Sent out this information-packed email to my department colleagues. Sensei will generously share his wisdom with you guys out there, muahaha.
Ohayo!
Ms Bubble Tea conducted her DI lesson demo yesterday. Details here: #492068.
I was struck by how she used stick figures to get us to predict details about the text.
Drawing is a good way to help students remember things better.
Source: National Geographic Kids, Almanac 2017
Some implications for teaching:
- Instead of asking students to write words,
we could use pictures.
- Instead of writing ‘S’ and ‘P’ to denote singular & plural subjects respectively, we could get them to draw 1 & 2 stick figures respectively.
Improve your drawing
Kids love teachers who draw. If you are good at drawing, they will be impressed. If you suck at it, they will have fun laughing at/with you. In any case, these 2 pages taken from “Creative Confidence” by Tom Kelley & David Kelley may inspire you to improve your drawing.
Ganbatte kudasai, KL Sensei
I really think there's something to the idea of using drawings and visual aids to help students learn and remember information better. Our brains are wired to process visual information more quickly and effectively than plain text or spoken words. I know if I were a student, I'd be way more likely to pay attention and retain what I learned if my teacher was breaking out the stick figures and sketches.
Thanks for leaving such an encouraging message