask them to discuss ideas, might they confuse this with ideas from the novel. Could I make it clear first that there are their ideas and the author’s ideas? Am I going to use identify or find, or am I going to acknowledge that these mean the same thing and that we’ll be using them both? Pick your words carefully and be consistent.
FOUR: Signposting
How will you show your students that you’re moving on from the last skill (step) and onto the next. You could signpost this with:
A new day, a new WALT at the top of your whiteboard (We are learning to…)
The announcement of a new topic, and perhaps a whakataukī or karakia to acknowledge this new stage (stage...step – see how I’m not being a good role model here by mixing up my vocabulary?!)
On your slideshow or student resource – a title slide or large font in a black-edged text box. Be consistent with styling for every new step so that students can see (literally see) this is a new step – the next step.
Number your steps. That would help!
Colour your slides – a different colour for each step.
Show it’s the end of this step by summarising with an infographic and giving students an activity to prove they’ve mastered that next step. That brings me to my final point...
FIVE: Check that step has been mastered before moving on
Yes, this is formative assessment. A couple of questions, a wee fill in the gaps activity, representing what they've learned in a flow chart, giving that stage a go with an example you've prepared earlier - just wee things though. Keep it real - manageable - sustainable! Even something you can make up on the spot (OMG, did I just admit to that?). This activity shows you how well your students are working toward achieving that final goal. There is no point in doing this if you don’t check their work though! Keep it simple, have a chat to the two or three students who don’t seem to have ‘got it’ so that they can move on to the next step with the rest of the class without feeling wobbly. Wobblies mean disengagement. Disengagement means failure (yes, the ‘f’ word). Nip issues in the bud at the end of each step.
Enjoy your planning!
