[About writing / Social Studies. / More links?]
Language Arts -
Literature, stories:
Literature is filled with themes that provide lively discussions. Themes focus our study of literature and by sharing experiences children learn. That is why we read out loud in class and stop to discuss every few paragraphs. This also teaches them what it takes to answer the questions at the end of the story, hearing other children and the teacher model how to analyze a story! This reading is fun reading. The stories are fun, exciting, and sometimes humorous. We want our children to develop an appreciation for reading so they can pick up a book and read it just for the fun of it.
What all this boils down to is that children need to be taught to read.
Teaching children to read goes far beyond teaching them their A, B, C's
and phonics, it means instilling in them a love of reading. I have found
that many children hate reading. If children grow up in an atmosphere
where parents read often and have a rich supply of books, then they will
appreciate reading. And this does not mean to avoid or skip teaching
children their basic skills of grammar and spelling. This is just as
necessary so there must be a balance and children must practice at home
what they learn in school. This takes motivation on the part of parent
and child for it is up to the parents to ensure that their children are
following through by doing their homework.
[About writing /
Social Studies. /
More links?]
Language Arts - Writing process
used in class:
Children need to understand that in the real world writing is usually not something that happens fast. Whether it be writing articles for magazines or books for publishing, reports for business meetings or memos for the boss and co-workers, writing undergoes transformation. From idea to rough draft to final copy writing is added to, deleted from, passed around and spell-checked. Friends read it over and offer suggestions for improvement. That is the reality of writing and children need to realize it through practice. Children also need to engage in real world writing in the classroom and this comes by having penpals or keypals and by writing letters to businesses. By following the above writing process students engage in real writing and they can see how their original mess turns into a well-written piece.
Spelling seems now to be more of a problem than it has been in the past. We are finding that our children cannot even write a simple memo or note without spelling errors. Children need to learn to use the resources available to them and practice spelling easily misspelled words on their own. Here at Blue Heron every student receives a planner and in that Blue Heron Planner in the section Personal Planning & Study Resource Guide , p. 10, there is a list of trouble words that students should practice. Resources like this exist in other places and our students need the motivation to drill themselves on their weak points. In my class I encourage students to save all their work in a special folder or portfolio and to monitor their progress to find their strengths and weaknesses. Learning is a year long process and grades alone aren't enough.
Social Studies - World History
To eradicate ignorance and become better able to live in a world filled with diverse races and cultures, our children need to learn about everything under the sun. We begin in the 6th and 7th grades with a study of what culture is. This year we're using a new textbook, To See a World, published by Houghton Mifflin. Following is a page from out of the book from the Chapter on Ghana in Africa, it serves as an example of the visually striking pictures that are found throughout this textbook.
After learning about culture we study the geography of the world and this study ties in to science and mathematics. Then we take our students on a journey of their world. We integrate Social Studies with Language Arts, not only by the writing and oral presenting that takes place, but in deliberate units that incorporate both classes. One such example is a unit on Australia we are doing which begins with presentations by persons who have lived in Australia to get the students curious about that wonderous continent. Students then read the novel Walkabout while studying about the geography, customs, wildlife, and history of Australia. Creating a map in math to introduce scale integrates yet another subject into our unit and studying marsupials in science and making aboriginal art in art class makes the integration into all the core subjects complete.
Making timelines with the use of the software, Timliner 4.0, will bring history alive as the students teach other about exciting events that have taken place through time. Ancient cultures and religions will come alive on the internet and in libraries as students learn how to do research on their own and in cooperative groups. In order to learn about cultures it is impossible to separate a culture from its religion. Religious diversity is another one of earth's beauties. In my class we will study the world's major religions along with some of the major cultures beginning with the students own cultures and religions. Guest speakers are welcome and encouraged.
In May we have been learning about Islam's great culture and religion by playing an Islam simulation. In this game the class is divided into six groups or cities from the Middle East. Each city competes against the other cities to reach the Holy city of Mecca first with the most dirhams (money) and wisdom cards. To gain money or wisdom, all students much show that they have learned something in the form of game-show like quiz questions. It's a lot of fun and a great learning experience!
One of the projects we will be doing in March and April is the MayaQuest. Five explorers travel on their bikes through the Central American jungle carrying satellite dishes and laptop computers to correspond with students all over the world. Archaeologists on site are available to answer kids' questions as we explore the ancient Maya. This is primarily an internet project with a lot of in-class participation which includes corresponding with the MayaQuest team and the archeaologists they encounter as we research Mayan mysteries. It is very exciting and brings us closer to the 21st century! Projects such as the Mayaquest are becoming more in number and various in content. This is training our young people to become proficient with the technology of the future and still enjoy their time in school. See our MayaQuest research reports here!
[My old school | My new Web site |
Al, the teacher.]
To write the author of this page with questions or comments send email to
Al González at
Al_Gonzalez@chimacum.wednet.edu
This web site is
Clearinghouse approved
Copyright © 1997 Mr. González.
This Home Page was created by Al González.