On Friday we didn't have school because it was a state in service day for teachers in Oregon. We were not mandated to do any workshops, but I signed up to go see Howard Gardner (The King of Multiple Intelligences!) It was great to hear him talk about his most recent book Five Minds for the Future, but I actually enjoyed the presentation that followed his even more. When Mr. Gardner was finished we heard from Mike Geisen who was National Teacher of the Year in 2008. He is a middle school science teacher from Oregon and he was fantastic. Not only was he very engaging and funny, but he used this metaphor/analogy of education as a balanced diet that really resonated with me. He talked about how the packaged curricula are kind of like the meat and potatoes that address the standards and get it done, but that there are so many other things we can do with our students that extend the breadth of their "diet." The concept seemed really brilliant to me and just made so much sense. We don't want to feed our kids "fast food" (quick and easy) we want them to have a healthy balance. We don't want to push institutional food that is bland and unappealing, we really want to be chefs who serve interesting, tasty, and exciting food that they want to eat!
I went to the teacher store today and got some fun new activities that I want to use with my kiddos during choice time. I am also trying to brainstorm ideas of how to help my kiddos who are really struggling to write their letters and write their names. I got some jumbo traceable letters that kids can write on and then wipe off. I may incorporate them into my letter writing time for the few kiddos who still stare at me blankly when it's time to write letters. I am getting really motivated to really take on a few kiddos as my projects this year and rock their worlds with all they will learn.
I think both of these will make great choice time station activities. The letters on the matching board are kind of like sandpaper so that adds a nice tactile touch to it for kiddos who are struggling with the shapes of the letters. I can't wait to try these out tomorrow!
2 comments:
That is a great analogy. I always think its amazing to hear really great teachers talk, even if they don't teach a similar grade level or subject.
I'd love to know how these goodies work for writing letters. I am having similar issues in my class with writing names/letters. I have had some success with writing in sand and "bumpy writing"- I use that netting type of stuff thats for sewing (I buy it at Michaels) and then put paper off it and they write with huge crayons. It's very multisensory and the kids love it.
Love the traceable letters! I printed some free traceable letters from http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/ and the kids love them! (I love her blog and also printed lots of other things from her -- Click on the pink "My Printables" tab at the top.) I also used the die cut machine at my school to make my own sandpaper letters for the kids to trace with their fingers.
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