Alternatives to Show and Tell

Show and tell is an important part of children's education. It provides students with an opportunity to share something important to them, work on organization of ideas and thoughts, and presentation skills.  It also helps children enhance their language and vocabulary skills, fielding questions from an audience and public speaking skills. These skills that they learn from show and tell help to form effective communication skills that they will build upon throughout their education. Although show and tell is important, it has been set aside in the current school year due to COVID. Many schools and school boards have adopted the rule that no outside items are allowed in the school besides items such as hats, mittens, jackets, school bags, etc.  As educators, we know that show and tell is important and we want to still reap the benefits of show and tell. What can teachers do as an alternative?

Some alternatives could be:

1.      See-Think-Wonder: A three step process where the teachers shows a picture to the students,  the students then start the conversation by discussing what they see, then they move to what they think is going on and then lastly what makes them wonder about the picture. They can share this as a large class, small group, or pairs.

2.      Art Gallery: Students create a piece of artwork, and then they take turns presenting their art work to the class. 
3.     Favourite Book:  Students take their favourite book from either the classroom or the school library and present it to class. In their presentation, they would provide a brief synopsis of the book (appropriate to grade level), then discuss why they chose it and what they really like about the book and anything else they would like to add. Their peers would then have the chance to ask them questions about the book. 
4.      Special Talent person of the week: Each week a student is in the spotlight where they would present a special talent to the class. The student would be able to share the talent, why it is important to them and anything else they may want to add. They would then have the opportunity to field questions from the audience on their talent.   

There are many alternatives and many more alternatives not noted above that still provide students with        the opportunity to share, work on their presentation and communications skills while being COVID friendly.

References:

Wladich, A. (2014, January 6). The importance of 'show and tell'. EDU. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://edublog.scholastic.com/post/importance-show-and-tell.

Barbara. (2016, August 23). Why I don't do show and tell Anymore " Grade Onederful. Grade Onederful. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://www.gradeonederful.com/2016/08/why-i-dont-do-show-and-tell-anymore.html.

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Education.com - Guided Lessons

Fun Learning with Guided Lessons

Learners journey through songs, games, stories, and exercises in these interactive lessons that expand knowledge and build 800+ skills. Assess and address needs with the Progress Tracker See personalized recommendations to help each learner

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Student Empowerment

Empowerment is a really important aspect of teaching for educators, parents, and students. Empowerment focuses on allowing people to gain control and become the driver's in their journey of life. As educators, it's important we provide our students with the resources necessary to feel confident, competent, and encouraged in many realms of their life.

The way I can best understand student empowerment is by using the term let. When we let students take control of their learning and decision-making processes, it provides them with an open path to discovering and risk taking. This can allow students to feel heard, engaged in the material, greater autonomy, and a sense of belonging.

 

Some ways in which educators can empower their students is by letting them:

-       Choose and implement the strategies that work best for them

-       Ask questions about what interests them

-       Work at their own pace

-       Explore new topics, themes, and concepts

-       Be creative

 

We should be able to inspire opportunities for our students by giving them choices, resources, positive reinforcement, motivation, encouragement.

The video 'The Shift from Engaging Students to Empowering Learners' excellently describes how educators can create a learning environment for children where they want to learn rather than having to learn, producing creative and self-directed learners from empowerment.

 

                                  The Shift from Engaging Students to Empowering Learners

                                 

 

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Education.com - Resources Ready for You

There are plenty of ready-made learning resources to help you make this school year a success.

Worksheets, Games, and More Explore thousands of exercises aligned to your grade-level objectives.

The Importance of Building Confidence in Students

What is confidence? Confidence can be described as the feeling and/or belief that one can do something well. In a classroom setting, instilling confidence in children is critical - because it allows them to have the belief that they can do something well, and also it will allow them to overcome any obstacles that get in their way. A couple ways to instill confidence in students to be a positive role model for them, to encourage self-talk, to motivate them, using positive affirmations and mindfulness, and many more. 

As teachers, there are many strategies that can be used to build confidence in students. One strategy is to encourage students to shift their attention to subject areas that they are good at. For example, if a student is constantly obsessing over a bad mark they got on a test, reassure them that one bad mark does not define their intelligence or remind them that they can rebound from one bad test, and shift their focus towards the next test. Another strategy to build students' confidence, is to tell them to stop comparing themselves to other students, this can be done by reminding them to stop comparing themselves to others. Another strategy that can be used to build confidence in students, is to celebrate their success. It doesn't matter how big or small the success is, it is still worth celebrating and acknowledging it. 

