I interviewed two teachers and two parents about their thoughts on homework.
In essence they all articulated similar ideas.
*15-20 minutes of reading for pleasure, both the child reading to the family member as well the family member reading to the child.
*Maintenance activities versus new concept practice that is fun and engaging for 5-10 minutes.
*After school activities like sports, music and at home family time is important.
I couldn't agree more with these ideals.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Infusing Drama into Content Areas: Vocabulary Development
Last week, during the district-wide inservice, Chugach Optional hosted a presentation on Infusing Drama Into the Content areas. Three other schools' faculty participated in a dynamic presentation by Ryan Conarro, Teaching Artist & Alaska EED State System of Support Drama Content Coach.
Ryan inspired us all to use activities like:
Ready Actor
Personal Space Bubble
Gestures
Operative Words or Key Words
Choral Movement & Speaking
Emotion Statues
Statues with Buttons
Tableaus
Ryan took us through each of these experiences in an an interactive process of discussion, examples and break out sessions to create the experiences in small groups.
The questions of why (increased student engagement, literacy skill development, research), when (content area suggestions in literacy and the sciences) and how (specific activities referenced above) were all answered. I left thinking about how I would use these skills that next week.
As an intern, I was tasked with creating and teaching a vocabulary lesson. I decided to teach this lesson using drama. The students in my class just began studying Native Americans. I presented the lesson to a group of 23 first and second graders. I paired a younger with an elder to talk about a word from the Native American literature they have read and were going to be reading. The students were asked to work together to pronounce the word and tell it's meaning. We then categorized the words as a group. I chose words that could easily be acted out and gave one to each pair of students. They had a few minutes before presenting. The students' prior knowledge included a few mini lessons practicing Actor's Stance, Personal Space Bubble, Gestures, Emotional Statues and Operative Words. The students enjoyed acting out and guessing words like spear, chief, buffalo and salmon.
The next big unit of study for our family group is Aesop's Fables. Soon they will be tasked with acting out, in a formal dramatic presentation, one of the Aesop's Fables.
Ryan inspired us all to use activities like:
Ready Actor
Personal Space Bubble
Gestures
Operative Words or Key Words
Choral Movement & Speaking
Emotion Statues
Statues with Buttons
Tableaus
Ryan took us through each of these experiences in an an interactive process of discussion, examples and break out sessions to create the experiences in small groups.
The questions of why (increased student engagement, literacy skill development, research), when (content area suggestions in literacy and the sciences) and how (specific activities referenced above) were all answered. I left thinking about how I would use these skills that next week.
As an intern, I was tasked with creating and teaching a vocabulary lesson. I decided to teach this lesson using drama. The students in my class just began studying Native Americans. I presented the lesson to a group of 23 first and second graders. I paired a younger with an elder to talk about a word from the Native American literature they have read and were going to be reading. The students were asked to work together to pronounce the word and tell it's meaning. We then categorized the words as a group. I chose words that could easily be acted out and gave one to each pair of students. They had a few minutes before presenting. The students' prior knowledge included a few mini lessons practicing Actor's Stance, Personal Space Bubble, Gestures, Emotional Statues and Operative Words. The students enjoyed acting out and guessing words like spear, chief, buffalo and salmon.
The next big unit of study for our family group is Aesop's Fables. Soon they will be tasked with acting out, in a formal dramatic presentation, one of the Aesop's Fables.
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