Student Assessment

Assessment in my class is an ongoing process. The teacher engages students in the assessment process periodically because of the need to know their progress.

The teacher uses assessment to find out if it meets the Student Learning Expectations, to improve his/her teaching strategies, and to meet the goals of the subject area that the students are being tested on.

Through assessments, the teacher strives to bring out the potential of the students to the maximum. It provides us insights into what teaching strategies will work best with our students.

The teacher provides the students a lot of work and activities in which they can show whether they have understood the knowledge and skills taught. The written work are gathered and submitted to the students’ parents for an update of their progress in their studies. Some of them are given some place in the classroom to recognize the student’s effort.

The teacher uses varied form of assessments. These are the: teacher’s made tests, publishers’ made tests, performance assessment, student self assessment, oral presentation, written work, questioning (oral discussion), creative hands-on projects, and standard assessments. These methods of assessments are:

. Teacher- created tests geared toward various learning styles. This method is more specific to the actual material being taught. The teacher can be more selective in emphasizing what was highlighted in the lessons.

. Publicized tests are utilized but it is limited in what is covered, so the teacher- created tests can be more challenging.

. Publisher- produced test- These tests encourage high order thinking. For some subjects, pretests are offered. By using these tests, the teacher is assured that the material covered will be tested in order to evaluate mastery of the material. If mastery is not achieved, then reteaching materials are available. These test results are used to evaluate the capabilities of the children.

. Oral Presentation- These can include speeches and skits. An advantage to these is immediate evaluation. It also allows and encourages creativity. Through this method there is a greater development of oral skills.

. Written Work- This provides the teacher opportunities to evaluate writing skills across the curriculum. It also provides the students for critical thinking. This method encourages creativity. Through written work, the students are encouraged to organize their thoughts.

. Questioning or oral discussions – This method checks for listening skills and attention span. An advantage of this method is that feedback is immediate.

. Creative hand-on projects, including science experiments, models, dioramas, and collections. These projects encourage creativity.

. Standardized test scores are evaluated and utilized in the following ways:

to evaluate the class’ strengths and weaknesses.

to share with parents, class’ progress and individual student’s progress during parent-teacher conferences as another facet of student learning.

to identify students who are achieving.

to identify students who need remediation.

to teach test-taking strategies.

Read more by clicking here...

How Students Learn

Students learn through:

. teacher-directed activities that build understanding of concepts through the use of concrete materials and models- textbooks, workbooks, hands-on materials, etc.

. class discussions to illicit different levels of thinking skills i.e., students are encouraged to reason and to draw conclusions

. written work such as creative writing , journal writing, essays, and summaries which that provide opportunities for students to express themselves creatively

. oral presentation that provide opportunities for strengthening verbal skills

. the use of our textbooks and workbooks that challenge the children’s critical thinking

. listening activities to follow directions

. games and manipulative

. peer teaching or partner learning

. oral reports

. cooperative learning groups

. creative writing including poetry, stories, prayers, essays, and letters

. blackboard drills and exercises to reinforce skills gained

. art activities that include drawing, painting, illustration, and dioramas

. homework including daily reading logs

. identifying, describing, and comparing given facts and situations

. activities that require exploration, investigation, and discovery

. interacting with classmates to enhance understanding through verbalizing and visualizing

. classifying and sorting that develop the ability to think independently

. collecting, organizing, and interpreting information in a variety of settings

. experiences with manipulative

. role playing, dramatizing

. puppet and dolls playing

. completing workbook exercises and hands-on materials

. team work and group activities

. activities that require originality and creative thinking

. Oral and written reports

. Guest speakers

. demonstration, exhibits of work, sharing of work with the class

. activities that emphasizes critical thinking and scientific problem solving

. devising their own methods for exploring problems

. relating to life situation

. writing letters

. writing essays or paragraphs

. researching

. interviewing

. summarizing

. forming conclusions

. perform experiments (science)

. using charts to organize information and solve simple logic problems

. hands-on activities that for social interaction among the students

. predicting, performing and recording results

. field trips that enhance learning and encourage life situations

. complete projects that put into application of concepts learned

. holding team contests

. drill and review activities

Read more by clicking here...

Celebrating Summer in the Classroom

What exactly can you do when the scorching heat of the sun finally invades your classroom? How do you make your children enjoy summer without making them cringe from the heat it brings? These are a few of the questions that challenge even the best of teachers when summer starts to lurk around the corner. Well, teachers need not hurry to search for some good creative activities to alleviate the feeling that summers only can bring. Here are some ways you may want to look into that may encourage enthusiasm among your children toward summer.

