Teach the Brain Forums

The Brain needs oxygen!
Students need to get up from their desks.
How do you make your teaching FUN?
Maybe you don't have your students dance mathematics (or do you?)
but HOW do you involve the physical body more in your teaching?

Hi Stephen G ,
It's good to see this new forum being opened up.
Where we come to the issue of classroom application.
Though I think that you might be a bit too keen, expecting some specific examples straight away? Where I might suggest that we need to get some broader discussion going first.
Where specifics will hopefully emerge through the discussion?

Though I must say that I'm very pleased that you are introducing the physical element into classroom. More particularly its integration. Where to be honest, I have come to conclusion that Physical Education needs to be elevated to the status of Literacy and Numeracy?
I noted your question about having students dance mathematics?
Which might puzzle many people?
Though rather than 'dance mathematics', perhaps we could come at it from the opposite direction?
The mathematics of dancing?
Where learning dancing, supports maths development.
A basic element that dance develops, is left/right brain communication/ lateralization. Given the emphasis on coordinating the left/right body.
It also develops our Proprioceptive sense, the awareness of the location of our body parts in space.
It also develops our Visual Spatial Working Memory, where movements are visualised in one's mind's eye.
Further to this, the sequential nature of dancing, develops the ability to hold sequential orders in our working memory.
Also most importantly, it develops a sense of Rhythm.
If music is involved, then it also helps with the development of Pitch Discrimination.

So what?
No doubt you've heard of Dyslexia, and perhaps the maths disorder of Dyscalculia?
The above list, defines elements that can be the causative factor for either of these disorders.
Where no amount of maths or reading tuition will be really effective, unless these underlying issues are addressed?
It needs to be recognised that Physical Education develops the fundamental neural platform, for learning to be built upon!
So perhaps learning to Dance, should be a prerequisite in grade 1, before moving onto numeracy and literacy?
Geoff.

Geoff, i really like that approach very much of how we learn dancing and how that can support the learning of mathematics - it's kind of the idea i imagined, when i asked the question, of involving students getting up from their desks, having fun, but through a sense of learning, that may not be visable at first, but gradual.

in denmark, they are taking the students out into forests to learn mathematics, discuss short stories, allowing the students to have a more tangible experience, sensorial, to take away experiences that may be stronger, because they are grounded in more senses, outside the classroom, and in a forest.

but i think there are many ways we can involve students in the classroom more with the subjects we are teaching not just from having the students sitting and listening and writing notes.

teachers, any examples of how you teach that is fun for your students, involves something unique, that makes them look at something in a new way, maybe in a more personal way?

anything?

geoff, are you a teacher? any examples?

thanks!

Interesting Program today........

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 25, 2006

Good Morning
Interesting problem for students today.....take a "look see".
URL: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstor...cleid=6266
Best,
Rob

April 27, 2006

Good morning

Have some fun with this url retrieved from the internet today.
Best,
Rob URL: http://www.abcteach.com/directory/fun_activities/

April 28, 2006
Good Morning

Keep school fun but most important keep school inclusive of all children and adults too.
Best,
Rob Interesting url from the internet today.....Url: http://atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Back_to_School/

May 8, 2006
Good Morning,

Very neat video game for math retrieved from the internet. Take a look at the great work that Ben Harrison did on this game for youngsters. I talked with Ben on the telephone and he is sincere about helping children to learn....great educational video game......UrL: http://www.bigbrainz.com/
Best,
Rob

Hi,

I was wondering if any teachers experiment with role-playing in their classroom? for example, this could be as simple as actually having students act out scenes from a play they are reading, or, if you are teaching history, you could have students act out a specific story in history, playing out the roles to experience the story more personally.

any examples?

have a good day,
Stephen

Please see my reply in 45 Minutes Behind a Desk is too Long for an example of fun based on a scientific understanding of play. 'Inside, Outside, Upside down."

this is a great example, interviewing IBSEN, using puppets, thanks a lot for sharing this!

and i completely agree, you don't have to go outside, that excersise would be much more powerful inside, i think too,

i guess i was thinking outside (yes, maybe i wanted to go outside at that moment, this is true, you are funny papertalker) BUT i have been learning about forest schools, where teachers are taking students out into the forest and teaching a whole range of subjects, this is in denmark, to allow the students to have a more tangible experience, in nature, it could make the learning more personal, etc.

