August 24, 2005
Today, we completed three worksheets over "The Sniper."
When a teacher lectures all day, the students don't remember much. In fact, one statistic given is that students only remember 5% of what they hear. (That's why we're always repeating ourselves.)
When they copy notes from the bored (I mean board) or definitions from a book, they generally do not remember much. (That's why we encourage them to go home and study.)
Today, I told them to imagine an athlete or musician or dancer preparing for a performance. If the Flairs (our drill team) spent each class just watching their instructors go through the dances, they would not be ready for their performance. If the athletes just spent the day watching games on TV, they would not be ready on game night. Instead, they get up and get involved, they engage their minds and bodies in the activity, and that's how they learn it.
Today, (how many paragraphs can I begin with "today"?) I put them into groups of three to complete the worksheets. They engaged their minds to share ideas and explain the concepts and find the answers. In the end, the class knew the material better than if I had just assigned the work to individuals.
I have a poem that I share with the class called "Pull the Next One Up." This poem says that when you reach the mountain top and are enjoying your success and the view, don't forget that there are those who are still struggling to reach the summit of success, so reach down and "pull the next one up." That's what group work can do.
Here are the three worksheets:
Somebody Wanted But So
Conflict
Plot Outline
When a teacher lectures all day, the students don't remember much. In fact, one statistic given is that students only remember 5% of what they hear. (That's why we're always repeating ourselves.)
When they copy notes from the bored (I mean board) or definitions from a book, they generally do not remember much. (That's why we encourage them to go home and study.)
Today, I told them to imagine an athlete or musician or dancer preparing for a performance. If the Flairs (our drill team) spent each class just watching their instructors go through the dances, they would not be ready for their performance. If the athletes just spent the day watching games on TV, they would not be ready on game night. Instead, they get up and get involved, they engage their minds and bodies in the activity, and that's how they learn it.
Today, (how many paragraphs can I begin with "today"?) I put them into groups of three to complete the worksheets. They engaged their minds to share ideas and explain the concepts and find the answers. In the end, the class knew the material better than if I had just assigned the work to individuals.
I have a poem that I share with the class called "Pull the Next One Up." This poem says that when you reach the mountain top and are enjoying your success and the view, don't forget that there are those who are still struggling to reach the summit of success, so reach down and "pull the next one up." That's what group work can do.
Here are the three worksheets:
Somebody Wanted But So
Conflict
Plot Outline
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