Choose what is appropriate for your class level and interest: First of all, have a change of decors in the classroom. Make the sun as the center of interest. You could decorate your bulletin boards with a big sun with sunglasses on. Make it friendly looking with a nice funny caption such as: Here Comes Sunny! Summer is Fun! Be Cool! Summer Is Here!

Have some sunflowers around, a drawing of sailboats, the beach with big umbrellas and beach balls, and anything that may suggest summer is fun!Have a discussion about what are the best things that happen in summer: baseball games, surfing, beach ball game, swimming, camping, barbecue parties, parties in the park, sailing, fishing, beach volley ball, skate boarding, etc.

Look for stories about summer appropriate for the age of your students. Read them the stories such as the, The Sun and the Wind. Have the children dramatize this story, illustrate, and write a short summary of it. Put up their stories in the bulletin board. Have the children draw their favorite summer activities (for the lower grades) and let them talk about it. Ask them to share the summer activities : what do they do with their families? A family cruise, a beach party, family camping, etc.

Teach them art about summer. Show them how to build a kite that they can fly on the beach. Buy the girls colorful fabrics, and let them make short bandanas. Have the children decorate hats with flowers, and or teach them flower arrangements. Teach them how to make their own kaleidoscopes and glass paintings.

There are many art projects there that you may want your children to engage in such as water color blowing, finger painting, and sand painting that will suggest summer.Have the children gather rocks and sea shells and let them start their own collection. Have them classify their rocks and let them talk about them, where they found them and what do they know about them.

Have the children research what brings about the season of summer. Discuss about the revolution of the earth around the sun and its tilting on its axis. Talk about the sun and its features, what is it made of, its size, its distance from the earth. Talk about solar energy. Have a discussion of the uses of solar energy. Have the children construct solar ovens, and have them bring them outside the classroom and actually let them cook potatoes in them. Teach them the scientific method of experiment, so they learn to observe what is happening to the potatoes that they are cooking, and or let them explain how their solar ovens work.

Set up a contest in the class about the group that can come up with the best art about summer, the best pair that can come up with the best essay about summer, or the person with best poem about summer. Let them write essays about summer. First, make a list of main ideas about summer, and later on they can work in groups to give details for their main ideas about summer.Teach them poems about summer or better still encourage them to compose poems about the summer and award the children who can come up with the best work with sun shades, caps, scarves.

Put up their work on the bulletin board with their own illustrations of their work. Have a Beach Day in school! Allow the students to bring their shades, hats, umbrellas, beach towels, and beach balls. Let them play with water with very close supervision. Have the sprinklers on. Serve the children some popcicles, ice cream, fruit juices, and cotton candies. Let them play tossing of balloons filled up with water, tag war, and relays, etc. Later on, have them write essays what was the best in the Beach Day in School.

Have a volleyball tournament between students and teachers, and serve the children who cheer for their fellow students or their teachers be served with drinks, ice cream, popcicles, fruit juices, etc. Let them put on their sun shades, big buri hats, caps, etc. Show them a few dance steps to celebrate summer such as square dancing, limbo rock, and rock and roll.

Have the children bring ingredients for making lemonade and come up with different ways to make good lemonade. Serve it with side dish of cookies, mini brownies, and plates of sliced fruit. Show some videos of the most amazing sand castles ever made and amazing summer adventures- deep sea fishing, sail boating across the oceans, mountain climbing, etc.

Don't forget to provide the children with a list of good books to catch up on with their reading during the summer. Have a great summer! Don't let the heat dampen your spirit of adventure and creativity, fun in your classroom.
Read more by clicking here...

Teach your child to read effectively

We are baffled as to why our children don't want to read or can't reador that maybe they could be late bloomers in reading and thus give usunnecessary worries and much more, that is suspecting them of havingsome kind of reading disability.What could have happened? We must have lost them when they started tobe curious about printed words.



What happened to them from then onbecomes a parent's dilemma. Perhaps we lost the magic ourselves in helpingthem to read. We expect that without so much help from us adults,children will read when the time comes on their own, just like their firststeps. But reading is a different matter. Yes, it is true that readingmust be desired and not be forced. But it is also caught, not onlytaught. Therefore something as great and as important as reading, preparationand exposure to reading are the keys.



