Once word got out that we were doing something unusual in my K-2 classroom, we began to have visitors frequently. They were usually other teachers, who came mainly to observe the children working during our Writing Work Period. This period ran about 90 minutes every morning. Most years we had around 28 children and one or two aides with us during that time. (The district provided one. And one was from the federally funded, Migrant Education program, as half my students were the children of migrant farm workers and came in not speaking English. She was with us only during that work period.)
It looked and felt a lot like a workshop. We had two rules: First was not to disturb anyone else’s work — and that covered any unacceptable behavior. The other was that a child must have their work checked by me by the end of the period. So the children would be working with an adult or cross-age tutor that I had recruited from the upper elementary grades. The rest were either working on their Steps activity — talking, watching someone else working. Those whose work I already had checked were working with another activity from the shelving that surrounded the work area. (We didn’t have assigned seats.)
The most common reaction from visitors during this time how impressed they were to see the children working with such a sense of purpose and order. It t did look much like an adult workshop, and it hadn’t happened by chance. Aside from the children’s interest in the work itself, the main reason was the Montessori-inspired, Silent Demonstration I learned from watching the directress of my own Montessori preschool years ago.
For I used this technique to show the children how to handle virtually every new activity and set of materials or equipment I brought into the classroom. Having the children watch these demonstrations and practice them accomplished three things: It created a smooth-running classroom environment, it reduced wear and tear on the materials, and it brought a sense of order to the child. (Montessori emphasized that creating this sense of order was very important, very valuable for the child.)
So time spent on preparing for, practicing and giving Silent Demonstrations had paid huge dividends from then on.
Groupings for a Silent Demonstration
I gave virtually all silent demonstrations on the rug, to the entire class. Except for those directly related to Key Words, which were done at the beginning of the year, in groups of four at my table. Or very occasionally, a math game, such as Concentration, would need to be demonstrated a second time for the two children newly interested in playing it. I would already have demonstrated it to the the entire group. So when two other children grew interested in it, I had a child who’d already played it, show them how. (Some math games were things a young child had to “grow into,” so that’s when I’d have an older child show them. This is just one of the many advantages to a multi-age classroom.)
The first lesson of the school year would usually be how to use the thin, felt-tipped, pens and writing/drawing paper. The children’s used good quality, colored pens or pencils to draw. I chose them because most children wouldn’t have them at home, so they were much more intriguing than crayons.
Since every child would be using these, this demonstration was in the total group setting. So I’ll use it as an example here.
Preparing for a Silent Demonstration
I took some time the afternoon before I was going to introduce something new — planning and practicing exactly how I wanted them to be placed and how the children were to handle them.
I can’t emphasize enough just how important this rehearsal is:
It’s critical to practice ahead of time and settle on the exact procedure you want the children to follow. Otherwise your demonstration in front of them may not go smoothly. And once you’ve shown them one way, it can be difficult to change the impression a first demonstration makes on them.
Again, the primary purpose of these demonstrations is to create order in the child’s mind, thus establishing a smooth-running classroom, where children can operate independently with ease. Following is an example for how a Silent Demonstration with the pens would go.
Example: Demonstrating how to handle COLORED PENS and WRITING PAPER
1. AFTER CLASS THE DAY BEFORE your demo, decide WHERE materials will be kept
- Decide on a place for the pens to be kept within easy reach of the children.
- Put out several ceramic coffee cups each containing one set of pens — enough in a set for 2 children to share. Class of 28 = 14 cups. They should be pretty and breakable, but not of material like thin china or glass — so they won’t injure a child markedly, if broken. (Montessori recommended everything for the children should be of good quality and attractive.)
- Place a stack of blank drawing paper on the shelf or table where you plan later to keep the children’s Key Words and Steps “writing books.“
2. Settle on and then practice EXACTLY how you want the children to handle the materials:
- With slow, exaggerated motions, practice taking a piece of writing paper from the shelf and placing it on a table. (You’ll need to move this way with the children, so it’s best to get used to it acting in slow motion.)
- Next, slowly walk over and pick up one of the coffee cups full of pens and take it to that table. (If children become accustomed to carrying just one piece of equipment at a time, this will save dropping or spilling things later.)
- Sit down as if to draw. Select a pen, take the top off and hook it onto the back of the pen.
- Make a few marks on the paper, then put the top back on and place the pen UPSIDE DOWN in the cup (Do this with 2 or 3 pens for this brief “drawing.”
- Get up, push your chair in and take the cup back to the shelf.
- Pick up the paper and place it wherever you want the children to place their finished Writing Books. (I had a large table where the books could be arranged so that every child’s name would show. They came to see how to place them there, randomly, but where their names were easy to see — and if not, my aide would rearrange them before she left.)
3. THE NEXT DAY IN CLASS with the children on the rug where they can each see, if possible, begin the silent demonstration:
- Explain you have something special to show them, that they are to be completely silent, and that you also will not talk. (End this introduction almost in a whisper. This intrigues them, so usually, all become rather motionless and remain silent.And anyone daring to speak would be shushed by someone in the group.)
- Then proceed as you have practiced, using a table next to the rug, where all can see. All the while, look only at what you are doing, not at the children. (If anyone speaks, act as if you did not hear them. Others will probably tell them to be quiet, once they see that you won’t look up.) Go slowly to emphasize each step in the procedure. Don’t speak until you have completely finished putting everything back in its place, and returned to the rug.
- Invite a child to repeat what you did for the group: Remind them to start by putting the paper on the table first, and call again for silence. (I have never had a child not do it as shown, but if I did, I would say something like, “I didn’t do the demonstration well enough. I’ll show you again. Everyone be quiet…” Then I’d go through the entire demonstration again myself, before inviting that child to try again, if they want — or if not, someone else.)
4. Give everyone immediate practice: Since this is your first demonstration and one that’s basic to your writing work period, have the entire group practice, by making a simple drawing of their choice.
- Tell them ahead of time that two children will share one cup of pens.
- Send a few at a time to begin, and have them line up to get their paper from the shelf (instead of handing it out). You want them to go through each step in the procedure, just as you demonstrated it.
- Since they will finish at different times, have them come back to the rug where you (or someone else, if possible) are in the process of reading a series of short stories as children gather there around you again.
5. Please note that with later demonstrations of new materials for the supportive environment, such as the trays or cards for the Concentration math game, practice to the entire group and invite just one or two children to try it, while the others watch and critique. Then rely on them remembering what you did, when they choose it later. Once they become accustomed to such demonstrations, they will usually follow your procedure carefully later. Recall that in some cases you may have a child who’s familiar with a math game show another child again how to play it.)
My children came to love these silent demonstrations. They once surprised me by spontaneously applauding when I finished with an especially interesting demonstration. And we all laughed about it.
more about classroom management and enrichment materials
Not all of the information from the old website has been transferred to this one yet. You’ll find more about classroom management and materials, on the pages Getting Started and Supportive Environment & Ideas For Math — all still in the main menu of KidsWriteToRead.com
Enjoy the smooth-running classroom these ideas can create!