Im Just A Teacher So What Do I Know

The fourth standard is focused on engaging students with challenging lessons. In my opinion we often hold back on challenging our ESL students because we assume they won’t be able to perform like the “other” students or that they need easier, more watered down work. It is important for all students to experience challenging lesson. Students are often excited about the opportunity for challenge and this is when they truly experience growth in the classroom. If we keep students at the level they are comfortable at we would be cheating them out of the education they deserve. Creating challenging lessons can be difficult for a teacher to design. There is a fine line between stretching students and completely overwhelming them. Getting to know your students early on will help to establish exactly what they are capable of and how much challenge they can handle with out shutting down.
I could not pick just one strategy out of the 50 for this standard simply because I feel you can take any of the 50 and make it challenging in some way. When I think of challenging lessons I think of lessons that are hands on and project/experiment based. I also think of having students use critical thinking skills that push them to think outside the box. The Internet is a great tool to use in creating challenging lessons. I often times have my students research topics or find new content that I haven’t taught that is relevant to what we are studying. I love to tell my 3rd grade students “you are going to be doing middle school work today!” They get so excited and proud that they are learning beyond their grade. We can no longer expect our students to “sit and spit” content that is presented to them. If we want to adequately prepare them for the future we must challenge them to make learning their own and challenge them to learn outside of their comfort zone