Inside the Classroom: Julie Gavin - Justin Elementary
Inside the Classroom: Julie Gavin - Justin Elementary
Inside the Classroom is a series that visits Northwest ISD campuses throughout the year and highlights the magical moments that happen between teachers and students each and every day across the entire 234 square miles of NISD.
With her harmonica in hand, Julie Gavin is helping her fifth graders at Justin Elementary quickly transition to their next science lesson. The distinct sound signifies that it is time to wrap up their current task and turn their attention to Ms. Gavin.
For this week’s edition of Inside the Classroom, we joined Ms. Gavin, who is teaching in her 18th year at Justin Elementary, for a pair of science lessons – one on the formation of sedimentary rocks and another on making a school cafeteria more environmentally friendly.
Ms. Gavin teaches science and social studies to three sections of Justin Jaguars, seeing them each for one hour, 40 minutes a day. When we joined her class, an hour remained and Ms. Gavin was getting started with the first science lesson.
The lesson started with students reading instructions out loud. Ms. Gavin had a cup full of popsicle sticks, each with one student’s name. She pulled a stick each time someone needed to read. The random drawing of sticks encouraged students to pay very close attention to instructions, as they may be called at any time.
This cup of sticks, which Ms. Gavin called PAX Sticks, marked the first time we saw her classroom management style in action. After attending a training three years ago about the PAX Good Behavior Game, developed by the PAXIS Institute, Ms. Gavin knew she wanted to implement some elements into her classroom.
Ms. Gavin then passed out cups of sand and soil that groups had worked with on a previous day. Each cup already had a few centimeters of sand covered by a few centimeters of soil. First, students made observations about changes that had occurred since they placed those elements in the cup a few days before.
After sharing observations out loud, groups came to Ms. Gavin to get more sand and rocks to add to their cups. Then they discussed observations and wrote in their science journals.
As groups discussed their findings, the sound of Ms. Gavin’s harmonica smoothly rang out over their voices. Students almost instantly ended their discussions, turned their attention to Ms. Gavin, and made peace signs to show they were listening. Called PAX Quiet or PAX Focus, the harmonica is meant to be a milder way to get students’ attention. Additionally, it aids in making transitions to new topics or activities much smoother, helping save instruction time.
Ms. Gavin quickly transitioned into discussing how sedimentary rocks are formed, using the students’ soil “parfaits” to illustrate how compaction and cementation can eventually take place.
After putting their cups away, Ms. Gavin introduced the next lesson in which students would analyze their school cafeteria and its environmental impact. Ms. Gavin used her PAX Sticks to have students read the lesson’s learning targets.
Students brainstormed their ideas to make the cafeteria more environmentally friendly. From reusable trays to separate recycling cans, Ms. Gavin’s students discussed great ideas. Next, they glued their next entry into their science journal, and Ms. Gavin explained that during their next visit they would work on their plans and designs for their ideal cafeteria.
In what felt like no time at all, an hour of science had passed and it was time for students to move to their next class. Thanks to Ms. Gavin’s calm presence and excellent organization (plus a little help from her harmonica), not a minute was wasted and the Jaguars were ready to tackle the rest of their day.
Check back regularly all year as we continue to visit students and teachers throughout Northwest ISD and offer a rarely seen look Inside the Classroom.