One of the things that I’m finding that many schools are working on recently is building intensity of instruction. Intense instruction can be a hard thing to define and to build. So, I have set out to explain it and then give some little (but mighty!) ways to build intensity from the first moment of the day or class period.
I will say, that setting the intensity first thing is super important..I find it really hard to get intensity back after a couple of hour of not-so-intense teaching. But I never give up even if I’ve gotten off to a rougher start!
First, let me define what instructional intensity is:
Instructional intensity is the number of student required interactions/responses
in a short period of time on important grade level content
Here are a few ways that we can measure instructional intensity:
| Required Interaction | Required Response |
| The teacher teaches something new and the students engaged with the new content | Physical |
| The teacher corrects a student/s and the student engages in the corrected content | Oral |
| The teacher orchestrates tight practice of an already-taught skill that needs more repetition
|
Written |
Here are 6 things you can do to start your day off with intensity (Note: they might seem minor, but they really matter!)
- Greet the students at the door with a timed task related to your content
- Pull your kids close to give them the lowdown on the first big content chunk of the day: “Today we are going to learn __________________. Here’s what that is going to require you to have on your desk __________________. Go set up your desks now. You have 45 seconds. Go! Now that we have our materials set up, I am going to teach you what our lesson is going to require of your behavior and movement.” {Then teach the academic behaviors they’ll need to master!}
- Use a timer and give students much less time that you think they’ll need to transition
- Give directions when you have all eyes on you and never, ever compromise on this!
- When students don’t give you the exact behavior you have explained, ask them to do it all again and look for opportunities to give them praise
- Tell them what you’re going to teach them, tell them what they are learning while they’re learning it, review what you taught them at the end of the lesson
BONUS: Think of your whole day in 10-minute chunks: “What do I need my students to have learned/to be doing in the next 10 minutes to hit my mark?”