THE THIRD CIRCLE
Burgess makes this analogy in the book- it's like riding a bike with flat tires. You can keep pedaling and be going the right direction, but with flat tires you won't be going anywhere fast, and it's going to take you a lot more effort to get there.
The tires on your bike represent your teaching content and your technique and method. Those are very important things! You can't teach without them, cause there would be nothing to teach without them!
"If you don't have the content element of your lesson in place, you are either just entertaining or babysitting." (Burgess p.76)
The hooks that Burgess goes on to describe in this section of the book can't be used unless you know your content. But just having the tires on your bike doesn't mean you're going anywhere. You need air in those tires! The air for the tires is called Presentation. That's the third circle.
WELCOME TO THE BARBEQUE
Welcome to the Educational BBQ! Take a little of everything! Burgess points out that it takes all of these food choices to make a successful BBQ. Teaching is just like a BBQ! You can't hand a student a raw slab of meat (the content) and expect them to swallow it whole! Let's go through the necessities to hosting a successful Educational BBQ:
"Just like meat has to be turned and basted, you have to continually add engaging twists, turns, and changes of pace throughout the lesson." (Burgess p. 78)
TRANSITIONS WILL KILL YOU
I must say that I am very lucky because I learned about this critical element during student teaching. I learned from a true master teacher who thought about each and every moment of change to the point that it was reflected in her lesson plans. She noted it as T: countdown or T: think about next activ. These were her own thoughts about how to move children as to maximize every moment of instruction.
"To keep your students from mentally checking out, try to get all administrative activities out of the way before beginning your presentation. If students will need materials, have them get them out before you start."(Burgess p.81)
I admit to be horrible when it comes to that second quote. I'm convinced that if students have the materials before I give directions to start the lesson that they will be playing with them the whole time I'm talking. However, as I stated in the beginning...some of this will resonate with you and some will not. Take what you like.
**Discussion Question #1 ** - Imagine yourself going to the Educational BBQ and you've been asked to bring something to the table. Which item would you be able to bring with no problem? The meat, seasonings, the grill, or a side dish?