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I've been thinking a lot about how to get over the issues highlighted in the image below.
After just four weeks, if you're massing, students are performing at a level less than half of what they were.
So... how can I get spacing right?
After just four weeks, if you're massing, students are performing at a level less than half of what they were.
So... how can I get spacing right?
I've started planning differently to how I used to. I'll use 'Fractions' as an example, with all of my lessons in the same .notebook file rather than individual objectives. This helps me to space out ideas and concepts in the exercises I set. 'Fractions' has 140 slides.
I've previously shared this, as our SOL, and I'm going to start with 'Addition and Subtraction of Fractions'. This starts in Unit 3 for us, with the same denominators.
My teaching is as it has been. Work with pictorial representations, move to abstract and have students 'do'. Teach, do, teach do. Once I'm happy with their response, that they've understood what was taught, we go into a main exercise. This is the bit that I've changed the most.
My main exercises take from all objectives studied to this point - not just what we're doing in that lesson as I was trained to, and how textbooks work.
The SOL then looks at using fractions in reverse, to find original values, and this is the main exercise.
We're then looking at converting between mixed numbers and top-heavy fractions.
Then we're writing fractions in a common denominator before comparing fractions, with this main activity:
The next fractions objective is addition and subtraction of fractions with different denominators, with a main activity:
This continues throughout - dropping things which students should now be fluent with to test them on something (relatively) new.
Students also see the ideas alongside other topics within starter activities and mixed homework assignments, and I've also tried to be mindful of the image in the next tweet.
Why bother spending 20 minutes adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator when students can show proficiency within 5 minutes, using the gained time to give time over to these 'mixed' activities.
As an addition to this thread, I've uploaded a template which I used for medium term planning. It's based on a 2-week timetable, but can be amended. Complete the timetable and your lessons will autofill down the sheet. https://www.dropbox.com/s/fg4mdvgr12x7rcl/Spacing.xlsx?dl=0
I fill in the 'intended learning' column and return to the planner after each lesson to fill in 'completed learning', amending 'intended learning' as necessary.
Whatever is added to 'completed learning' is added to recap 1-4 at intervals of 1 day, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days (I think!). When coming to plan a lesson, I look at what recap is needed and plan a mixed starter from these, as well as setting mixed homeworks based on this.
To keep track, I fill each cell that I've covered as recap in a different colour, and a different colour again for homeworks.
It's not perfect, but it's a way to manage the spacing.
It's not perfect, but it's a way to manage the spacing.