We must prepare the children forit to happen and to blossom and make children read naturally,effectively, and enjoyably? How do we go about it?First of all, the children's desire and enjoyment for printed words arenot allotted in the hands of the child's first teacher, but his ownparents. The parents are the first adults who should plant the seeds ofdesire in reading as early as when the child is in the mother's womb.Read to them. We have heard of the story of one mom who read medicalbooks to her babies while they were merely fetuses in her womb, and herbabies when they grew up pursued medicine and became doctors. Babies canhear the beautiful rhyme in the words with your cooing loving voice. They will be able to identify this reading voice later on when you will bereading to them and will like the activity of reading as they haveexperienced it in their prenatal period and as babies.



Make your children treasure books just as they treasure their precioustoys. Show them how precious books are. Model this desire to read tothem. They should catch you reading most of the time instead of watchingtelevision all the time. You know what they said about viewingtelevision a lot, nothing is left for the imagination, for creativity, forthinking and does not encourage reading. It could be very entertaining andless effort on our part to do the work, but it does not help andencourage the child to think more, and does not challenge the child's mentalfaculties.



Don't forget to make books one of the most precious things that yourchildren treasure; give books as their coveted gifts. Buy your childrengood books, books that are given awards and recognition. Put them in aspecial place among his precious things to convey the message howimportant books are.Invest in good children's books. The money you spend is worth a fortunewhen later on it comes to your children liking and enjoying reading.Let them choose the books that they like to read. You may suggest thebooks to read to them or the books that you are going to read together,but the final choice is theirs. The saying: "The customer is alwaysright" applies here.



Read to them as often as you can, not only when you send them to sleep.Find a very pleasant place to read with them- at the beach, near alake, in your garden, in a hammock. Let them think of reading as a veryrelaxing thing to do, not something taxing that causes them to feelresistant to it at a tender age.Even though they can read by themselves, it would still be nice for youto read to them, just to continue the pleasant experience of enjoyingreading together. Make reading a shared activity.



Read words together with no stopping to try to sound words that poseproblems. If your child struggles to say a word, don't let him stopsaying it until he gets the word right. Constant exposure and patience isthe key to learning to read words.It is hard for children to remember rules in reading. Get away fromstating rules if they are just beginning to learn to read. Instead modelthe reading to them; they like that better, and when they like it, andenjoy it, then the task becomes easy. It is like the first time yourbaby learns to walk, the movements are awkward and fumbling at first, butafterwards, he just gets the hang of it. Suddenly, as in walking, allthe sounds that he hears now make sense in the printed materials that hereads. Give him enough space and time, but early exposure to anenvironment where there is love of reading should be given to him.



There is also the beauty of syllabicating words for children to knowthe sounds in the words. The children enjoy knowing and saying the soundsin the words. Have a game in which the children identify the soundsthat they hear when you say the words before you let them say the words.Introduce many poems for the children to read. The rhythmic patterns ofthe lines never fail to stimulate the children's appetite for rhythmicsounds as well as the rhyming words at the end of the lines. Let the children see you reading a lot, and that you are enjoyingreading. One of your favorite places to spend a lot of time should be thelibrary and the book stores. When you go shopping add a book for them toyour shopping list.There should be reading time in your household schedule instead of thecontinuous flashing of light from the tube. Don't send your childrento their room just to get rid of them and hurry to say, "Go and watchthe television." Instead: "Why don't you go to your room and read thatbook that we just bought or borrowed from the library?Scatter a lot of good books around the house; spend money on good booksif you can afford them.

Instead of a lot of toys, start your childwith a collection of his favorite books. And every night or whateverschedule you have let him read his favorite book to an eager audience. Thereshould be a special place in the house that is allotted to reading,and make that part of your house one of the most attractive and bestparts of your house; something that they will remember even when they haveleft your house.When you read to the children, manage to have your best readingexpression that will excite them. Captivate their young mind. Later on you maywant to read a play and dramatize it just so you can have a lot of funfrom reading the material.

As early as when they are in the mother's womb, the babies should beread to already. They should hear the beautiful rhyme in the words withyour cooing loving voice. They will be able to identify this readingvoice later on when you will be reading to them and like the activity ofreading as they have been used to it as a pleasant experience in theprenatal period in their life.Allow them to repeat to you several times the parts that they like inthe story and later on when they are capable, you might have a gooddiscussion of the content of the book to develop their readingcomprehension.When listening to them read, give your full attention and express yourappreciation of their good reading. If you can afford it reward theirgood effort with something they like to have or do.

