Hello and welcome back!In today's post, we will be discussing my experience observing engaged learning in an active kindergarten classroom. An engaged classroom is important for children to not only hear what you are saying as an instructor, but to listen and to learn and remember what they've been taught.
Some real life examples come to mind as I ponder my service learning experiences thus far. First, is the teacher's use of hands-on activities. She split the children into groups and had them each work on a different "rotation". Throughout the week the groups of children would complete one activity and switch (or rotate) to the next the following day. One of the activities provided an opportunity for the children to write on, cut out, arrange, and glue different strips of paper to a name tag showing them how capital letters are larger, and take up more space than lowercase. This activity allowed the children to participate and see for themselves the differences in size, rather than the teacher just showing them or explaining it to them in a lecture style.
Second, was the teacher's use of an interactive lesson plan. That day the Kindergartners were learning about the letter "G". The activity to introduce the letters sound got the kids very excited and eager to participate. The kids were told the night before to bring an object to share with the class that started with the "G" sound. They brought them in and put them in a bucket at the front and one by one the teacher pulled them out and they discussed the sound. They were able to hear the sound difference like in "Glasses" versus "Giraffe" and were able to connect it with actual objects. This was effective as they connected what they were learning with their own toys and objects, and they got to be a big part in participation.
Third, was the use of an innovative, or creative, lesson plan. This teacher came up with an activity that helped the students with reading comprehension. I was not in class for the book that they read, but when I came in they were doing an activity based around popcorn. They had a worksheet with puffs of popcorn that had an image to do with the story they read. After completing the worksheet, the children were given a cup of popcorn to enjoy! The children loved it and also were more interested in finishing their work to be able to receive the yummy treat. Her idea of incorporating that brought a little more life, and engagement into her lesson.
However, I have seen situations in which this environment is not provided. One student in particular that we were working with really struggled and I'd like to use that as an example. The children were given the task to write the capital and lowercase letter "G" several times. If they did it incorrectly they had to erase it and start again. This boy was obviously a wiggle worm, and his attention was elsewhere, his attitude was sour, and he didn't end up finishing on time before recess, along with several other students. If the task at hand could be swapped for different tools perhaps a whiteboard, or smart board, or even something simple as colorful papers or markers he could have been better engaged. Sometimes, just using different tools and technologies could make a boring lesson plan more engaging.
Overall, creating this environment of engaged learning is quite the task. However, it is detrimental in the education of any student.
See you next time!
-Megan
