The purpose in creating classrooms with strong cultures is to enable rigorous and engaging academic instruction to thrive. Our goal is to always make students feel safe, successful, and known in our classrooms and to train teachers to do the same.
This Plug and Plays breaks Strong Voice into two sections–Part 1 focuses on using body language and positioning and Part 2 explores how to use words and language to convey confidence, clarity, and warmth. This Plug and Play can be delivered all at once or in discrete sessions. Guidance on how best to sequence and break the Plug and Play into multiple sessions is included.
Part 1:
- Shift Your Register: In this section of the Plug and Play, teachers will study different voice registers (casual, formal, and urgent) and reflect on when to use each type. Teachers then practice how to transition between casual and formal register when asking for follow through from students.
- Show Both Shoulders / Stand Still: This section of the Plug and Play explores how to pair a shift in body language with Shift Your Register. Teachers watch and reflect on a video of a first-grade teacher shifting between a joyous dance and song and her directions for the next task, in which she Shows Both Shoulders / Stands Still. They then practice doing the same with directions from their own classroom.
- Quiet Presence: Part 1 of the Plug and Play ends with a video study of three teachers using Quiet Presence—dropping their voices to a lower volume and speaking quietly, slowly, and calmly—to ensure students listen and follow through on an important direction.
Part 2:
- Economy of Language: In this portion of the Plug and Play, teachers learn about using the fewest words possible to communicate composure and preparation, and to ensure students know that what their teacher is saying is worth listening to. Teachers will then have an opportunity to engage in layered practice, trying out Quiet Presence and Economy of Language at the same time.
- Self–Interrupt: Teachers will again study video of classrooms and then practice using Self-Interrupt, where they pause mid-sentence to show that they do not have full attention.
- Time and Place: In this final section, teachers will study how to redirect students when it’s not the appropriate time or place to discuss something. They will have the opportunity to script responses to potential classroom scenarios and then practice delivering their responses with Quiet Presence, Economy of Language, and the other previous techniques in mind.
READY-TO-USE MATERIALS
Our goal is for you to save time that you would otherwise spend creating a PD session from scratch and to dive deep into the small concrete actions that can take your teachers’ skills from good to great. The Plug and Play provides you with:
✓ A fully customizable PowerPoint presentation with embedded videos of Strong Voice in action
✓ Facilitator notes for what to say and do for each slide
✓ Detailed analysis of 7 video clips spanning all grade bands
✓ Carefully designed practice activities, plus 5 video models to support effective practice
✓ Participant handouts for interactive note taking
✓ Next steps to ensure what is learned in the session carries over to classrooms