Make it Fun...Make it Matter

Interesting heading for this blog post, I know, but as I was reading this week’s chapters my son came up and asked me what I was reading.  I told him it was a book for school to help me learn how to get students engaged in reading.  His response was, “Well, I can sum up that whole book in two words…fun stories.” I laughed and then asked him about the stuff that he had to read that might not be so fun.  Then I told him about some of the strategies discussed in Chapter 5 like “Dramatic Role Play” and “KWL.” He agreed that would make it fun and more interesting.  As I read, I looked at how some of these strategies would not only make reading fun but also how they all really encouraged students in their critical thinking skills.  One thing I know I’ve been worried about is what to do when a student gets stuck in their thinking; I’ve been there plenty of times.  Especially having multiple classes, students’ heads can get overloaded with information.  Many of the strategies discussed in Chapter 5 help students through the thought process one step at a time.

Some of these strategies like “Mind Mapping” or “Clustering” I’ve seen used in my classes.  They provide a visual form of brainstorming that encourages students to show what they already know and what they want to know. One of the things I really liked about these strategies was the variety.  They appeal to various learning styles so once we get to know our students we should be able to gauge which ones will work best.

Many of the strategies discussed in Chapter 5 correspond to the concept of building a community of learners, which is talked about in Chapter 7.   Chapter 7 gave some great advice right off the bat: “relate the subject to students’ personal interests, listen to what students say, know them very well, believe they can do well in school” (Daniels and Zemelman 167).  These may seem like basic things teachers should do but sadly there are many who do not. Encouraging students to form peer learning relationships helps them to become more comfortable with one another. They bounce ideas off one another and encourage questioning beyond the traditional “any questions” at the end of class (Daniels and Zemelman 172).  Encouraging students to ask more questions is one of the key tools to achieve higher level thinking.

We need to make learning meaningful for our students. Daniels and Zemelman notes that we need to not tell students how they’ll use these skills “later” but make them matter now (169). The students who did the Fast Food Nation project were invested in their learning because it was meaningful and it was something they could use and relate to now. If we can make the concepts relevant now chances are they will retain the information better. 

As always, I learned a lot from these chapters.  The big question I am usually left with is where do I find the time?  In a short class period where do I find time to hold “class meetings” and one-on-one meetings?  I get somewhat overwhelmed by ALL the ideas but I highlight and note, planning to refer back and implement some of these great ideas in my lessons.

This picture seemed to sum up Chapters 5 & 7 perfectly! We help students focus on meaningful learning, ask questions and collaborate with their peers.  Learning achieved!