Never Boring

I am often asked the question: “Don’t you get bored doing the same thing every year?”  My answer is, “No,” because I don’t do the same thing every year.  On a school schedule, it may look the same, but within the walls of room A-7, things are quite different from year to year.  The classes—filled with different students—make things new each year.

Take, for example, a situation that occurred in my 6th grade class in 2022-23.  As we studied fairy tales, the subject of “Jack and the Beanstalk” came up.  One of my students said, “You can’t just plant a bean and expect something to grow.”  This resulted in a lot of talk.  The next day, I came to class armed with a package of small paper cups, potting soil, and a bag of lima beans. 

Our class period became a lesson in biology…or botany…as we planted beans.  Once my students planted a bean or two in paper cups labeled with their names, we placed the dirt-filled cups near a window.  Then, we waited.  But not for long.

Plants did grow.  Our “doubter” realized that you can, in fact, plant a bean and expect something to grow.  Some of these plants grew quite tall.  It was fun.

This year, 2023-24, my 6th grade students studied fairy tales.  “Jack and the Beanstalk” did not even enter our conversation.  So, we did not plant beans.  There was no reason to.

Conversely, last year in that same bean-planting 6th grade class, we studied mysteries.  The first mystery story we read together was really an explanation of a part of the water cycle.  An ice cube melted and became water.  Tiny field mice thought it was a jewel that was stolen.  After reading the story and looking at clues, suspects, alibis, evidence, and the solution, we talked about other science concepts that might be considered mysterious.  It was a good conversation.  And that was that.

This year, after reading the same story, my 6th grade classes became very interested in other science concepts that might become mystery stories.  In fact, they began thinking about new science mystery stories right then.  They worked with partners to create lists of clues, and as we guessed their science concepts, they created characters and suspects.  Since they had already begun the process, I ran with it.  These science mystery stories went through the writing process, with at least four read-alouds to edit and fine-tune the writing.  There were stories about gravity, photosynthesis, erosion, seeds becoming plants, the rotation of the earth, and more.  After grading the stories, I printed new clean copies.  I asked my students to place their stories into the correct science teacher bins.  Then, we delivered hard copies of these stories to each of the 6th grade science teachers.  What started as an in-class discussion turned into a cross-curricular activity.  The science teachers planned to use the stories as a part of their up-coming units of study.

Same stories.  Same units, for the most part.  Very different activities and assignments.  I just received my proposed schedule for the 2024-25 school year.  I will be teaching another 6th grade class.  Will these new students make what we do come alive for them?  I hope so.  Will it be the same as the current year?  Last year?  Definitely not. 

If you find yourself bored with the units you teach, maybe it is time to let the students take the lead.  Their interests, their questions, their personalities will make things new each year.  I am not suggesting that you give them a blank slate and ask, “What do you want to learn?”  I am suggesting that you keep what works, and that you add what makes sense for this group, this year, this unit.  This may cause you to create a new rubric—perhaps with your students.  It may require unusual supplies, like potting soil and beans.  It may mean that you cannot simply move documents and rubrics from one year to the next, because they may no longer be relevant.  And that is exciting.  It will give the class—and you—energy.