I used to be a good
reader until around third
or fourth grade, then I
suddenly got stupider.
Smith and Wilhelm, 2002
Wilhelm and Smith

Overview of the Morning
• East:
– The vision for today is to explore ways to create a
classroom culture that nurtures engagement for
all students.
– Set the stage for the Restorative Practices that
you’ll be learning about this week.

West
LEARNING TARGETS
1. I can identify and recognize five ways
students might respond to tasks.
2. I can apply two themes of culture building to
my classroom.
ASSESSMENT
A public quiz

NORTH
• What will we do?
–Rambling autobiography
–Explore engagement and responses to
tasks
–Watch and discuss a video
–Investigate themes for engagement
–Write a note to our October selves
–Take a public quiz

South
• Community building:
–We’ll collaborate with a variety of
folks.
–We’ll learn more about each other
through lots of discourse

LINDA RIEF

Rambling Autobiography
I was born at the height of World War II just as Anne Frank was forced
into Bergen-Belsen by the Nazis. I adore Brigham’s vanilla ice cream in
sugar cone and dipped in chocolate jimmies. I bought my favorite jacket
for a dime at the Methodist church rummage sale. I have lied to my
parents. I never read a book for pleasure until I was 38 years old. One
of my students once leaned in to me in an interview and said, “My
mother’s having a baby; this is the one she wants.” When I was 12 I set
the organdy curtains in our bathroom on fire, playing with matches. My
favorite place to hide was high in the maple tree in our front yard where
I could spy on neighbors. I can still smell wet white sheets pulled
through the ringer washer when I think of Grammy Mac. I dated
Edmundo in high school because it angered my father. I fainted when I
heard the sound of the zipper as the mortician closed the body bag
holding my mother. I gave birth to twin sons. I once had dinner with
Judy Blume. I am a teacher who writes. I want to be a writer who
teaches.

Engagement is the ability to try a
thing that’s difficult: fail at that
thing, muck it up completely and
still have the emotional, social, and
intellectual energy to try it again.
--Cornelius Minor

Engagement: the state in which
people are so involved in an activity
that nothing else seems to matter;
the experience itself is so enjoyable
that people will do it even at great
cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.
-- Csikszentmihalyi

High Commitment
&
High Attention
--Schlechty

How might a student respond to tasks?
What levels of engagement might a
teacher see?

COMPLIANCE:
Strategic
&
Ritualistic

NON-
COMPLIANCE:
Retreat
&
Rebellion

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/03/23/gallup-student-poll-finds-engagement-in-
school.html

What can we do?
Cultivate teacher/student
relationships:
Know their story
Ferociously commit to students’
potential

Rita Pierson
• What do I aspire to?
• What do I agree with?
• What do I want to argue with?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFnMTHh
Kdkw

 What do I aspire to?
 What do I agree with?
 What do I want to argue
with?

Unless someone
like you cares a
whole awful lot,
nothing is going to
get better. It's not.

Jeff Wilhelm’s research
on boys
• …boys resist
learning from
people who do not
take an interest in
them and who
don’t show care
for them.

Learning their story

The 2 x 10
Strategy:
Give it a try!

ONE SENTENCE PROJECT

Other ways to learn their story
My Passions
My dg
Shaun may look like a quiet fellow, but he’s
not. If you saw him at a Bronco game,
you’d know that he’s filled with passion
and loves the sport. In the summers when
the Broncos aren’t playing, he plays
football himself. His favorite position is
Cali Kimpel
My friendsMy dog,
Mick
Science:
doing labs Eating
cupcakes!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tDjdHuFUqya9wcW5e7XSaumBn3biWF5Fs9
u1Ys-1FaY/edit?ts=57ad08bf

True or False?
• Peter Smagorinsky has
Aspergers.
• Peter Smagorinsky has
obsessive/compulsive
thinking.
• Peter Smagorinksy has
Tourette's syndrome.
• Peter Smagorinksy has
mental disorders.

MEET SUSAN

Unintended consequences
You don’t think you’re being a tad bit
overprotective?

Peter Johnston Choice Words
There are hidden costs in telling people things. If
a student can figure something out for him- or
herself, explicitly providing the information
preempts the student’s opportunity to build a
sense of agency and independence, which, in
terms, affects the relationship between teacher
and student.

The interpretation might be that you are the kind
of person who cannot figure things out for
yourself.

The Challenge of Scaffolding