Saturday 21 September 2013

Fun ways to teach the days of the week


Learning the names of the days of the week is a basic skill that all young children should learn. Since the most effective teaching methods incorporate fun, play and social interaction, involving the children in the learning process is a valuable learning strategy. Here are some practical, easily-implemented ideas for the day care, pre-kindergarten, or kindergarten classroom.

1. Place a large, colorful calendar for the current month on the bulletin board. Every morning a child will take a turn announcing the date to their classmates. " Today is Monday, June the first and it is sunny." He may then make a crayon drawing of a sun (or other appropriate symbol) on the specific space. This familiarizes the children with the names of the days of the week and their natural order.

 2. There are nursery rhymes which can be taught as choral speaking to teach the names of the days of the weeks. For instance: "Sneezing" or "Solomon Grundy".

Sneezing

If you sneeze on Monday, you sneeze for danger;
Sneeze on a Tuesday, kiss a stranger;
Sneeze on a Wednesday, sneeze for a letter;
Sneeze on a Thursday, something better.
Sneeze on a Friday, sneeze for sorrow;
Sneeze on a Saturday, joy to-morrow.


Solomon Grundy

Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
This is the end
Of Solomon Grundy.


These rhymes could also be used for skipping jingles, bouncing ball or hand-clapping activities.

3. Divide the class into five groups (by rows, or tables, or randomly). Each group gets to do a special activity on their day. For example, Group One has "Show and Tell" every Monday, Group Two every Tuesday, etc. Rotate the groups at the beginning of each month. The children soon learn which is their "special" day. Saturday and Sunday, which are holidays, are absorbed even more quickly.

 4. Make up 2 sets of flashcards with the names of the days of the week printed on them. Select two teams of 7 children each. Arrange the teams so that they are facing each other. Give each child on each team a flashcard containing the name of a weekday. Whichever team can arrange itself  in the proper order first, wins the game. Continue until everyone has had a turn to be on a team.

5. Incidental references to the calendar throughout the school year can do much to consolidate the names of the weekdays in the children's minds. "How many Mondays until Christmas?" or "How many Fridays until the summer holidays?"  are questions everyone will be anxious to answer.

 With a little forethought and planning on the part of the teacher or early-childhood worker, every child will easily learn the names of the days of the week. Together with discussions and activities that occur naturally at home, the youngsters will soon master this skill, and be ready to progress to more complicated educational concepts. 

 

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Should teachers be judged by their students' exam marks?





Teachers should not be judged by their students' exam results. There are too many variables and extenuating circumstances which may affect the progress of a class in any given year, or on any particular set of exams. Among these, may be one or more of the following:

(a) Two teachers, of equal ability, may be assigned to the same grade, but in different areas of a city. However, the students of each may be very different. Teacher A's children may come from an area where the parents are intelligent and financially comfortable. Their children will have had many advantages: attendance at Music or Dance classes, summer camp, participation in sports, travel, concerts, and museum visits. In addition, the young people have probably had opportunities to participate in family discussions on topics above the level of other children of the same chronological age.

Teacher B's children may live in an area where English, for the majority of the students, is a second language. In fact, many of the children may only have been introduced to it in Kindergarten, and they will still be far from fluent. For these young people, expressing their ideas either verbally or in written form may be a struggle. Their parents will mostly be working class folks whose primary concern is providing the necessities of life for the family. As much as they might like to, they will lack the resources and energy for activities to enrich the lives of their offspring.

(b) Even for students in the same area, there are a multiple of variables which may affect the progress of one class over another. If one group has a succession of supply teachers, each with different methods and expectations, during the school year, it will not progress as well as another class which was fortunate enough to work with the same instructor from September until June.

(c) Illness can affect the progress of one group of students compared to another during the school year. If Teacher A had to cope with epidemics of stomach flu in the Fall, head lice during the Winter and mumps in the Spring, he or she would have to go much more slowly, often reteaching and reviewing, to accommodate those children who were coming and going over a period of weeks.

(d) The weather can also be a powerful influence of the progress of one class of children over another of similar age. If Teacher B works in an area plagued by snowstorms, a tornado or two, or a destructive hurricane, his or her children will not do as well as a similar class in a zone which enjoys a moderate climate. When a school is closed for an extended period, the children cannot help but fall behind academically.

(e) The policy of each School Board also affects academic progress. Some school authorities stress student self-reliance, the arts, or sports success over the three R's. Homework is seldom assigned and children are encouraged to problem-solve and allowed to proceed at their own pace.

In contrast, other Boards have structured programs, with definite expectations for each grade level. The students are disciplined firmly but fairly by teachers until they are able to develop self-disciplinary skills. Appropriate Homework is routinely assigned according to the child's age. Students in these types of schools will have better exam results than those in less structured institutions.

Because of these and other variables, it is impossible to compare the exam results of one teacher with those of another. After all, teachers are only human. They cannot control the children's home conditions or backgrounds, their own health or that of the children, the weather or School Board policies. The majority of teachers will instruct the children in their classes to the best of their ability, while faithfully following Board policies. For that reason, it is advisable to sometimes give each of them a well-deserved pat on the back.