Study Skills 1 RAT

Week of:  12.02.13 – 12.06.13

Theme:  Study Skills – R.A.T.

 

     Date               Announcements            Greeting             Sharing                 Activity

Tuesday 12.03.13   a.m.	Welcome Back!	Random Fist Bump Greeting	Flash and Flush: My Thanksgiving Break	n/a
Tuesday p.m.	In between fun & games, we will be devoting ourselves to cultivating mad study skills. First skill:  R.A.T.:   Read Around the Text	Foreign Language Greeting	n/a	R.A.T. - Intro   “I Sit in the Grass”
Wed 12.04.13	Grade Level Meetings	n/a	n/a	n/a
Thursday 12.05.13	Today we hang out.	“Cheers” greeting	Informal Social Time	Advisors review Interims with Advisees, starting with highest-needs first.
Friday 12.06.13	R.A.T. is the first step to untangling challenging assignments	Informal Greetings	n/a	Review R.A.T. & hand out book marks     2 B or Knot 2 B

 

Tuesday  – a.m.

Greeting:  Random Fist Bump Greeting (RFBG) J -

1.   As each advisee enters the room, the last person who entered silently raises his or her arm for a silent fist bump.  Try to see if kids can catch on without explicit instructions (after you tell the first few kids in the door what to do). 

2.   Another option is to let the first advisee in the door determine the silent greeting for the day.   Each day, the first person in can choose…

 

Sharing:  “Flash/Flush” – “My Thanksgiving Break” –

1. Advisees list the best and the worst of their holiday break. 

2. Can be share by choice, can be “go-around-the-circle” or can be “popcorn” share (wherein one person shares and then says, “popcorn Joey” and then Joey shares.  Choose your methodology according to the cohesion of your group.

3.   Model and instruct about pro-social skills:  eye contact, active listening, acting interested, etc….

 

Tuesday  – p.m.

 

Greeting:  Foreign Language Greeting –

1.   Everyone greets in a foreign language as students enter the room.  This only happens until you begin your activity (to lessen disruption). 

2.   Alternately:  circle up and have advisees greet one another in a foreign language. 

3.   Challenge:  if you are greeted in one language, you must choose another language to return the greeting. 

4.   Foreign Language hello’s: Bon Jour             Ciao

                                                                 Ola                       Konnichiwa (Japanese)

                                                                 Hallo (Germ.)

                                                                 Privyet (“preev-yet”)  Russian

 

Activity:   Introducing R.A.T. –

1.  The first study skill is a super easy but super effective way to get ready to learn and understand textbook material.  It’s called, “R.A.T. – Read Around the Text.”

2.   When assigned a reading in a textbook, first R.A.T.

3.   Distribute the circular handout with the attached article (or use an example from textbooks students have with them).

4.   Walk students through the 6 steps of R.A.T.

 

Activity:  The purpose of this fun game happening NOW is to illustrate how much quicker and simpler things get once you have practiced a routine for a bit and once you have a system.  That’s the key message to this game.  Middle-schoolers learn through ACTION.  When you process the game afterward, ask if advisees can see any connection between study skills and the game.

I Sit in the Grass – Students sit in a circle in which there is one empty chair.  Key to success:  after all required movements at each phase of the game have been completed, the person to the right of the empty chair is always responsible to continue the forward momentum of the game. 

  To start: the student to the right of the empty chair says, “I sit” and moves one place to the left, occupying the empty chair.

  The student to the right of the newly vacated chair says, “In the grass” and also moves one place to the left, occupying the empty chair. 

  The student to the right of that newly vacated chair also moves one place to the left and says: “With my friend __________________,” naming someone across the circle.

  The student named rises and moves to the chair vacated by the student who named him.  In doing so, his chair becomes empty, and the student to the right of it starts the process all over again, by occupying it and saying, “I sit…” 

  This continues until all students have been called a friend or until time is up.  As advisees begin to master the game, they can speed it up or try to beat their best time. 

Wednesday

Grade Level Meetings

Thursday

Greeting:  Cheers Greeting – [or maybe for our young advisees, “Welcome to Moe’s”]

1. Remember that show from the 80’s??  When Norm enters the bar, all greet him with “Norm!” 

2. Greeting:  When an advisee enters the room, advisees and advisor already present call out, “Joe!”

Friday

Activity:  R.A.T. Review

1.   Ask advisees to share their understanding of R.A.T. and if they’ve used it this week.

2.   Distribute the bookmarks to give advisees a handy visual cue.

Activity:  2B or Knot 2B

         See attached handout from the fabulous resource:  Teamwork & Teamplay by Jim Cain and Barry Jolliff.