Most of us teachers, at one time or another, have found ourselves thinking, “My students couldn’t handle that,” as we considered a lesson we wanted to teach. How can we improve our confidence and our students’ skills? The answer is in combining rigor with engagement!
In this episode, Caitlin and Jessica talk about how you can add rigor to your lessons without making your students feel overwhelmed or lost. It all starts with the belief that your students will succeed! Then the planning starts from there, as you scaffold lessons and build your students’ confidence (along with your own!).
In addition to their advice, Caitlin and Jessica will offer an awesome example of a rigorous, engaging lesson they taught. Can you believe 5th and even 4th graders can succeed in a Shakespeare lesson? It’s true! Take a listen to see how your mindset can dramatically change the planning and outcome of your lessons.
Tune in now to hear:
- [01:30] Shifting our mindset: When we expect more, students will rise to the occasion!
- [03:00] Caitlin discusses her success reading Othello with her eighth graders
- [03:30] The magic that happens when teachers think of their students’ success as inevitable
- [05:20] Jessica discusses how her high expectations positively affected her son’s homeschooling success
- [08:10] An example of an engaging, rigorous lesson with Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18”
- [11:00] Challenging ourselves to raise our expectations and add engagement as we plan our lessons for next year!
- [12:10] How The Empowered ELA Teacher can help you to be the teacher you want to be, do great work, and thrive. Included in the book: lessons to help you include rigor and engagement!
- [13:45] Preview of next episode: How to organize your curriculum for maximum learning
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