Glass, Bug, Mud

I have a classroom filled with kids just learning English for the first time alongside kids who are reading English books at an eighth grade level while in grade 3.  It's a challenge.  But a fun one.  So I spend a lot of time differentiating my classroom instruction.  One tool I use is "Glass, Bug, Mud".  I didn't come up with this on my own of course.  I found the idea in an educational journal years ago while a student myself.  And I ran with it.

"Glass, Bug, Mud" is an assessment tool I use to help kids understand their progress as well as assess themselves.  If a child is "glass", it means he/she is clear as glass and understands a concept completely. It is mastered.  If a child is "bug", he/she can kind-of see through the window of the car, so they kind-of understand the concept, but need a little more practice or help.  A "mud" child cannot see through the window and needs a lot more help to understand a particular idea.

I start the year explaining the meaning of "glass, bug, mud" using the picture of a car window.  I ask the students to assess themselves in all areas of their lives by moving to different parts of the room.  "Are you glass, bug, or mud at cleaning your room?"  "Are you glass, bug, or mud at helping others?"  "Are you glass, bug, or mud at playing soccer?"  You get the idea.  The kids move to the "glass" place in the room if they are really good at it.  They move to the "bug" place if they're OK, and so forth.  At the end of several questions spanning all parts of their lives (only a few academic), we have a discussion about our talents being different, we're each unique, we each need help with something, and we are a team that can help each other try to be glass in all areas.  Kids really get it and buy into it quickly.

After that, I start putting little symbols on the corner of each of their papers to show them if they are glass, bug, or mud at that particular concept.  Students correct or have another mini-lesson with the teacher or peer teach till everyone has reached glass.  Half way through the year the children begin putting symbols on their work before I check it, to evaluate themselves and compare if I see their progress the same as they do.  Throughout this process the kids learn to self assess, monitor their own learning, and persevere until they understand a concept thoroughly.  By the end of the year I'm no longer putting glass or mud symbols on papers.  The kids do it all.  And they are spot on (for the most part).

I really like this tool because it teaches the children to monitor their own learning, become independent learners, and be responsible for their learning.

To learn more about differentiated instruction ideas and "glass, bug, mud", check out the article I wrote a few years ago in Phi Delta Kappan.