"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all which have the potential to turn a life around."
~Leo Buscaglia
Hello All,
I am glad that to see that everyone enjoyed putting this information into practice. Great Comments!! So far the action plans that I have received have been fantastic. Please keep sending them my way.
We will have one last post this week for the course.
Enjoy the beautiful weather and make it a GREAT week.
Dan
After reading the book please take a moment to respond by using the , and ? and !
- For comma a time that the book or readings made you pause and think
- For the question mark a time the book or readings made you ask yourself a question
- For the exclamation point describe an AHA moment. A time that you became excited or it was an eye opening moment
Please leave your post for others to read
12 comments:
Comma: My comma moment has to do with the section of the book that has the "Before and Laughter Scenarios." It really got me thinking about the fact that it's not what we say, but how we say it. This is true in the classroom, as well as in our personal lives. Simple rephrasing can take away a lot of unnecessary hurt feelings. A little humor and kindness can go a long way.
Question: My question after reading the text is this--when did we all get so serious anyway? I look at my daughter and she laughs at just about everything, and nothing at all! If we all giggled about dumping water from one container to another, we'd certainly be amused more often! Sometimes we need to laugh at the "nothing" moments!
Exclamation: My "aha" moment was on p. 46. I will definitely be trying the "Step in the Right Direction" activity with my students. I do a lot of Jeopardy type activities to review materials, but I think this would be a lot of fun, and because I teach a lot of vocabulary, coming up with questions would be very simple.
I find it very funny that my “,” thought is on page 95 and titled “The Six Thinkers”. I read it several times and began to make notes of how it will work in my classroom. I’ve done variations of this, but this version seems like something I can easily use in my classroom.
For my “?”, it is “Fifty Ways to Say You Did Okay” on page 172. Not only do I need to increase my option for give positive responses, but I feel I need to work more with getting the students to share a variety of responses with each other. The class I had this last year could get so negative, competitive, and almost “bully-like” in the way they talked with one another in their “free” time. (lunch, recess, etc) I had tried to think up a variety of ideas for for getting them to talk “nicer” to each other. Using this page as a lesson early in the school year and creating a variety of activities to role play saying things on this page would hopefully help them to find better things to say and start better conversations. I think I’ll also make a poster of the sayings also.
I plan on photo coping this page and giving it to the 5th grade teacher, maybe she’d be interested in using it.
My “!”, would be…..hmm I’ll have to think on that more and then repost that. Maybe the fact that it is after 9 p.m. at night has something to do with it.
I find it very funny that my “,” thought is on page 95 and titled “The Six Thinkers”. I read it several times and began to make notes of how it will work in my classroom. I’ve done variations of this, but this version seems like something I can easily use in my classroom.
For my “?”, it is “Fifty Ways to Say You Did Okay” on page 172. Not only do I need to increase my option for give positive responses, but I feel I need to work more with getting the students to share a variety of responses with each other. The class I had this last year could get so negative, competitive, and almost “bully-like” in the way they talked with one another in their “free” time. (lunch, recess, etc) I had tried to think up a variety of ideas for for getting them to talk “nicer” to each other. Using this page as a lesson early in the school year and creating a variety of activities to role play saying things on this page would hopefully help them to find better things to say and start better conversations. I think I’ll also make a poster of the sayings also.
I plan on photo coping this page and giving it to the 5th grade teacher, maybe she’d be interested in using it.
My “!”, would be…..hmm I’ll have to think on that more and then repost that. Maybe the fact that it is after 9 p.m. at night has something to do with it.
Comma: The thing that made me pause was the descriptions of the Joke Maker and Life Mocker. One thing I'm working on getting rid of is any sarcastic jokes that my put down students. These descriptions really made me think.
Question: My question is actually similar to Kris'. Why do we need a book and a class to inject fun in to our lives? When did we lose the fun in our lives? My son is 5 and has a fabulous sense of humor at such a young age. We joke and laugh all the time. I wish our classrooms could be as fun and upbeat as the time with my son. That's my goal from here on out.
