Because the 10th grade, as a whole, did poorly on their essay exam, this week was designed for work on thesis paragraphs. Our argument for doing that was if there is no thesis statement, there is no way that an essay can support a claim.
At the beginning of the period, Bill was criticizing the entire group's introductions from the earlier week. I felt like the whole class needed work and could use improvement. Only later did we go into individual work to elaborate a new, "perfect" paragraph. I felt that, at that point, it was ideal because even though the class was having trouble, each one had slightly different concerns.
Again, today, I was working with the same girl I mentioned earlier. She was having trouble simply understanding the "parts" of a thesis paragraph and what each part "was for". This time around I still tried to ask as many "guiding questions" as possible. Sometimes I found myself explaining one thing for too long and I would have her summarize my main points - just to be sure she was still following. I think - I hope - she understood and will retain what I was saying, Tomorrow, in class I'll ask her to recap a few key concepts.
I don't fully understand how a teacher can accommodate a lesson to fit both fast and slow learners. Iteration, of many kinds, and discussion might do the trick for the slower learners, but then the others might get bored...
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