I remember one instance where my grade 8 teacher believed that I wasn't going to be able to pursue a post-secondary education, and they also believed that I wasn't going to be able to finish high school either. Looking back on that experience, I could have chosen to believe that I wasn't going to be able to pursue a post-secondary education, or that I wasn't going to be able to finish high school. However, those who were close to me and knew me well, were confident in my ability to be able to graduate high school and also be able to pursue a post-secondary education. More importantly, I had confidence in myself that I will be able to graduate high school and to pursue a post-secondary education. Reflecting on my journey, it wasn't always smooth sailing, there were a lot of obstacles I had to overcome - especially in grade 11 and 12, and also while I was pursuing my undergraduate degree. Now, I can truly say that I have obtained a Bachelors of Arts Honours Degree in Psychology.

Brought to you by: Catherine L@NU

Lalilo

Lalilo is an online literacy app designed to support children in reading, especially phonetics. Teachers should register first then send a code for parents to register their children. Lalilo is designed in a fun way, and it is easy to use. The children will enjoy it as levels with each level the child will complete will receive a badge and/or a story in their collection area. Lalilo recommended to students who are learning to read from Junior kindergarten to grade two. Also, teachers can track the children's work and assign lessons to them. Lalilo is available in English and French, which the teacher will select while registering in. Lalilo has a rich collection of vocabulary and stories related to nature and animals in a fun way.

Link: https://www.lalilo.com/

Brought to you by: FadiaG@NU

Education.com - Parent Guides

 

This is yet another ready-made learning resource to help you make this school year a success.

Parent Guides Find tips and techniques to help children thrive this year.

Learning From Failure

Growing up children constantly feel the need to make people around them proud.  Whether it be their parents, teachers, or other role models, they strive to always be successful at whatever they attempt to do.  When they experience any type of failure, especially for the first time, it has the potential to negatively impact that child.  They feel that they let those important people down, and that in turn they will get in trouble for their failures.  

Failure not only affects children, but adults as well.  Every successful person has experienced failure prior to their success; athletes, movie stars, entrepreneurs and the list go on and on.  People don't understand that failure is an essential step in attaining success. Failure creates resiliency and determination to do better the next time around.  You learn what works and what doesn't, and how to alter your path. 

Teachers need to help children understand that failure should be viewed as a learning experience, not the end all be all.  It should be seen in a more positive light which will help children not fear failure, instead learn from it to do better the next time around.  Once children learn this, they can continue to use it as they grow and enter the real world.  Failure is an integral part of a child's learning journey as they strive for success in whatever capacity that may be! A bad mark on a test or a failed assignment shouldn't discourage a child; educators and parents should provide positive reinforcement and help them learn that not everyone is successful the first time around.  

They may not get it yet, but they will and they will achieve success through their continued effort, hard work, determination, and positive support!

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Education.com - Sweet Geometry Activity

 

ACTIVITY   5th Grade |  Sugar Cube House Create a scale model of a building with this sweet supplement to a geometry or measurement lesson. Download now

Failure in Learning

Failure. No one likes to fail, nor the feeling of failing. When we fail, we feel a sense of disappointment, sadness, and just wanting to give up. What if failure, can be the one factor that can change the way you learn. We need to understand that failure is okay. Everyone fails. Even the most successful athletes have failed hundreds of times before they became successful. Changing the way you think will allow you to inherit a different perspective of failure. Instead of hanging your head and being disappointed about a failure, lift your head high and believe that working harder for the next assignment, test, or even game, will give you the positive result that you are looking for. 

Having a "growth mindset" yourself and even in the field of education will help students to grow and succeed from their failures.  While no student wants to get a bad mark, a single test will not define a student's progress in learning. Giving positive reinforcement and highlighting the importance of determination, hard work, and effort, a student will quickly realize that it's just a minor setback that will eventually lead them to success. 

Once they receive that good mark, or an improvement from a previous result, positive affirmation will drive them to continue to work hard and realize that failure is sometimes needed to learn and succeed.

Check out Oxford Learning: The Role of Failure in Learning

https://www.oxfordlearning.com/the-role-of-failure-in-learning/

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Read-Aloud Story: The Day the Crayons Came Home

If you're searching for a fun read-aloud, here's one that is loved by many! Written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, The Day the Crayons Came Home is appropriate for K-2, and guided reading level M. This is a story about a boy named Duncan who lost his crayons here and there… The crayons are brought to life in creative ways and they each write to Duncan on postcards, asking him to come and find them. Although this story is aimed for children 4-8 years old, it really does get the attention of adults as well! The illustration combined with the characteristics of each crayon and their challenges, sparks imagination, and opens a whole world of wonder.

If you are reading this story to your classroom, or even if you're reading it with your own kids, you may find a variety of topics to cover with the students. You can discuss taking ownership and making good choices, you can explore types of feelings (social emotional learning), and it's also great for teaching letter writing! Some other topics may come up during the story, such as traveling and postcards, siblings, pets, food, and colours.

Click this link to find the read-aloud:   https://youtu.be/Ri_WljGP7m8

Reference:

Scholastic Inc. 2021, https://shop.scholastic.com/parent-ecommerce/books/the-day-the-crayons-came-home-9780399172755.html

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