"Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." -Marva CollinsMy 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Zak was an awesome teacher. I remember that we had spelling contests in her class. The class would line up in front of her and each of us would get a turn in spelling a word. The first student to get to the front of the line three times would win the contest. I won many spelling contests. Mrs. Zak always encouraged me to read more to find new words to spell. At the end of the year, I received an award for being an excellent student in her class. She made me feel so special!
In Chapter 7, it mentions read alouds, shared reading and story mapping. These are great strategies to use in the classroom to improve student achievement. I remember having a student that had trouble recalling what he read after just finishing a story. I used story mapping to help the student with this problem. We labeled the paper with the characters, setting, problem, main events and the resolution of the story. At the end, when the student realized that he accomplished this task of remembering what he read, it was great to see him smile for the first time.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful story that you've shared! To this day, you have a passion for words and possess the disposition for the love of reading. Indeed, engaging literacy strategies will do wonders for students and increase student achievement.
Best regards,
Dr. Rivera
I remember doing that class as well! I loved Spelling competitions, and that made me an excellent student when it came to spelling tests! Its funny because this memorable experience has motivated me to continue such an activity in my classes, now that I am a teacher myself.
ReplyDeleteRead alouds, whether they are individualized or in groups can be effective, but when I notice that students are getting bored, I like to throw an activity into the mix.