I had such fun today, starting the process of teaching students how their brains work. I introduced the “Identity Project,” which I wanted to use as a way to get to know my students before we got down to the work of history. I then wanted to start them learning why I find working with students so exciting each year. I introduced the Four Minute Silence.
I told them to find a space around the room where they could sit quietly for four minutes. We talked briefly about why they shouldn’t just sit in the circle of their desks – too easily distracted by their classmates, the giggles. They wanted to know if they could jot down notes while they were sitting. I told them, “No, because that would take their brains off of their thinking.”
I gave them four minutes!
Four minutes with no movement, no distractions, no texts, no books! It felt like four hours! They sat and sat.
Their responses at the end were amazing to them, though!
“I thought SO much!”
“I got it all planned out! Amazing!”
“I didn’t know I could think that much!”
And the year has started! Pointing students in the direction of their own learning is the whole point!