Circus

There's only two types of people in the world
The one's the entertain and the ones that observe
Well, I'm a put-on-a-show kind of girl
-Britney Spears

I'm pretty sure quoting Britney Spears actually takes me back a few cool points, but I heard these first few line of the song this morning and it completely reminded me of the way that I run my classroom.

Listening (and hearing) occurs in only a few ways. People listen most closely to things that they actually want to hear. If you are giving your students information that they don't want to hear, you have to present it in a way that they want to hear it.

Even if you are not a gregarious and outgoing person by nature, you need to find ways of engaging your students. There are always visual presentations and media that can be incorporated, but I find that creating a bright and vibrant presence is always most effective. When you are running classroom, you are running a circus. There are different acts and you are most definitely the ringleader.

I wrote a while back about how I wanted the students to remember to incorporate details in their expository writing. I stood up in front of the class and acted out all of their detailed instructions on how to make a PBJ sandwich exactly as they said them and looked ridiculous as I tried to balance a million different fake utensils and ingredients (because they never told me to put anything down). It was hilarious and silly but every single time they show me their work and I ask them about the peanut butter and jelly my students know to go back and add details!

I probably could have entitled this post "visual learners" and omitted the Britney altogether, but you get the idea.