Pay close attention to:
- Section 18 Thanks To You (page 55)--quite a tribute to you as an educator
- Section 20 Humor Homework (pg. 61)-- some great ideas to possibly implement as part of your final project.
- Section 21 Play Sheet--Ways to influence your classroom and school environment
Please post AHAS and thoughts from these sections.
5 comments:
It really does help to hear a "thank you" once in awhile. When I did hear those words, they meant alot!
As I am getting ready to get back into teaching, reading Section 18 reminds me of why I went into it in the first place. Not to be constantly acknowledged or get paid a lot of money but to have an affect on the kids who were mine for an entire year. I did it to help shape the individuals in my class. I did it for the day to day interactions/challenges that aided in the development of unique relationships with students over the course of a year. And as with any career, we experience ups and downs and stress. So overall, it's up to us to keep ourselves fresh and upbeat or else teaching will become a chore. I know that we as teachers need to be the 'ones in charge' of our classrooms but this book helps remind me that that can only happen if we are also the energizers/motivators/supporters of our students, the one with a consistent smile, and the one to share who we are so our students feel they can as well. It's one of the toughest jobs to have but it is worth the challenge!
Some of my favorite activities from this book to help build rapport with children include: playing music, dressing the part for a lesson to liven things up, "playful review' using a ball to engage students in positive ways, sharing funny things that have happened to me or my family and letting kids take turns being a storyteller if they would like, 'picking grapes' is a great activity to do before a test. It would get their minds focused and bodies relaxed. There are many more.
While reading the "Thanks to You" I just kept thinking, "Wow, I could never imagine receiving a letter like that!" I have received little letters, homemade cards and pictures drawn by my students, but to receive a letter like that, fifteen years after teaching the student would be incredible! Reading that made me realize why I wanted to become, and still am, a teacher. It is so important to me to impact children's lives in a positive way.
There are a variety of teachers in my building that incorporate humor into their teaching. On average, we have a fairly young staff and I think that helps. I have seen a lot of older teachers that still teach "the old way," meaning by the book, lecturing, note tacking, etc. I don't feel that students learn best that way. They definitely need humor in their everyday learning.
Sometimes if I see my students becoming bored during a subject, I will tell them all to stand up and then we will do about 25 jumping jacks together. They not only get a laugh from this, but it also wakes them up so that they are alert for the rest of the lesson.
While reading the "Humor Homework," I noticed that I already do/have done a few of the things. They would be sharing funny teaching moments and sharing some embarrassing moments with my students. I am not a person that would walk into class dressed like a duck though!
I read the thank you letter and it was beautiful. It brought tears to my eyes. Because I teach little kids, I often get hugs which I love. One of the greatest thanks I get is when kids will come in to see me because they want to know what's next? The last year I taught, the 3rd grade teachers asked their kids what their favorite subject was and most said "Gym Class!" I was pretty happy with that when the teachers told me.
The Humor Homework gave me the idea to dress up more often. We use lots of props and toys in my class but I think it would be a great idea if I dressed up more often as a theme for the class rather than just on Halloween.
At the beginning of the year, I put the students on their spots throughout the gym. These spots are separated from each other so they can move without touching any one else. They are also in alphabetical. Then I scrunch each line up and take their picture. I study the pictures so that I learn their names very quickly. I also test myself constantly with the kids during class. I think I'll start putting their pictures up on the wall under the heading 'Our Family.' I also take pictures of each class while they are doing activities and then show them as a running slide show during parent teacher conferences in the hallway.
Thank yous really are very meaningful. I've had a few hugs and thank yous at the end of the school year or even high school students come to say hi when they need service hours for high school. One former student invited me to a high school honor society dinner where they thank a teacher from the past. But never a heartfelt letter like the one in our textbook. What that teacher did for that student really made a difference in their life.
Being a science teacher and a P.E. teacher are two very different roles. That helps students see me in a variety of situations doing very different activities. I also teacher in the lower grades and in the upper grades. The upper grade kids are really surprised when they see me interact with 4 and 5 year olds. That has really helped me to loosen up and not be so formal with the older kids.
There are several teachers in my school who use humor/fun quite well. On each test our upper grade history teacher always has 3 extra credit questions about current events and word puzzles. He reviews for tests using a jeopardy style game. Our English teacher reviews using a basket and ball to shoot if you get a question correct. Our 2nd grade teacher teaches social studies and has a food dish from the country the class studies each week. I always finish a P.E. class in which we've learned a new skill with a game to use that skill. There's a lot of fun going on in our building.
When I became a teacher I had some idea about how I would have to "defend" my job, but no idea at how hostile some people can be toward teachers. Thank you notes like these make all the explaining about pay( or lack thereof), summer breaks (when I work two other jobs), and stress (hey, they are just kids right?), worth it. I'm so glad that the section about humor homework suggested writing a letter to a revered teacher. I am going to do just that. That also ties in with the play sheet about making a list of positive and negative qualities about your school and doing something about the negative qualities. It is pretty easy to complain, but it takes courage to change a school. I am also a firm believer in going and observing other teachers. We are always so isolated in our classrooms, and that never gives us a chance to just check out what is going on elsewhere. I have picked up some of my most successful teaching ideas from other teachers. It is so refreshing to see how somebody else teaches. It can also be fun to trade for a day or class period with another teacher. Then the kids and the students get a taste of something new.
For what it is worth my other classmates may want to check out the "Before and Laughter" Scenarios on page 160. There are some pretty neat ideas in there. You could use a few ideas if you were unsure about doing the whole thing. There are also some great ideas for the older kids there.
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