Introduce a variety of reading materials. Don't limit your reading tothe same materialall the time. This will widen the reading horizon of children and willcultivate their preferences especially if they know such good booksexist.The classroom teacher should expose the children to different kinds ofreading. The teacher should constantly read to the children. Studentsshould take turns in reading or listen to audiobooks or invite guests toread. Students should be encouraged to do reading in pairs or participate inguided reading. when assigning books for book report writing, read stories fordiscussion of its element, for inferences, for noting details, forcomprehension, for grasping the main ideas; for giving the beginning,middle, and the ending, for appreciation of figurative speeches; forenjoyment of rhythmic patterns, and rhyming words.Expose your child to the different forms of literature- fables, fantasy, memoir, legend/folk tale,autobiography, personal experience, informational writing, letter, song, poem,science fiction, realistic fiction, reference, horror, etc.

As for the different approaches for effective reading, teachers shouldutilize all methods and approaches; they must go to basics, use phonicsto beginning readers, discuss structure of words- finding the rootwords, affixes, encourage a lot of syllabication drills in enhancingreading, use supplementary reading activity laboratories (SRA) forindependent reading, and have a lot of vocabulary study.It is a must to have vocabulary study before the reading of the story;it is best to pull out phrases from a story being read and read anddiscuss the phrase briefly to facilitate the reading of the story.Have a bulletin board that encourages the reading of good books ormonitoring the reading achievements of the students. It is most effectiveif you have contests to encourage the children's reading. For the little children, flash words continuously to them. The key toreading is constant exposure to words. Group words that rhyme; childrenlike to read rhyming words. You should have plenty of them. Scatterthese words around. Say hang up a fake snake, and around the object,write as many words that refer to it such as: slither, scaly, reptile,hissing, sting, etc.

When asking a child to read and he struggles over some words, thestrategy is the same as the one I mentioned when working with your childwith his reading- sound the word/s immediately. Make reading as enjoyable as can be. Have unison reading a lot with your class.In this way, even the timid readers gets into the flow of reading. Havethe children use props if necessary when they are reading to make itmore entertaining for them- such as make use of hand puppets whilereading, if these materials are available.Have a small library in the room, and make it part of the free time -quiet reading time in the library. Work with the school librarian tomake books available to the children to borrow according to what they arelearning in class.Have the children exchange books among themselves; let them talk abouttheir favorite books. What books should they recommend for classmatesto read?Publish or display the best book reports the students have done forsharing.

Have a "Reading Night" among the young children where they read to anassembly of parents and fellow students to show how good they are inreading. Allow them to choose the book they want to read, and let thenpractice reading. Children love to perform and will like the challenge.Have them do a lot of practice reading in the classroom and do it onlywith students who like the idea.Have your children's parents come up with a reading club among yourstudents such as Young Readers Club similar to that of the Girls Scout ora Sports Team. Children like to be part of a Club. And what betterway to recognize them than to give them awards for reading books. Havethem do fun activities that have something to do with reading. When adults, especially the child's parents, have exerted all effortsto help their child become an effective reader, they have given him avery good foundation of success in his later life.

Reading brings you to a higher level of thinking experience. Treasureit and pass it on!
Read more by clicking here...

Fun Ways to Use the Dictionary

No doubt about the dictionary being a very important tool in learning. It is a tool that teaches you a lot about the structure and function of a word without a teacher. The students will learn how to find out just about anything they want to know about words: their meaning, their spelling, their syllabication, their use in sentences, their special forms, their abbreviation, their pronunciation, their spelling, and their origin (word history). Some dictionaries show the use of the words by using them in sentences (context clue).

The dictionary helps in developing the children’s vocabulary that they need in taking care of all areas in their learning. Another skill that the children gain in using the dictionary is teaching them to work independently, an important element in teaching children responsibility in their studies.

However, how to encourage the children to use them and like using them is another matter. Here are simple ways to encourage the children to enjoy using their dictionaries.
Introduce the dictionary as a friend that can help them when they need it and when they have questions about words.

First, have them own a children’s dictionary (if their age range is from 7 to 9). Encourage their parents to buy them one. It is a very good investment for their child’s learning growth. There are really great children’s dictionaries nowadays. I would recommend the children’s dictionary by Scholastic Publishing Company (ISBN is_0-590-25271-2 if you are interested), by Scotts Foresman, and by Macmillan Publishing Companies They are basic dictionaries, beautifully illustrated, the words are simple for the children to read, and yet it has all the features of a grown up dictionary, except for the pronunciation of words. These children’s dictionaries are made visually attractive to stimulate them to notice and retain interesting facts and impressions about words.

