"Anyone who makes a distinction
between games and learning doesn't
know the first thing about either."
- Marshall McLuhan
There is a huge variation in the classroom among the
students compared to the past. The article states that the some children do
preschool so they have been exposed to the ‘school setting’ and some haven’t,
some students speak different languages, some students have disabilities, and
while all of these are not bad things, it makes teaching more of a challenge
and teachers now have to face more obstacles when it comes to teaching students
to read and write. A good way to expose children to the alphabetic principle
and the understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds is by
comparing letters and nursery rhymes. Different strategies should be
implemented in the classroom to ensure that students are learning to read and
write to the best of their ability. I think a fun way for little kids to
practice letters is with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Who doesn’t love this book?
Something I really liked about the second article was one of
the activities to relate letters and words in books to letters and words the
students already knew. The activity talked about was taking the students
pictures and attaching it with the first letter of their name and then another
word. We’ve heard in every class and
most of have experienced first hand that relating learning to real life
situations will make it more enjoyable and is usually successful. Something
else this article discussed that I REALLY enjoyed was about handwriting. I have
terrible writing so the activity discussed is something I will probably
implement in my classroom so that my students aren’t afraid of writing due to
“not knowing how.” What Donna B. and Donna J. did with making children
comfortable taking risks is incredible. I hope that’s something I am able to do
in my future classroom.
Article 3 discussed involving the students in games in order
to support phonemic awareness development. Everyone loves games, so I think
that’s a great way to get students actively participating and engaged in
academics. They have a lot of fun and learn at the same time. Will you be a
teacher that includes games in your teaching?
I hope to be a teacher that includes many games and actives in all of my lessons. I remember becoming bored with learning to read and also feeling added pressure to learn all new vocabulary while doing it. The strategy of promoting the use of familiar words with each student seems like such a wonderful idea. I also have handwriting that reminds me of an elementary school boy and loved the idea of showing the different forms of writing.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with your opinion on relating new reading material with student prior knowledge. I think that a teachers ability to do this is one of the most important characteristics of a successful and engaging teacher. Making school applicable is one of the greatest challenges to teachers when working with children!
ReplyDeleteThat is such a fabulous quote. How have I not heard that before?
ReplyDeleteI fully intend on being a teacher that incorporates games in my lessons. My best memories from elementary school all involve some sort of fun game or activity. Including games also takes the pressure and scariness away from learning and replaces it with positivity and fun.
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