so, i wanted to try to find out from teachers around the world what they were doing relating to outdoor classes (what has been the experience?, if any)

indoors is fine too - any examples, or course, of making the teaching more interesting, so yes, let's keep this open to both indoor and outdoor, anything relating to specific examples of how you are making your teaching FUN

as i gather these, í will pass to some of our experts in play and learning, who are workking together with neuro-scientists, etc, and see what sort of responses they have,

i guess, lastly, to provide some of my background, i work for the OECD, on this brain project. i also worked a lot in new york city designing after school programs, which have incorporated play and learning, i also taught many of those courses as well, as well as being a project coordinator for citykids (http://www.citykids.com)

anyway, i look forward to hearing back from all of you,

and YES, i will try to design a paper puppet in the near future, maybe of some cool old playwright, like moliere, since i am in paris,

i love puppetry, will let you know what i do,

best,
stephen

Hello, I invite you to try out a new educational game called “Presidential Profiles” by XFusion Software. (xfusiongames.com)

The game features quizzes and history lessons about our American Presidents! Join ‘Uncle Sam’ as he guides you through the “Hall of Presidents” to learn more about each president and his contributions to the United States, or take the quizzes to test your knowledge (over 200 questions), or even play the mix up game where you can unscramble each president’s face.

There is a free demo on the website!

Enjoy!!!

Hi Stephen,
I was very excited to see your question -and I am fairly new to posting in general, so hopefully this makes sense. Anyway, I am a learning disabilities specialist and I ask that question everyday! We know from research that sitting at a desk taking in a bunch of info is not the best way for the brain to learn, particularly a developing brain. This year I had elementary (2nd & 3rd grade) math and writing and middle school math, english and writing and can tell you about a few things I did that got them moving.

For elementary math, we were working on multiplication and did simpler things like hopping on one foot, doing push-up or clapping while practicing the facts. We also used a hopscotch board and they jumped along with their counting. For middle school math, some of what we worked on was basic geometry - naming, creating and measuring angles, differentiating between basic shapes and some initial work with perimeter and types of lines. We had one day where they had a Bingo sheet that contained 25 activites they needed to complete, such as form a set of perpindicular lines with your body and explain why they're perpindicular; create an acute angle with your body (arms or legs, etc...) and explain why acute; create the same with pipe cleaners, find examples in the school or the room, etc.... They also had a few assignments where they did go on a hunt for specific things in the room or school and homework was sometimes to bring in examples from home.

With middle school english, we studied roots suffixes, and prefixes (Greek, Latin and Anglo-Saxon) and some indicators for words with those origins. One activity included three sections of the room, one designated for each origin. Each student or pair was given a (random usually) set of cards with words on them and had to get up to put the cards with their origins. The movement was more for movement-sake and analysis, not for helping them cement the concept into their brains.

This is one of my favorite topics and I could probably go on and on, but I won't . I hope that it really addresses what you were thinking of and I am excited to hear what others are doing as well! Thanks!!

Hi Forum,
here is an article today in the TIMES about some teachers in UK with fun and inspiring excercises in the classroom

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,...34,00.html

what do you do to break the boundries of your standard or national curriculum and explore your own creativity as a teacher?

have a good day,
stephen

Stephen hello

May I offer these Boundary Breakers and Desk-Dumpers:

Best Buddies

The Atoms Family

Open High Hosts the Rain Forest

These are examples of information being conveyed via the 'play channel'.

I myself marvel at the fact that for kids play transcends the perceptual barriers most adults carry about play and puppet media.

Studies reveal that humor can have many positive effects on the brain (such as lowering stress hormones) and learning.

Do you use humor in your classroom? What kinds of humor have you used? Do you find it to be an effective teaching tool? Is there a joke that you find your students appreciate or a game that you often play?

Thanks for your input!
~Christina

-Web Resources for teaching with humor: http://www.soita.org/Resources/teacher/c...ghter.html

-An article about using humor in the classroom: http://oira.syr.edu/cstl2/Home/Teaching%...20tool.htm

[I]Note: This journal was written as part of a workshop I conducted. I am posting it because I think it reveals how a play-based approach to communication naturally invites fun, humor, and attraction for both adult and children. The journal spans about two weeks, and involves a classroom of children with a broad spectrum of severe learning disabilties and a teacher working under exceptional stess.[I]:eek:

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10/25/99
First, my puppets overslept and did not get into the car with me! However, they were brought to school late by an understanding husband who happened to be going in the right direction. Whew!

I first introduced Peter Potty to the class during our ‘morning time.’ I was surprised at how delighted and intrigued they were. There was a bit of grabbing and ‘Can I have it? And Can I take it home?’ In the future, I would do more preparation before introducing a visiting puppet. I did not realize that a paper toilet bowl would have the same effect on my class as Ricky Martin on a group of teenage girls.