When giving an assignment for the first time involving the use of dictionary, refrain from asking the children to look up the meaning of the words in the dictionary immediately. The children need some warm up activity to do the task engagingly. Let them engage in some kind of activity first as a class. Have a game to see who can find the page first for a given word, or better still the first one who can give the guide words for given words. It is more exciting if you have a contest, in this way everybody in a team will work fast and eagerly on their dictionary. This will remove some of the anxiety a student has in using the dictionary. He will remember the fun he had in class using the dictionary and perhaps will take upon himself the challenge of how fast he can apply himself to dictionary work or future contests in the classroom.

Make sure that you discuss all the other features of a dictionary (guide words, definition, syllabication, pronunciation, special forms). Familiarize your students with all these features, and use them as a source for game contests. First, introduce the words “entry” and “entry words” (entry is another word for definition or meaning of a word and the word “entry word” is the word that they are looking for. So, if you are having a contest, you may use this in your game with dictionary. Such as, on page _____ of your dictionary, what entry word has this entry ____.

Syllabicating words is a fun activity for children to do and therefore you can use it to introduce another facet in the dictionary. This is another avenue for a fun game activity enhancing the use of the dictionary. Looking up the syllabication of words in the dictionary should be a separate activity to start the children who are just learning to use the dictionary or are having problems using the dictionary. First, as a class, have a drill game on how to syllabicate words. Then set up a contest. Give the children words to syllabicate on the blackboard. Then ask somebody to check his dictionary to see if they got it right. In this way, you are telling the children that the dictionary has the final say whether a syllabication of a word is right. It gives the children respect for the dictionary.

Don’t put everything together as one task for all these activities: looking up of the meaning of words, giving the syllabication, pronouncing the words or giving the special forms of given words. Distribute the activities one at a time, so the children really enjoy using the dictionary. One day, simply ask them to look up the syllabication of given words, on other days, the definition of given words, and then on other days, simply the pronunciation of given words.

When asking the children to find the special forms of given words, first involve the children into fun activities of finding the base words/ root words of given words. To illustrate this activity, ask the students what is the base word, for example, of the word, unpainted? (paint). Set up a game contest for this skill. Once the children have mastered identifying the root words of given words , then follow it up with some lessons on identifying the affixes of some words, such as what are the affixes of the word, “unlovable” (un and able). Only then, can you proceed to ask for the specil forms of the words.

Encourage your children to use the dictionary as often as they can. Using the dictionary will not only enrich their vocabulary and sharpen their spelling skills but will help develop their reading and writing skills.

A game to practice in using a dictionary:

Dictionary Word Bee Contest
Divide the class into two teams. Each player writes one word on a slip of paper. The player must know the meaning of the word or find its meaning in the dictionary. Place the papers in a box. The teams form lines facing each other. The first player takes a word from the opposing team’s box, reads the word aloud, gives a definition, and uses the word in a sentence. The player on the opposing team decides if the answer is acceptable. Each team may consult the dictionary to confirm if the answer is right. Teams take turns until everyone has had a word.

Alphabetize Me
Divide the class into two teams. Give each player a packet of cards. Each packet has words to alphabetize.
Packet One = dinosaur fish owl frog snake
Packet Two = clean sky worm flag beans seeds
At a given signal, each player is to arrange his word cards alphabetically. The first one to finish gets some points (the teacher decides). When all have finished each child passes his packet of cards to the next player in his team

As children become proficient a larger number of words should be used, with the second or third letter as the identifying elements

Prefixes and Affixes Quiz Bee

Divide the class into two teams.
The teacher writes on the blackboard a list of prefixes and suffixes.
A player from each team is asked to reach into a bag (with already prepared words on pieces of paper) to draw out a piece of paper and try to make a new word using any of the prefixes and suffixes listed on the board. The player who is able to form a new word gets a point. The game continues until everybody in the team gets a turn. The team with the most points is declared the winner.
Read more by clicking here...

Howard Garner's Multiple Intelligences

Knowing the kind of intelligence our students possess, will enable us to guide them and align our instructional activities to suit their intellectual needs.

