There are many different ways to clarify a lesson in the classroom. I have observed a few of these lesson clarifications in my third grade class. I am in the class mostly for math and a little bit of reading time. During math, the kids do math stations in groups of about four around the room. Every time the teacher introduces a new station, the class first goes through it as a class so they get the hang of it and can ask any questions they may have. I think this is a great way to make sure the lesson of that math station is clear for the students. They have a chance to play it and understand it as a group so that when it comes time to do in stations they already know how to play it and won't have to learn a new game at each station. When I first came into this class I did not know about this process so I did not completely understand what was going on, however the students knew exactly what to do without needing the teacher to tell them.
Also, when the class is transitioning and some kids are not doing what they have been told, instead of the teacher just telling a single student several students, he will just say something like, "Oh I really like how Suzy got up, pushed her chair in and walked quietly." This way of reminding the students what they are supposed to be doing and praising a student rather than just reprimanding a student seems very affective.
Another way the teacher clarified a lesson for the students was when the kids were trying to match a 2D image of blocks with the real blocks in front of them. This was very difficult for several students to get the hang of but walking around the classroom and talking about it helps them a lot. Also the teacher put the blocks up on screen to show the whole class what it actually looks like so they could really see it in case they had not gotten the answer themselves.
The teacher I observe does a great job of explaining things verbally and visually for his class and the class usually seems to know what is going on very well.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I really like this this idea of incorporating verbal and visual techniques in the classroom to enhance lesson clarity. The stations seem like a great idea. Also using praise instead of insulting the students that are off task. Do the students seem to react positively to this method?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your teacher has established a smooth and organized system for the students to follow.
How does he deal with students with special needs? Do the stations work to help them learn at their own pace?
I know exactly what you mean about being lost the first couple of days, my teacher has also established a system, but it didn't have to do with stations, but with jobs assigned to each student.