Teaching Ideas from Across America -- Page 2

Science's Role in Our Schools

In many school districts, including my own, primary teachers sometimes question the need to teach science. They feel that reading and math are much more important and should be the focus of the school day.

Recently, I received the following comment from one of our kindergarten teachers. She called a parent about doing an independent study with the school's gifted teacher. "This girl is like a sponge," she said. "Learning is so much fun for her."

In her conversation with the teacher, the mother mentioned that her daughter often talks about the science table set up in the classroom and that she likes doing the activities on the table. I think this puts science in our schools into the proper perspective.

"It just reaffirmed my belief that we need to offer a balanced program of reading, math, science, and so on to meet the inquiring needs of all our students," said the teacher.

How true, I thought. Every child has different buttons that need to be pushed so he or she can develop a love of learning and academic excellence. If, through science, we can develop respect and responsibility within our children, what a wonderful world this would be.

Rollo Williams, K-6 Science Facilitator, Campbell County School District, Gillette, WY

A wonderful way to teach students the importance of biographies and autobiographies is to have them write one. As part of our curriculum, students graduating from elementary school compose an autobiography that covers some of the important times in their lives.

I consider this to be more than just a lesson on biographies or the parts of a book. Students are reflecting on the past before moving forward in their education.

My students write the various sections over a period of weeks, sometimes using the templates created on the computer. Sections in the autobiography include Dedication Page, Quotation Page, Foreword, Family Tree, Snapshots of Primary Years (with captions), Memories of Favorite Things, Creative Poem, Family Scrapbook/Traditions, and My Future. I particularly favor the My Future section, where students predict where they will be in 10, 20, 30, and 40 years.

The final product is given to the students at the sixth-grade banquet. It's always interesting to see the students share memories and thoughts about the future with their parents.

Natalie Laliberty, Media Specialist, Andrews Heights Elementary School, Tornado, WV

Parents frequently ask their young children, "What did you do at school today?" Just as frequent is the response: "Nothing." As a primary teacher, I believe it most important that I foster the beginning of a strong home-school connection. I knew we had to find a good way to communicate from the child's perspective the everyday life and special events that occur in our classroom. My weekly newsletter kept parents informed; however, I needed a hook to involve my multiage primary children in the process.

The result of class brainstorming was a weekly newsletter, "Kids Report," written, edited, and published by the children. The class determines the topics and then small groups work on the writing and publishing of the articles. So many communication, collaboration, writing, and computer skills are involved in the process that I consider it well worth the time spent.

The newsletter serves as a great springboard for family discussions about school and gives young children the opportunity to expand on the week's happenings. Parent feedback over the past six years indicates that it was indeed the hook we needed to help strengthen the home-school connection.

Martha Rideout, Multiage Primary Teacher, Neshobe School, Brandon, VT

This activity is not only my favorite for when I have a few extra minutes to fill, but it's my fourth-graders' favorite, too. It's called "Higher or Lower."

I pick a three-digit number between 1 and 500 and call on individual students to try and guess the number. Let's say I've chosen 285 and the first student guess is 430. My response is, "No, my number is lower than 430." A second student might guess 167. My response would be, "No, my number is higher than 167."

The guessing continues until someone comes up with the right answer. That student then gets to choose a number and call on the other students. After each guess, it's important that the entire yes or no statement be used. Restating the number helps students who might not have heard the guess.

This activity takes only a minute or two to complete and there are lots of variations on the game. We quickly move from three-digit to four- and then five-digit numbers. If we are studying place value in math class, we partner and play against one another, seeing how many guesses we need to discover someone's secret number.

Julia Marsh, Fourth Grade Teacher, Mill Creek Elementary School, Columbia, MO

To teach solid geometric figures, students make each figure out of peanut butter dough. We discuss characteristics of each shape, e.g., how many sides, and so on. After we've made each shape with the dough, students get to eat their manipulatives! Later, students work in small groups to brainstorm lists of objects that are examples of spheres, cylinders, cones, cubes, and rectangular prisms.

The recipe for peanut butter dough is:

3 cups instant dried milk

2 cups peanut butter

1 cup honey

Mix well. Chill.

This recipe makes enough for approximately 25 students. (Since the dough is a little greasy, I recommend putting wax paper on students' desks.)

Jill M. Shreffler, Kindergarten Teacher, Edgerton Elementary School, Edgerton, OH

Over the years I tried numerous motivational strategies, but never found the one. Finally, through reflecting on my own motivation to do well, I discovered what I call the three Rs of motivating students: resources, responsibility, and response.

I realized that resources ­-- such as (1) an atmosphere that welcomes questions and discussion, (2) units of study related to real-world situations, and (3) materials to explore topics of their choice -- had to be provided for my students.

Giving students responsibility for their own learning was important, too. I had to let my students know I believed them capable of accepting this responsibility. Then I collaborated with them to help them make wise decisions and choices.

Finally, thoughtful and reassuring response let my students know that I valued their thinking and thus valued them. They were encouraged to think critically and independently, motivating them to want to learn.

Although I'll admit that I did not reach all students all of the time, I found these three Rs to be a powerful method of motivating my students.

Jean Roberts, Regional Writing Consultant, Region 6, Richmond, KY

Page three