Okay, so we are just the teachers and we cannot usually change the content, which is the curriculum. But there are a few things we can do to make the content more attainable for the students -- and that's part of our jobs.
If things are fine, leave it as it is. But, if the whole class is struggling and the grades are low, there are two things we teachers can do -- in this order.
1. We can choose methods in which to present our materials that will help the students learn the content better. We can sing songs for Bible memory, choose pictures to go along with our vocabulary words for better recall, do the science experiments to help them remember the concepts, make study guides, and have the students work in groups to study. These all help students learn better, and they are not typically part of the book or curriculum -- they are things that good teachers do to help their students. Mediocre teachers just have students read the books, fill in the worksheets or do the assignments, and pass out tests. There is so much more fun, engaging stuff we can do to make the subjects we are teaching interesting to students. Learning is fun -- or boring; it is what we teachers make it.
1. We can choose methods in which to present our materials that will help the students learn the content better. We can sing songs for Bible memory, choose pictures to go along with our vocabulary words for better recall, do the science experiments to help them remember the concepts, make study guides, and have the students work in groups to study. These all help students learn better, and they are not typically part of the book or curriculum -- they are things that good teachers do to help their students. Mediocre teachers just have students read the books, fill in the worksheets or do the assignments, and pass out tests. There is so much more fun, engaging stuff we can do to make the subjects we are teaching interesting to students. Learning is fun -- or boring; it is what we teachers make it.
We should also go beyond the textbooks and into higher levels of thinking. It's like good fish bait, and it gets the students thinking. Have you ever heard of Bloom's Taxonomy? How fun it is to tie what we learned in morning devotions into history, or history into what we are writing about in English, or art into science and math.
I call this "connecting the dots," and when this starts happening, students are really learning. Third graders can do this if we are presenting the content to them this way. We have to model it for them first. Next we can give hints and ask questions to get them thinking. In a few months, they'll start raising their hands and connecting their own dots. That is a fascinating thing to see.
2. If you've tried everything and the students are still struggling and the grades are still low, this is the next choice: Teachers can choose what to do and what not to do.
If the curriculum calls for six book reports, we can do three instead. If flying through 500 pages of literature sounds like too much, cover 300 pages more slowly and carefully instead.
If the science book wants them to memorize thirty terms, choose the most important twenty and work on those.
Caution: this should be done carefully and purposefully. It's easy to slack off and be lazy; this should be done because of content overload only.
2. If you've tried everything and the students are still struggling and the grades are still low, this is the next choice: Teachers can choose what to do and what not to do.
If the curriculum calls for six book reports, we can do three instead. If flying through 500 pages of literature sounds like too much, cover 300 pages more slowly and carefully instead.
If the science book wants them to memorize thirty terms, choose the most important twenty and work on those.
Caution: this should be done carefully and purposefully. It's easy to slack off and be lazy; this should be done because of content overload only.
Further reading:
Explorers: Head of the Cow, MacJello, and Balboa's Belly Button
Students Get into Teams; Grades Go Up 9 Points
Students Get into Teams; Grades Go Up 9 Points