Exclamation: My "aha" moment came when reading some of the activities and lessons that incorporate humor. One of the suggestions is to let students share things themselves. In another class I'm taking, one way to increase engagement is to hold class meetings where students are able to share their thoughts. Combining these two could be great. Giving kids a voice and a teacher who sincerely listens, combined with fun, laughing activities could really be great in my classroom.
AHA: I enjoyed reading the activities to promote fun and humor in the classroom. For example, the "Fast and Fun: Thirty Ideas" (p.36), "Laughing Lessons: (p.92) and "Play Breaks" (p.122) allowed me to brainstorm how I could incorporate these activities into my lesson plans. I plan to slightly modify many of these activities to suit my subject matter and grade level. It was exciting to brainstorm and come up with ideas that I could use.
? and ,: When reading the "Before and Laughter" scenarios (p. 160), I found myself stopping to think about how I acted when I encountered different situations this past school year. How could I have handled these sitatuions differently? What is my plan to deal with these situations when I encounter them again next year? These scenarios reminded me that there are many "approaches" we can use to communicate with our students and handle challenges we face in the classroom. Being positive, supportive, spontaneous, enthusiastic, empathetic, patient, and being able to "tactfully" handle behavioral problems were some themes I gathered from these scenarios.
I believe I have a good sense of humor, positive attitude, and ability to build rapport with students. This textbook was valuable because it provided actual strategies and activities to apply and strengthen these characteristics. I don't think I could have thought of many of these ideas on my own. It was also satisfying to learn about the rewards that humor and fun can provide for my students.
Comma: Section 3, Tons of Techniques made me think. I wrote a ton of notes of how I can modify a lot of these to use in my class, from transitions to whole lessons.
Question: The book has revitalized my attitude. The question I have been asking myself is if I want to continue in teaching. The answer is yes.
Exclamation: I have become too serious. Our department has been concentrating on the WKCE and what the students are doing poorly on, when we should be looking at what they do well with, and the fact that their scores are rising from year to year.
The biggest "aha" is I need to incorporate the fun things I have done in the past, but have gone by the wayside. I need to keep it fun for the students and for me.
It's great to read everyone's AHAS and such. Especially in this area. It is neat to see how different parts of the book affect us all differently. After reading a few of your responses, I've gone back and looked at a few of the areas you've mentioned.
Thanks for sharing:) I appreciate it!
Comma: My comma moment has to do with section 3 of the book when we took the pop quiz. It got me thinking about my attitude towards my students and my job. I feel that self-reflection is important. I need to copy this and reread this to keep my priorities in the right directions. I did well on the quiz and I want to stay focused and positive.
Question: My question after reading the book was how I was going to use some of the ideas in my classroom. I marked the pages and am anxious to get started. Kindergartners love to be guinea pigs and they laugh at everything! Also how could I share ideas with others and would they use them? I think some people I work with are too serious and they need to take this class but I'll offer some ideas to start.
Exclamation: My "aha" moment came with my question. To help introduce some fun ideas, one way is to work with our "buddies. I thought on Fridays we could have "Special Dress Day". (Activity 12, p41) We could have a theme when we get together (ever other Friday) and then do an activity together. Wear your favorite color, beach day, hat day, whatever!
I like that this book has reminded me that we need to have fun! We need to remember to have a positive attitude and take time to build a good rapport with our students in a positive, healthy way. I like that this book provided us with strategies and ideas because they are set out in a friendly way for us to use. I feel that this book has revitalized my attitude and that's important in teaching so you stay positive and teaching can be fun!
,:I stopped to think every time I read an idea for using humor in the classroom. As a high school language teacher, not all ideas are appropriate for my educational setting. I found myself reflecting on ways to use the activities in my classroom.
