Springfield Teachers of Deaf
A Little bit of Insanity is a God Thing March 2010
Begin with Energizer … Screaming Ninja Statue-Statue
Koosh toss: One thing you’ve never seen offered at a teacher’s workshop, but it would help you more than any other? (or) A time when someone ..almost out of the blue.. did something very nice for you. Call him or her Johnny, but tell us about a student you have in class right now who’s extremely hard to motivate.
Workshop presentations usually follow this pattern: ---The speaker spends the first part of the presentation selling you on an idea ---2nd part explaining it ---Then you make a few notes, nod like it’s a good idea, all the time filtering it through your own curriculum, and generally ignoring most of it by next week.
If you are bored at any point today, it’s probably because you haven’t been actively engaged. You haven’t spoken. You haven’t done anything. ---When we are engaged, we learn. You may not understand what just happened at the beginning of our session, but you were engaged… That’s what I’m talking about today.
… The anticipatory set… One of the best ideas to come to education in the last 20 years.. The Anticipatory Set.. an exercise of any kind that get students involved as soon as the bell rings. a lead-in to class work of the day
My mother attended and taught in a one-room school. The energizer is very old. Day always began with recitation. ..and a song.
How do we usually begin class. “Okay! Let’s quiet down!”
“Okay, quiet down!” is a very ineffective anticipatory set. Why? Because as a student, there’s nothing in it for me.
Two types of Energizers today… The Opening Question and the on-your-feet energizer. I’ll talk about the Koosh Ball and we’ll do a few of the others.
Full list: HYPERLINK "mailto:Ken@bradbury.cc" Ken@bradbury.cc
(Walk in.) A smell…that whenever you smell it, reminds you of someone very dear to you… Me: Grandpa, pipe tobacco. BALL TOSS What are we talking about today? I don’t know…genealogy, history, being specific when you write, metaphors,
The idea…get the kids talking about it, then YOU join in. We usually try to do the opposite.
It uses the natural energy that your kids bring into the classroom. All research says that hands-on, participatory learning is the most effective and long-lasting.
Think back to the greatest learning experiences you had in grade school… I’ll bet you were doing.. not just watching and listening. Me: my bean on the window sill… teacher told us nothing.. but we went out and found out.. I tested mine to death. Bottom line: in order to learn, we must be mentally loosened up.. mental calisthenics.
More Samples: ---The most joyous moment you’ve had in class so far this year. One of the best thing about using the opening questions is that it tells you what the class knows so you can build on it. THIS IS NOT THE SAME as asking, “Who knows something about story telling?” Put the ball in their hands. ---A really big lie that some family member once told you.
---Where’s some place you’ve always wanted to visit? Don’t simply ask “Can somebody tell me something about geography?”
And by the way, the opening question need not always be tied in to the day’s lesson. You may just want to use it for focus.
We do want students to learn to express themselves, don’t we? Imagine… a football coach…first practice is a game. No, you’ve got to work your way into communications skills. Or worse yet, a basketball coach that has them practice by reading a book on basketball. It’s usually no problem to get students talking…the trick is to get them talking in the direction you want.
Again..I have not adapted these for use with hearing impaired students, but all can be…you’re the experts at that.
Groupings Cow, Rabbit… 3 noses Vacation slides Truth, Truth, Lie Cliché The Stare Hitchhiker Michelangelo Word Tennis The Brain Dating Game Sit, Stand, Lie
3-some Yes, Let’s! Endowments Channel Surfing Walk on, Sit, Walk off Hands Behind Only Questions Inner Thoughts Reverse Sex Goin’ for a Ride
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