“The best teachers make their lessons exciting and inviting by relating learning to real life.” Describe a lesson that you taught that you feel meets that criteria.
We did a lab activity the other day on chromatography. It involved using ordinary items that the students use everyday. They were very amazed when they discovered that there were so many colors in a black marker and it really helped to reinforce my lesson on elements, compounds, and mixtures.
Any time my students have to solve a word problem they are applying the skill being taught to real life. For example, doing row after row of computing decimals may be boring to some. Applying this concept to a real life situation in a word problem helps the student see that they will really use computation of decimals outside of the school classroom. Knowledge is important, but then the student needs the application.
I liked the comment at the end of the section that even seniors in high school don't think past Friday night. The students need to understand relevance to their lives right now. In FACS we do activities that relate to their lives every day. I try to make connections for everyone. For example, when we sew, we talk about how important it is to learn to properly run machines whether it is a sewing machine, go-cart, or car. We connect nutrition with the foods they eat, or fail to eat. It is important for them to see the connection to their lives.
We just started talking about the inundation time in ancient Egypt. To emphasize the down time that Egyptian farmers had, and the fact that they used that time to work for the government, we discussed what modern farmers do during times (like right now) when the fields are wet and they can't work. Most students had some suggestion as to what farmers do with that time. We had a productive discussion comparing ancient and modern practices.
In our current semester of geography, I am easily able to relate the topics to their real life because it has to do with everything that is around. For example, a lesson on urbanization is good time to demonstrate to them why Clay Center is not considered to be in an urban setting.
The steps involved in learning to read music and play an instrument are skills that every musician needs to have and is a lifelong skill. We try to incoporate not only new music but some of the classic performers and composers throughout history to show what is possible with the knowledge of how music works and how it is put together.
As mentioned in the book example, it's not that the learning relates to life, but it relates to the students' lives. I hope I do this in my book project. While teaching a lot of writing and paraphrasing skills, I let students choose a topic they are interested in. Students interested in music will choose a band. Students interested in a career will research and write about becoming a veterinarian. Hopefully this makes is more interesting to them.
I always try to bring up examples to my students of how important it is to read. Anytime I can talk about a job, situation, application, anything that lets them know they need to be able to learn to read- I do. Our most recent unit has been text structures which lends itself really well to connecting to real life. We discussed several examples of sequence, description, cause/effect, compare/contrast, and problem/solution that they could relate to their life.
This week in Language Arts we looked at what Lexile levels are needed for certain careers. For example, lawyers need a lexile level of 1420-1700 to understand their reading material. Business professionals need a 1210 to 1310. Because students know their lexile level, this gives students a goal to shoot for, and reinforces that they still need to improve and focus on reading while they are in school. By the way, teachers need a 1320-1370. :)
Question 3 part 1-Whenever I have students in the library for research, that is helping them with real life as I teach them how to use other options on the Internet than using Google. It is all done with "hands-on", not just by showing.
We did a unit earlier this year on probability. I like to discuss the lottery and casinos. Once they understand how probability is calculated, they understand better how the casinos make sure the casinos make money.
In health, when talking about tobacco and its side effects we often discuss emphysema. We talk about what it is, the treatment, the symptoms and the cause. To give the students an idea of what it is like for a person to have emphysema we do the following activity. Each student gets a straw, pinches their nose shut, and runs in place. They are only allowed to breath through their straw. I will then explain that this is how it fills for a person with emphysema to breath everyday.
In Language Arts we recently completed a unit on pronouns. The students brought in newspaper articles that had 5 different pronouns in them. First they highlighted the pronouns. Then they rewrote the articles without the pronouns. They found that by replacing the pronouns with nouns the writing was redundant and and hard to read. Then they had to highlight and replace 5 different nouns with pronouns. They found the writing to be very confusing. The culminating activity was to get together with a partner and write a short skit. In the skit they could only use nouns or pronouns, not both. The resulting skits were presented in front of the class. They decided that both nouns and pronouns should be used in writing.
When doing my indicator on comparing and ordering decimal numbers, I use money as a connection. Ex. When comparing 1.23 and 1.03 I ask students how much money they have and "they get it". When using integers I use temperature and football stats. This bring meaning to the numbers.
In physical education, we stress how much fitness should be a part of everyone's life. We encourage kids to figure out what they like to do (weight lifting, team sports, etc.) and make that a lifelong endeavor. As you get older, your metabolism decreases and exercise/diet becomes more critical to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
When doing a goal setting lesson with the 6th graders, we focus on keeping the goal real and attainable. It helps to focus on something they can attain in the near future and work outward. Using examples from someone they know is a way to show how setting goals really can work for them.
One of my physics lessons that I teach in the spring includes roller coasters. This ties into the students World's of Fun trip. We discuss Newton's Laws of motion and where these apply on a a roller coaster and we also discuss kinetic and potential energy. The students get really involved in this lesson because they can see and feel how all of these laws apply.
We did a lab activity the other day on chromatography. It involved using ordinary items that the students use everyday. They were very amazed when they discovered that there were so many colors in a black marker and it really helped to reinforce my lesson on elements, compounds, and mixtures.