Garner’s Mutltiple Intelligences Intelligence Student Behavior Instructional Activities

Visual/Spatial: Adept in drawing Drawing
Ability to create mental images Uses the visual arts Use of visual media
Think in images in personal expression Arts & Crafts
Creating, Symbols
Meditations

Logical/Mathematical
Recognizes abstract patterns Ask many questions Games that involve
and approach problems Adept in math & science reasoning such as
logically, use numbers precise & methodical logical puzzles,
effectively, thinks by reasoning love to experiment and problem solving
solve problems Analyze a situation
Practical application

Verbal/Linguistic
Relates to words & language Enjoy reading Discussion, reading
Both written & spoken, Writing, Speaking & Reading aloud, telling
Thinks in words, uses words listening Telling or writing a
effectively a story, debating
Playing word games
Memorizing

Music/Rhythmic
Recognizes nonverbal sounds, Adept in remembering Listening to music
pitch, tone, melodies, rhythms, and converting sounds Singing, dancing,
and tonal patterns, uses rhythm into rhythms, understand playing musical
and melody to spur thinking and expresses oneself instruments,
through music chants, writing their own songs.
Read more by clicking here...

Counting Coins

Note: The advantage of using actual coins instead of the “play coins” when introducing and learning how to count coins is that the children can actually identify the coins by their real size, weight, color and shape. The play coins are very deceiving. They are larger, lighter, and thicker.

I ask my students to bring to class coins in these different denominations and they are to put each set of coins in separate ziplock, and label each with their name:

4 quarters = $1.00
10 dimes = $ 1.00
20 nickels = $ 1.00
100 pennies = $ 1.00

Procedure:
Show me a quarter. Give me the amount.
Do the same with the other coins.
Put on your table a quarter, a nickel, and a penny. Count them and give me the amount.
Using your dimes and nickels, show me thirty-five cents.
Using the combinations of pennies, dimes and nickels show me 45 cents.
Make different combinations with the coins and let the children count them and give the amount.
Write the amount that the children give you on the blackboard so they can learn how to write the amount as well.
Read more by clicking here...

Bloom's Taxonomy

Here is Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Specific Skills that could be used to bring out the outcomes in your lessons:

Taxonomy Specific Skills:

Knowledge - recall define label list recite select
reproduce point out memorize name
record define recite repeat
Comprehension - outline describe discuss explain identify
indicate outline recognize restate select
translate match tell summarize
Analyze - arrange analyze chart compare distinguish
diagram dissect criticize examine debate relate
contrast plan
Application - explain apply construct identify demonstrate
illustrate interpret dramatize select
demonstrate show how employ
Synthesis - write arrange construct create design compose
forecast estimate tell do prepare formulate
make plan prepare propose solve tell do
Evaluation - decide verify judge criticize defend assess grade dispute choose why appraise evaluate
Read more by clicking here...

Sharing Books

Children want to talk about the books they read. To help them share, talk, and tell about the books they read you may want to give these activities (modify each activity to fit your class needs or meet its level) :

After you read a book to your class, you may discuss it by asking your students to answer the following questions (you may want to print these questions as a hand-out or post in on a chart as guide questions after reading a book):

1. Where and when does the story take place?
2. Who are the main characters?
3. What is one of the characters like?
4. Who is your favorite character? Why?
5. Which part of the story do you like best?
6. How do you feel about the end of the story?
7. Would you recommend this book to others to read?
8. What do you remember most about this book?

You may want to put your students in pair. Let partners choose one book to read to each other. Ask each pair to prepare a skit depicting their favorite part of the story and have it presented to the class. After their presentation, the class may ask the pair questions from the guide questions in the hand-out.

After reading several books to your class, have each student choose one of the main characters to portray. The class asks the student portraying a character questions from the guide questions in the hand-out.

Put children in five groups. Assign each group one of the first five questions from the guide questions. Have each group draw a large picture to answer each question and later on to have their work shared with the class.

Individual Work- After reading a book, help each student put together a five page booklet to answer the first five questions from the guide questions.

Use a puppet to tell the story; or have a puppet to portray one of the characters of the story and have the class ask it questions.

Ask your class to tell the beginning, middle, and ending of the story. Put your students in small groups and let them illustrate each part of the story and accompany it with lines summarizing each part.
Read more by clicking here...

Special Learning Activities

Here are some special learning activities that you could use with your lessons to meet the various learning styles and needs of your students:


1. Hands-on Activities which allow for much creativity and social interaction especially when they are done in groups. Within groups, cooperative learning is taking place. Through these activities the students learn to work within time limits. Students must be able to use resources wisely and to follow specific guidelines. This kind of activity is especially beneficial for kinesthetic learners.

2. Listening Activities help to teach and evaluate the skills of following directions and listening for comprehension. The use of music allows for different styles of learning, as well as for teaching songs.

3. Written work such as creative writing, journal writing, essays, and summaries that allow another avenue for creativity of expression of thoughts and ideas provide opportunities for students who have strong writing skills. It also provides opportunities for students to look over their work to proofread it and appreciate their talent in writing.