?: Like Kris and teacher teacher, I want to know when (and why) teaching became so humorless. We all have to go to school and learn, humor just makes learning fun.
!:My aha moment was when I realized that this book validated my personal ideas that learning can and should be fun. There is nothing wrong with having a good time while learning!
Comma: The one that made me stop and think is a section called "Klutz to the Rescue!" This suggests to learn one trick per week such as coin tricks or card tricks. At the end of the month the students vote on which trick they liked the most and that is also the only trick to be revealed. It most likely doesn't pertain to content being taught, but it probably will help the students to look forward to coming to the class.
Question: The one that made me stop and question was a section called "Special Dress Day". This is where the class comes to school dressed in a silly theme. I guess I question whether administration would allow it or if it would be too much of a distraction to the learning environment. It may also lead some students to taking things too far.
Exclamation: I chose two that both have to do with music. One is from a section called "An Upbeat Entrance". This is where the teacher plays music as the students enter the classroom such as Rocky or Chariots of Fire. The other one is from a section called "Singing Lessons". This is where the teacher and students come up with a familiar beat and substitute words that have to do with the content they are learning. Both of these I think would infuse a lot of energy in the classroom towards learning.
Comma: Not to repeat a previous post, but my comma moment is still section 18, "Thanks to You." Reading that section really made me stop and realize what a powerful position we are in and what we can do with it. I do not know any other profession that has a greater impact on as many lives as a teacher. We have an opportunity every day to make a difference in hundreds of young peoples lives.
Question mark: My question mark after reading the book is why not. Why not incorporate these strategies into the classroom. Some of them are so simple and so easy that they would fit right into daily plans. Others, like Classroom Trivia and The Question is the Answer, would be great twists on review games. The books is such a great resource that a lot of these activities and strategies will definitely be used in my classroom next school year.
Exclamation: My "aha" moment came on page 122, Play Breaks. I really like the idea of short 5 minute breaks to regain the energy and enthusiasm in the classroom. So many times, especially in math, I look at my class and see 5-10 kids that are about to fall asleep in class. These activities would be another great activity to use in my classroom.
Comma: I paused when I read the words play breaks. I stared to think about my day and realized that I take play breaks. They are refreshing. I have more energy after a ride in my kayak, a walk down the road, or a few minutes reading. That might be why children have so much energy. They can play all day. I can see the importance of scheduling play breaks in my daily plans.
Question: I questioned why I always feel rushed and don’t do enough fun activities with the children. I save them for the end of the lesson. Now I will start my lessons with a fun activity, and the children will work more efficiently.
Exclamation: My aha or wow is that there are so many ways to have fun. You need to choose to have fun and plan for it to happen. This came after reading pages 157 through 171. The parts Say It, Replay It, and the Before and Laughter Scenarios. Some people may be naturals at this but I think I am a person who needs to be reminded to play and have fun. This is an important part of learning and life.
Comma: I paused to consider other ways to start my classes. I always start with warm-ups, but this book provided some new ways to have fun. I like the Crazy Questions, Classroom Storyteller (I like the idea of listing appropriate categories for the kids to pick from.) Brain Benders, Classroom Trivia, and Tongue Twisters. Most are not math related, but I wouldn't have to use them every day.
Question: The Fifty Ways to Say OK made me question if I'm in the rut of saying "Good job." I like the idea of switching up the way I respond to kids when they have a question or answer correctly. Coming up with my own unique way to say "Good job" is definitely an easy way to make a more direct connection with my students.
Exclamation: My "aha" moment was reading about different ways to pick partners or decide who should go first. That is an area I struggle with when we do parnter activities. If I let kids pick their own partners, they either mess around and talk most of the time, or the smart kids will gravitate towards each other and blow everyone else out of the water (then they'll stop working and start talking). If I pick partners, you'll have kids who don't want to be together and won't talk or cooperate. The crazy ways to pick partners at least allow some control on the student's part but does mix it up enough.
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