Maybe one student, or the teacher, interviews another in a late night talk show setting. You could videotape each interview and let the whole class watch the end product. And perhaps, you could do some sort of follow-up activity where students observed their similarities and differences with other classmates.
Another idea that comes to mind I cannot take credit for, it belongs to a retired kindergarten teacher turned professor. Before school even began, (and this requires months of preparation) she held a “campout” with her students and their families. They literally set up camp on school g rounds a few days before school started. They had several activities where the students, parents, and teacher would get to know each other. And yes, they actually spent the night in their tents right there on the school’s lawn! I can’t think of a more perfect way to get to know your students and their parents! It is a non-threatening environment because the children are there with their families. I think this would really bring out the differences of interests, personalities, as well as culture.
To wrap up, I think social activities are more appropriate for getting-to-know-you for young children…. Because, lets be honest, the only thing you’ll know after you have gotten your written surveys back…. is that many of the students hated having to fill out another worksheet.
2 comments:
I love the ideas you shared, too! They are great for "get to know you" things. But... alas, you have missed the point of looking at them in terms of this class. Perhaps you would have understood if you had looked thoroughly through the inventories & pre-assessments online. This class is about differentiation, and implores teachers to understand that they will not be able to differentiate unless they know their students' INTERESTS, LEARNING styles & preferences, and readiness stages. The two inventories in the textbook are aimed at finding out those specific things in as far as knowing them can affect the lesson planning... the choices the teacher will offer, or the activities she will include (like a campout on the lawn, because she has learned that many of her students enjoy going camping, etc.). Teachers need to figure out how they will not only come to KNOW each child, but how they will keep track of that information so they can use it in lesson and unit planning. This makes it really important that you also look at the ideas online, since they get to the heart of content area. Take a look and determine how they can be modified for other ages and other content areas, and see which ones you can picture yourself using. You'll need a little more formal ways of knowing what students need, and where they are. 3 points
Jammie,
I think it's a valid point that some students will see some inventories as boring work. I'm glad I read your blog so I can be aware of that when I decide which inventories to use and when. What did you think about the writing dample?
Post a Comment