"If kids can't apply what we teach them, our teaching is a big So What?"
These words jumped off the page as I read and how true they are! Teachers are often caught up in the million and five things that come at us each day... our lesson plans, how similar to Pinterest we can get our classroom, newsletters, parent conferences, school activities, flipcharts, meetings, paperwork, and these are only a few. Sometimes there seems to be so many other things on your plate, that you look back on your day and wonder if you even taught. During these precious moments of teaching, we have to ensure that what we do as teachers is for the student's sake and not our own. If we spend hours planning brilliant lessons and making cute flipcharts, then our students cannot apply what we've taught them then we have wasted our time!
I enjoyed how Routman laid it out for teachers in this chapter by suggesting more efficient activities that will help students apply what is being taught. Suggestions of integrating a variety of skills in different subject areas rather than confined to the ELA block, modeling what students are expected to do, then releasing them to practice, and the questions teachers can ask when reading different genres were all great and helpful ideas. I think sometimes we can forget what our students are capable of achieving if we give them the proper tools.
This is an eyeopener isn't it! With all the things we do in a day, we have to keep our focus on the learning of the students. This chapter is full of great ideas and tips. For years I have observed first grade teaching ELA across all the other areas. Glad you were able to get some more ideas to add to what you already do!
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