4. Oral presentations which provide opportunities for strengthening verbal skills.

5. Field trips are used as outside resources , for social interaction, and to give first hand experience of learned material. This material is now reality based. This is a vicarious experience for the students, which encourage enthusiasm and makes learning fun.
Read more by clicking here...

Recommended Learning Websites

I have listed here some sites that you could log on in exploring the world of science.

Students will find in these sites handy research tools, such as glossaries covering volcanoes, mapping biology, and water; they can also do researches for assistance with school project ideas and for help with homework.

Teachers will find lesson plans with innovative activities regarding environmental concerns, fossils, caves, and much more.

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/ - (volcanoes) –USGS Volcano Hazard Program
http://minerals.usgs.gov/ – (mineral) – Mineral Resources Program
http://geology.usgs.gov/ – (geology) – USGS Geologic Information
http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes – (coastal erosion) – Mapping Coastal Change Hazards
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/ - (earth’s water) – Water Science for Schools
http://water.usgs.gov/outreach/OutReach.html- (earth’s water)- Water Education Posters
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/ - (geography) - National Atlas
www.usgs.gov/invasive_species - (biology) - Invasive Species
Read more by clicking here...

Guides in Communicating with Parents

When communicating with parents, it is always important to remember to be very cautious with the words that we use that might have unnecessary negative implications.

Here are the positive expressions to use in lieu of the negative expressions:


Instead of: Mean you can say: Has difficulty getting along with others
Instead of: Lazy you can say: Can do more if they try
Instead of: Troublemaker you can say: Disturbs class
Instead of: Uncooperative you can say: Should learn to work with others
Instead of: Stupid you can say: Can learn to do the right thing
Instead of: Never does the right thing you can say: Can do the right thing
Instead of: Impertinent you can say: Discourteous
Instead of: Stubborn you can say: Insists on having his/her own way
Instead of: Liar you can say: Does not always tells the truth
Instead of: Sloppy you can say: Could do neater work
Instead of: Failed you can say: Failure to meet the requirement
Instead of: Time and again you can say: Usually
Instead of: Dubious you can say: Uncertain
Instead of: Poor grade of work you can say: Working below the standard
Instead of: Selfish you can say: Seldom shares with others
Instead of: Rude you can say: Inconsiderate to others
Instead of: Show-off you can say: Tries to get attention
Instead of: Will fail him/her unless ... you can say: Has a chance of passing, if...
Read more by clicking here...

Curriculum Ideas: Thematic Approach

One of the best ways to integrate subjects is to focus on a single theme using the thematic approach. Lessons could be made to revolve around a theme to make it more meaningful to the students and utilize more of their talents in all the different aspects of learning. It also creates avenues for teachers to be more creative and more expansive in their approach to their lessons.

Wanting to enrich my curriculum and after getting tired of the pragmatic approach to teaching I tried to experiment using the “thematic approach” that I have learned in one of the seminars I attended to. In every quarter I focus on a certain theme and to my amazement and satisfaction it has opened a lot of doors to varied activities I had not realized were there ready to be tapped. It just needs some planning, creativity and the readiness to put more effort in your teaching and more involvement in your child’s effort to learn.

One of the themes I have developed is: “Appreciating Different Cultures”

After reading stories of children with different traditions and culture, I discussed with them the importance of ancestors, tradition and culture. I followed this immediately with asking them to fill out a family chart complete with pictures of family members. I gave my students an assignment to make a list of what make their ancestors important to them. When they came back with this assignment, we put all their list together to make a longer list. Then I sent this flyer to the parents outlining the activities on the theme: Appreciating Different Cultures).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Appreciating Different Cultures”

Social Studies Subject Integrated with Reading and English

Dear Parents,
We are inviting parents or friends who can come to our class and talk to the students about culture/s they are familiar with or have had a background study on or simply part of their personal experience.

Your participation will be credited to your child’s grade for this project. Please include any object/activity that your child can use to accompany your presentation, i.e. artifacts, maps, music or recitation of literary pieces. Please use the form below for your reply.

* Please examine some pictures of the cultural presentation visits of parents in our class.
Reading: (In lieu of book reports)
Students will make an album of a country of their choice with its symbol, map, location, customs, traditions or values and other special facts. The project should have a five-page minimum of handwritten or typewritten information and double-spaced for reading convenience. Each page should have an illustration/picture of the facts presented.

