Working
cooperatively on a rainy day
The morning looked
like rain, but the roads were still dry.
Around 9.00 the rain
started, and as usual the water started to leak just in front of
our Teachers' Room. As usual Mrs Elvira, our best janitor, tried
to avoid troubles and especially damages to the people, putting
rags and buckets under the water leaking from the roof
At the time I didn't
notice it, but in the ground-floor toilets the water was not simply
leaking, but almost flooding from the first floor and from the
windows.
I had two hours' work
with one of my freshmen classes. At home they had to read
individually the short story Il rampollo, by Silvina
Ocampo; in the classroom we were supposed to get an in-depth
understanding of the story.
Now 3 things seem to be very difficult for my students: to use the text as Galileo used the experiment, in order to validate and prove the solidity of the information they have gathered and registered while reading the short story; 1)to become positive about a) the information they intend to use and b) the use of this information in their report of the story; 2)to understand all the main events of the story and 3) also the connections among them.
At first we worked in pairs, looking for all the characters and their roles in the story, just to make sure that the students had correctly registered all the information about them. We filled in table 1 with the missing information (reference material 1).
Now 3 things seem to be very difficult for my students: to use the text as Galileo used the experiment, in order to validate and prove the solidity of the information they have gathered and registered while reading the short story; 1)to become positive about a) the information they intend to use and b) the use of this information in their report of the story; 2)to understand all the main events of the story and 3) also the connections among them.
At first we worked in pairs, looking for all the characters and their roles in the story, just to make sure that the students had correctly registered all the information about them. We filled in table 1 with the missing information (reference material 1).
Later we worked to register all the main events of the story, looking for the cause-effect connections between them. In order to achieve that goal I prepared these cards (reference material 2); each of them had one of the main events of the story written on it. After cutting the sheet with the cards and mixing them randomly, the students, working in pairs, had to reconstruct together the structure of the story.
They had to work
following some rules:
1) share the cards among them, having each the same number of cards;
2) put their cards on the table so that each of them could see at the same time his cards and the ones of the mate;
3) number 1 had to put a card in the center of the table, choosing the one that is nearest to the beginning or the end of the story;
4) number 2 had to put a card in the center of the table, choosing the one nearest to the card that number 1 had put in the center of the table;
5) in case of disagreement by number 1, number 1 has to motivate his choice checking in the text and using the text itself to explain his choice (as an 'arbitrator'), and the two had to negotiate until they reached an agreement;
6) number 1 puts another card in the center of the table, trying to eliminate the gap between the two cards in the center of the table or trying to develop the story after or before the second card on the table;
7) in case of disagreement by number 2, number 2 has to motivate his choice checking with the text and using the text itself to justify his choice, and the two had to negotiate until they reached an agreement;
8) number 2 puts another card in the center of the table, trying to eliminate the gap between the two cards in the center of the table or trying to develop the story after the second card put on the table.
The things go on in this way until the students complete the structure of events that make the story complete.
1) share the cards among them, having each the same number of cards;
2) put their cards on the table so that each of them could see at the same time his cards and the ones of the mate;
3) number 1 had to put a card in the center of the table, choosing the one that is nearest to the beginning or the end of the story;
4) number 2 had to put a card in the center of the table, choosing the one nearest to the card that number 1 had put in the center of the table;
5) in case of disagreement by number 1, number 1 has to motivate his choice checking in the text and using the text itself to explain his choice (as an 'arbitrator'), and the two had to negotiate until they reached an agreement;
6) number 1 puts another card in the center of the table, trying to eliminate the gap between the two cards in the center of the table or trying to develop the story after or before the second card on the table;
7) in case of disagreement by number 2, number 2 has to motivate his choice checking with the text and using the text itself to justify his choice, and the two had to negotiate until they reached an agreement;
8) number 2 puts another card in the center of the table, trying to eliminate the gap between the two cards in the center of the table or trying to develop the story after the second card put on the table.
The things go on in this way until the students complete the structure of events that make the story complete.
The basic goals are
the following: as regards study skills, getting the habit of using
the text in a scientific way, as a proof of every choice one makes;
as for social skills, not to touch the card of the mate until they
are in the center of the table, make suggestions only by words,
and, most important, to play not to create difficulties to the mate
but to help him so that both students can finish fast and
correctly.
After the pair work,
every pair check their solution with another pair.
If you read the cards, you can see that they all together also make a kind of summary. To train the students to use the lowest number of words and make the report as short as they can, they have to eliminate every word they can and reformulate the contents of two or more cards in a single sentence. So they return in pairs and alternatively try to cut words and reformulate sentences having fewer words.
While they were doing this I couldn't avoid going to the toilet (after all even Bruce Springsteen had to do the same during a concert and nobody was shocked), and after all the toilets' door is just next to the classroom door. But it was midday and the toilet door was closed:my school has had fewer janitors than needed since 1980, now they are much fewer than ever. So, if they want to clean the school, they have to start much before the school hours are finished. Besides, if the roof was simply leaking elsewhere, in the bathrooms of the ground floor water was flooding badly.
If you read the cards, you can see that they all together also make a kind of summary. To train the students to use the lowest number of words and make the report as short as they can, they have to eliminate every word they can and reformulate the contents of two or more cards in a single sentence. So they return in pairs and alternatively try to cut words and reformulate sentences having fewer words.
While they were doing this I couldn't avoid going to the toilet (after all even Bruce Springsteen had to do the same during a concert and nobody was shocked), and after all the toilets' door is just next to the classroom door. But it was midday and the toilet door was closed:my school has had fewer janitors than needed since 1980, now they are much fewer than ever. So, if they want to clean the school, they have to start much before the school hours are finished. Besides, if the roof was simply leaking elsewhere, in the bathrooms of the ground floor water was flooding badly.
Result: I had to rush
for the stairs to the first floor, grab the key of the teachers'
toilet in the teachers' room, and run there.
In the meantime the
students were left alone in the classroom, always a bad risk due to
the Italian school legislation. While rushing back from the
teachers' room, I slipped on the wet floor and bumped into a
bucket. The water spilled out and my jeans became completely
wet.
I saw the next step
coming before I entered the classroom.
When my students
behave as children, which in the first class (9th grade) happens
very often, I used to tell them: "Let's act as women and men. Or do
I have to say that I have to teach you even to go to the
bathroom?"
When them saw my wet
jeans, here it came: "Prof, maybe we have to teach you how to use
the bathroom".
I sadly smiled and
said: "Let's hope we won't have too many rainy days in the next
months".
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