>> Bottom line, if a lesson isn't going to help you or your kids, why do >> it? >> >> Bill >> >> AMEN!! > > Well..... yes. > But.... how can we really know? > We can *think* something won't help students and yet there may be two or > three who benefit. > > My guess is that there is little that is totally useless, although some > things are certainly more useful than others. That's where making > decisions comes in. :-)
I think it's the fact that each child is different and has different needs that should direct instruction. Some lessons will be geared for the most kids with similar needs (like introducing strategies), but some lessons are gonna be more geared for individual students. If 26 of 29 are fluent, it's a waste to spend a lot of whole class time on fluency, but taking the 3 students who need the help while the rest of the class is working on something else, is probably more effective. The only way to know if a lesson is effective is to know your kids.... The only way to plan a lesson is to know your kids... In other words, know your kids. I think any lesson is ineffective if you don't know the WHY of it. Are you looking up words in a dictionary for the alphabetizing skill? Or vocabulary? If you are just doing it because that's the way its always been done, then don't do it. If it is to build research skills, then you can see if the students are improving. If the purpose is to build vocabulary, you can check and see if they've learned the words. There may be some residual learning on the side (a kid might look up a word like Paleontolgy and discover that's what they want to be when they grow up, but that's not the purpose of the lesson), but you have to keep your eye on the prize. If you have a goal, you can check its progress. That's how you know... No lesson is a waste because someone's gonna learn something from it. The students might learn the intended outcome, but also the teacher might learn that it's a bad lesson and not do it again. Or maybe learn a better way to teach that lesson. The only way a lesson is a waste of time is if it's busy work because the outcome is just to keep the kids occupied. Or if the teacher doesn't know what they are doing. I've noticed more people the last few years who come into teaching from other careers because they think teaching is easy and don't do a thing to help their kids or worse, they make the kid hate school or the subject or kill their self esteem.... Bill _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
