I give a direction and no sooner are the words out of my mouth (and still hanging in the air like in a speech bubble in a comic strip), someone asks me "What am I supposed to do?" or "Where do I put this?" or "How many sentences do I have to write?"
You get the idea.
This is especially frustrating because we use the "Ask three then me" routine in our room. But apparently some kids want to cut right to the chase...
So I have now come up with a system to help cut down on these dreaded "repeats".
When a student asks me to repeat something, their number goes on the board and I begin making hash marks for how many times I have to repeat a direction to them.
I hope you'll head on over to Holly's blog to read about more Tried Its! I'm on my way there now!
Glad to know I'm not alone here! I posted a tip related to this same topic today. Great minds think alike!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteA Tall Drink of Water
That is awesome! I have this same problem- drives me absolutely nuts!
ReplyDeleteKristin
iTeach 1:1
Sounds like a lot of us are dealing with the same thing this year. I stopped repeating today and told one of my kids to "problem solve" because I was finished repeating myself.
ReplyDeleteHunter's Teaching Tales
Find me on Facebook
NICE! Using this for sure :)
ReplyDelete~ Kristin
thisoldartroom.blogspot.com
Yet another great idea! I have the same rule! And if I'm conferencing with a student they have to ask a neighbor or try and problem solve... this year we're having a very hard time problem solving our solutions. I'm like the guru of knowledge... haha!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Amanda
My Shoe String Life
Follow me on Bloglovin'
I love this idea. I love this idea. Sorry just in the habit of repeating everything I say!! : )
ReplyDeleteToday we really worked on me asking them what I had said and repeating the directions out loud - but I love your system - may just have to borrow it!!
Great idea! I have a broken record in my class that I point to without saying a word. They usually get the hint and scurry off to ask a fourth person. Lol!
ReplyDeleteAlison
Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'
OMG! I'm totally trying this idea! What do you have for this situation....you pass out materials or papers and they ask, "What do we do with this?" I'm just curious if there's ever been a teacher who has passed out materials to students and said, "You're on your own" or "You have to figure it out by yourself". Why can't I just get all the materials passed out and give directions before they ask? LOL! Ok, Jennifer this is your next problem to solve for your readers! haha
ReplyDeleteJoanne
Head Over Heels For Teaching
Love this. I've really been struggling with this with my kiddos this year. I always tell them just to ask someone else, but I like your idea better :)
ReplyDeleteAngie
Teaching With Class
Funny, this problem must be "in the water" these days... it is happening in CAlifornia, too!!!! I believe that most of the repeat offenders have become accustomed to doing this strategy of asking for repeated directions for years and this will help eliminate that problem!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Susan
LopezLandLearners
Oh my goodness!! I had a terrible case of this yesterday! One of my three blocks in particular are having an especially difficult time following directions. Then, as Joanne said, others want to know what we are doing next without waiting for me to explain it to everyone. I call those, "Wait and see questions" but it really gets irritating! I love your visual and have to try that. Thanks so much for sharing! :)
ReplyDelete~Holly
Fourth Grade Flipper
Such a great idea!!!!! I love it! I might even try that for middle school students. They still can't grasp the concept of "ask three before me"
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm a new follower! I blog over at http://savingsocialstudies.blogspot.com
Niiiiiiiice! I really, really like this...it's a HORRIBLE problem, and I usually handle it by saying, "Ask someone who listened." But THIS is such a great visual. I may be trying this soon. Thanks! : )
ReplyDeleteAli
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