English:
Students will do an interview with grandparents, whether it be their own or others’, about the country of their origin and the cultural traditions and values they have handed down to their children and grandchildren. See a sample of a student’s grandparent’s interview.

We will also be having a “Language Banner Parade” in the school playground, where each students after having learned some foreign words/phrases will make a banner out of big construction papers ( 12 in x 20 in) and list down some of these words/phrases to be shared with classmates and schoolmates during class breaks. See pictures attached.

** Celebration of Multicultural Days in Our Class**

On this day there will be a culminating activity where all the themes from the above subjects will be credited. Children will show a special presentation of dances, shows and poems learned from parent/guest presentations. Each child will bring a particular dish/food from a particular country or culture to be shared in class. The menu for that dish will also be brought to class for enrichment purposes. Parents and guests are invited.
______________________________________________________________________
Parent’s Reply Form
Date: _______________________
Child’s Name: _________________________
Culture to be Presented: _______________________
Date of Presentation: _________________________________
Comments: ____________________________________________________________
**********
For the interview with a grandparent ( as mentioned in this thematic approach) you may want to use this form.
An Interview with a Grandparent
Interviewer (Name of the student doing the interview): __________________
Date of Interview: ______________________________
Grandparent’s Name: __________________________________
Where and how did the interview take place? ___________________________
Interviewer may starts to say:
I am grateful to you for giving me a chance to interview you. I am doing this interview for my class. It is a project given by our teacher to learn more about our ancestors, and since you are a very important person in my ancestor line, I would like to know more about you. Some of the questions are optional. We will skip the questions that you are not comfortable to answer.
What were the things you enjoyed when you were a child?
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
What are some of the things your parents taught you that you think are important to you?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
What traditions/customs do your family continue to celebrate or practices, and values that your family honors?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
What were some of the things you did together as a family?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Is there any particular object you have that has been given to you by one of your ancestors that you consider very important?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
What are some of the things you want other people to know
about you?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Thank you for making this interview possible. I love you, Grandma.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another Theme I have used in a quarter is: “Great People Who Have Made a Difference in Our Lives”

Projects:

Reading and English – Submit a book report using any of the forms given to you about the life and achievements of a great person you admire.

Social Studies, Reading and English - An album on the lives of great people. A page report of each great person, a minimum of five sentences and in paragraph form, in the child’s own handwriting. If it is possible, a picture or a drawing of the person for additional points (10 points). Examples of these great people are: President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Louise Braille, etc.

Impersonation of one of the great persons in the student’s album of great people or the great person in his/her book report. The student will impersonate this person at our Open House. He/She and together with his/her classmates who are doing the impersonation speeches will be the live models for the visit of parents to the school on that day. The students should be dressed like the person that they are impersonating.

Please note: These projects follow the reading and discussion of many important people in the class.
Read more by clicking here...

Curriculum Ideas: Question Starters

These are some "question starters” you may want to use with your children according to your teaching objectives. With these “question starters “ you are able to direct your children’s thought to the task you have in mind for them to do.

• Knowledge – Recalling literal information
  Where did …. Name the …..
  What was… Locate in the story where …
  Who was/were… List the ….
• Comprehension – Understanding what you read and gaining
  meaning
  Tell me in your own words ….
  What does it mean ….
  Give me an example of…
  Describe what ….
  Illustrate the part of the story…
  What does the word ________ mean?
  Make a map of…
• Application – Using what you learn in a new situation
  What would happen to you if…
  Would you have done the same as …
  If you were there would you…
  How would you solve the problem in your own life?
  In the library, find information about…
• Analysis – Ability to relate parts to each other and see
  relationships
  What things would you have used …
  What other ways could …
  What things are similar/different…
  What part of the story was most exciting, funny, sad, scary …
  What things couldn’t have happened in real life?
  What kind of person is…
  What was the message the author is trying to give us?
• Synthesis – Use of information to make a logical deduction
  What would it be like if…
  What would it be like to live…
  Did anything happen to you like …
  Pretend you are…
  Tell (or write) a different ending.
  What would have happened if …
• Evaluation – Opinion based on evidence from the story
  Would you recommend this book to your friend? Why/why
  not?
  Select the best ________________. Why is it the best?
  What do you think will happen to ___________________? Why
  do you think that?
  Could this story really have happened? Why/why not?
  Which person in the story would you like to meet?
  Was ________________ good or bad? Why?

* Note: Originally, these starter questions are known as Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions Starter (they are embellished in a way to suit the writer’s purpose/s.

Read more by clicking here...