The Flipped Classroom

We've all heard a lot about the flipped classroom these days. Students watch videos while at home and then we help them practice what they've "already learned" when they come to class. Recently I've flipped my classroom, but not in the usual way.

For the past two years, the basic format of my class has been
1. writing warm-up-- response to a thoughtful question, noticing sentences, maybe a poem to read together

2. discussion of the warm-up

3. mini-lesson

4. workshop (reading or writing, depending on the day or class)

However, after attending the IRC Conference last week, I decided to start putting my reading portion at the beginning of EVERY class-- whether it's a reading or writing day. Richard Allington says every kid should read an absolute minimum of 15 minutes a day at school every day. (Minimum-- remember!) So I chose to start my students' class with reading.
1. We update our daily progress book chart (a la Penny Kittle) and
2. then I set my timer for 15 minutes. (It really does help to set an auditory alarm because then no one is watching the clock-- including you!)
3. At the end of those 15 minutes, we then have a mini-lesson and
4. have reading or writing time afterwards with conferences.

How has it worked?

I love it so far! My students seem more focused on reading because it's a specific amount of time (they aren't waiting for the bell for class to be over) and they know they'll have time to discuss when we're done. When we get to the mini-lesson, my students' heads are already swimming with texts because they're fresh in their minds. It makes our discussions richer. Using Kittle's daily book chart has been nice, too. I have a few students who dislike it because it's "another thing to do," but remember, our best readers often hate tracking their reading. (I'm apparently one of the weird ones. I love watching that progress bar fill up on my GoodReads!) Mostly, my students find that they are reading more now. And they can really see the progress. For some of my readers who would consider themselves non-readers, they have a hard time seeing their progress grow in their thick books, but seeing those numbers grow makes it more real. They see that they are moving through the book. And so then it also helps motivate them.

Can you give it a try in your room? Let me know what you think!