The students at MPLS celebrated GOAL SETTING by having each student look at their areas of needed improvement and setting reasonable goals for improvement.  Strategies were established for healthy means of establishing these goals.  Reinforcement techniques were reviewed for students to encourage each other, especially when hurdles were encountered.

Objective:

Students will be able to state the LAWS of active learning
and self-monitor their progress in these areas.

Materials:

Active Learning: LAWS poster
Active Learning: Recording Sheet

Procedure:

1. Introduce that you will be discussing active learning. Ask the students why they are in school. When the students have finished responding, highlight the idea that they are in school to learn. Research says that in order to learn there are some things that you have to do:

Look
Ask and Answer Questions
Work Done
Set Goals (for younger students this could be changed to
                 Stay in Seat, Say nice things, Stop silly behaviors)

Tell the students that you will further explain each of the LAWS of active learning, and the students will be self-monitoring their progress throughout the lesson. Distribute the Active Learning Recording Sheets.



2. Begin with Look. Explain that in our schools looking at who is speaking conveys that you are listening and interested in what the speaker is saying. Ask for a volunteer to come up with you. Role play a situation where they are talking to you about what they did the night before. At first don't look at the student when they are speaking. Stop and ask them how it made them feel.
   Then have them start talking again but this time look at them. Stop and again ask them how it made them feel.

Explain to the students that they will be tallying how they do at looking at who is speaking. Remind them that you may not always be the person speaking; it could be a peer. Cue them throughout the lesson with, "Whoever is looking make a tally mark on the recording sheet on the line after Looking." Also explain that they are not trying to see who can get the most tally marks. It is an individual self-monitoring sheet. You are trying to make sure that you catch yourself looking.

*(Be sensitive to the students whose culture encourages them not to look at who is speaking. Also, don't be concerned if some students mark down that they were looking when they weren't. Every time they make a tally mark they are reminded about what they should be doing.) 

3. Next move on to Ask and Answer Questions. Ask the students why they should ask questions. (Highlight responses like: to make sure you're doing the work correctly, so you can learn, so you don't have to redo the work.)

Then discuss why you should answer questions. (Highlight responses like: so you can be an active part of the class, so you don't fall asleep mentally or physically, so others can learn from your answer, so teacher know what you're thinking.)

Add Asking and Answering Questions to the tally marks. Every time the students raise their hand to ask or answer a question they should record a tally mark. They should put a tally mark down whether or not they are called on because it's not always possible to call on everyone.

4. Next skip to Set Goals which is a prerequisite to Work Done. Give examples of goals you have set in your life (educational, sports, family, daily living). Make sure to include short and long term goals. Ask the students what goals they have set in their lives.

Show the students the lines after the Set Goals on their recording sheets. This is where they will record their daily goals in school. 

*(Don't forget to keep cueing the students to tally looking and asking and answering questions.)

5. Finally discuss Work Done. Ask the students what happens if they get their work done (learn, feel good inside, get to do a preferred activity). Ask the students what happens if they don't get their work done (don't learn, don't feel good inside, have to do it at recess/after school/at home, miss out on something fun).

Explain that after the students have completed their work they can put an X in the box after Work Done on their recording sheets.

6. Conclude the lesson by asking the students to repeat the LAWS of active learning aloud. Then have them turn over their recording sheets and write down the LAWS.
Extension:

Keep using the recording sheets in daily classes to generalize the active learning process.