ReplyDeleteWe are becoming video game designers in 7th grade. The kids are designing thier own "Pong" game while learning their way around Powerpoint.
ReplyDeleteAny time my students have to solve a word problem they are applying the skill being taught to real life. For example, doing row after row of computing decimals may be boring to some. Applying this concept to a real life situation in a word problem helps the student see that they will really use computation of decimals outside of the school classroom. Knowledge is important, but then the student needs the application.
ReplyDeleteI liked the comment at the end of the section that even seniors in high school don't think past Friday night. The students need to understand relevance to their lives right now. In FACS we do activities that relate to their lives every day. I try to make connections for everyone. For example, when we sew, we talk about how important it is to learn to properly run machines whether it is a sewing machine, go-cart, or car. We connect nutrition with the foods they eat, or fail to eat. It is important for them to see the connection to their lives.
ReplyDeleteWe just started talking about the inundation time in ancient Egypt. To emphasize the down time that Egyptian farmers had, and the fact that they used that time to work for the government, we discussed what modern farmers do during times (like right now) when the fields are wet and they can't work. Most students had some suggestion as to what farmers do with that time. We had a productive discussion comparing ancient and modern practices.
ReplyDeleteIn our current semester of geography, I am easily able to relate the topics to their real life because it has to do with everything that is around. For example, a lesson on urbanization is good time to demonstrate to them why Clay Center is not considered to be in an urban setting.
ReplyDeleteThe steps involved in learning to read music and play an instrument are skills that every musician needs to have and is a lifelong skill. We try to incoporate not only new music but some of the classic performers and composers throughout history to show what is possible with the knowledge of how music works and how it is put together.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned in the book example, it's not that the learning relates to life, but it relates to the students' lives. I hope I do this in my book project. While teaching a lot of writing and paraphrasing skills, I let students choose a topic they are interested in. Students interested in music will choose a band. Students interested in a career will research and write about becoming a veterinarian. Hopefully this makes is more interesting to them.
ReplyDeleteI always try to bring up examples to my students of how important it is to read. Anytime I can talk about a job, situation, application, anything that lets them know they need to be able to learn to read- I do. Our most recent unit has been text structures which lends itself really well to connecting to real life. We discussed several examples of sequence, description, cause/effect, compare/contrast, and problem/solution that they could relate to their life.
ReplyDeleteThis week in Language Arts we looked at what Lexile levels are needed for certain careers. For example, lawyers need a lexile level of 1420-1700 to understand their reading material. Business professionals need a 1210 to 1310. Because students know their lexile level, this gives students a goal to shoot for, and reinforces that they still need to improve and focus on reading while they are in school. By the way, teachers need a 1320-1370. :)
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3 part 1-Whenever I have students in the library for research, that is helping them with real life as I teach them how to use other options on the Internet than using Google. It is all done with "hands-on", not just by showing.
ReplyDeleteWe did a unit earlier this year on probability. I like to discuss the lottery and casinos. Once they understand how probability is calculated, they understand better how the casinos make sure the casinos make money.
ReplyDeleteIn health, when talking about tobacco and its side effects we often discuss emphysema. We talk about what it is, the treatment, the symptoms and the cause. To give the students an idea of what it is like for a person to have emphysema we do the following activity. Each student gets a straw, pinches their nose shut, and runs in place. They are only allowed to breath through their straw. I will then explain that this is how it fills for a person with emphysema to breath everyday.
ReplyDeleteIn Language Arts we recently completed a unit on pronouns. The students brought in newspaper articles that had 5 different pronouns in them. First they highlighted the pronouns. Then they rewrote the articles without the pronouns. They found that by replacing the pronouns with nouns the writing was redundant and and hard to read. Then they had to highlight and replace 5 different nouns with pronouns. They found the writing to be very confusing. The culminating activity was to get together with a partner and write a short skit. In the skit they could only use nouns or pronouns, not both. The resulting skits were presented in front of the class. They decided that both nouns and pronouns should be used in writing.
ReplyDeleteWhen doing my indicator on comparing and ordering decimal numbers, I use money as a connection. Ex. When comparing 1.23 and 1.03 I ask students how much money they have and "they get it". When using integers I use temperature and football stats. This bring meaning to the numbers.
ReplyDeleteIn physical education, we stress how much fitness should be a part of everyone's life. We encourage kids to figure out what they like to do (weight lifting, team sports, etc.) and make that a lifelong endeavor. As you get older, your metabolism decreases and exercise/diet becomes more critical to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteWhen doing a goal setting lesson with the 6th graders, we focus on keeping the goal real and attainable. It helps to focus on something they can attain in the near future and work outward. Using examples from someone they know is a way to show how setting goals really can work for them.
ReplyDeleteOne of my physics lessons that I teach in the spring includes roller coasters. This ties into the students World's of Fun trip. We discuss Newton's Laws of motion and where these apply on a a roller coaster and we also discuss kinetic and potential energy. The students get really involved in this lesson because they can see and feel how all of these laws apply.
ReplyDelete