Peter also came out later, when a young man who is autistic was telling the para how he wears a diaper to poop. Everyone was attempting to convince him that the toilet is a better choice. I was glad to have Peter be able to stop by and tell him that his worries of the poop being too big or of dying were not accurate. Later that day, we even had the boy sit for a while on the toilet. (He is trained for urine.) He had never sat there for us before!

The children also met the ‘worried tree’ who did not know why he was losing his leaves and wondered if he would ever get them back. They enjoyed the tree but had difficulty explaining to the tree about its leaves returning in spring. It gave them an opportunity to try to formulate language and explain.

‘Dora Don’t-Know’ also visited with two children in math group and they helped her correct her math paper. They enjoyed her visit and were very motivated to complete the math worksheet. Dora thanked them and gave each a kiss.

The children were so enthused by the puppets that I told them we would make some. We ran out of time today, but I hope to get to it in the next day or two. We will start with the simple hinge. I am curious to see what language it evokes when they use their puppets.



10/26/99
Today we used the germ puppet as part of our Healthy Habits unit about our bodies. He told the children what not to do. They really got the message and in such a delightful way. Everyone was laughing and had a smile….and I’m almost sure they will remember our healthy habits to foil ‘germ.’ It was so much better than when I just used a cutout for a germ.

Today I altered the ‘preposition arrow and the tree’ [manipulatives] so that they have mouths. They have so much more personality that way and can relate better to the children.

One boy who has autism and we are presently training had no accidents today and even initiated going to the bathroom. The other boy, who still uses a diaper when he has a bm, also sat on the toilet for a while. I wonder if Peter Potty has helped things along. I probably should have had him stop by today. Things were hectic and late. Tomorrow for sure.

We used the bat puppets for prepositions today—a big hit. We also used some simple stick pumpkin puppets for Five Little Pumpkins. The children all participated and remained attentive—even the young lady who is functioning between 18-30 months!

I spoke with the paras today who are so impressed with our puppet visitors. It is so wonderful to have this new tool and to start thinking in a new way.


10/27/99
Today at free play, at the close of the day, I took out the puppet-making materials. One curious boy wandered over. I made a simple hinge type puppet for him, with his assistance. It took only a few moments for several other children to gather around and request puppets. Unfortunately, we were out of time. I promised them that I would make them tomorrow. The young man wanted to name his puppet “Peter Potty.” I guess Peter really knows how to make an impression.


10/28/99
Today the Preposition Arrow made his debut with a group of two girls. The para worked with them. They were both anxious to have a turn to hold the puppet.

Germ was back during Healthy Habits time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group so enthused about Healthy Habits.

More children received their own puppets today. The puppets were playing and speaking to each other. It was great to see the interaction. It inspired more children to request…. Tomorrow. If only I had more time in the day.


10/29/99
Today the children made stick pumpkin puppets for the rhyme ‘Five Little Pumpkins.’ Difficult day—a little child in our school died unexpectedly. The children don’t know but the staff is shell-shocked. No words.


11/1/99 Conference Day.


11/2/99
The Tree came back It worked much better with a mouth. The children did much better at explaining to the tree why it was losing its leaves and reassuring it that the leaves would return in the spring. It led us to talk about how leaves provide food and how the tree would ‘sleep’ for the winter, till its leaves return. Only one child tried to be ‘mean’ to the tree and tell it its leaves would not come back. I intervened and he stopped. He generally reacts defiantly to almost all situations. It’s complicated and we are presently using several avenues to help this young man. I have a very positive relationship with him, so my intervention curtailed his behavior.

We used stick puppets to act out Three Billy Goats Gruff. We have been reading various versions. This helped the children retell the story—an important skill, not to mention the use of language. Only one set of children was able to take a turn. I had to reassure the others that they would get a turn tomorrow. I always seem to be running out of time. It’s so frustrating for both the children and me.


11/3/99
Today Germ came again, much to the excitement of the children. One of them said, “SOAP,” and scared Germ away. That’s all today between art, library, speech pullouts and socialization group pullouts.



11/4/99
Used letter puppets (M-monkey and S-seal) to introduce new letters. The puppets helped to elicit sounds from the children. All were very taken with the puppets—even my defiant one.

Later we made puppets for the children at playtime—the simple hinge. The children helped.

Tonight I made hinge puppets for Three Billy Goats Gruff—3 goats, 1 troll. My husband was kindly impressed but as I have said he is a most understanding human being. Hopefully, we will try them tomorrow, both for language, retelling, and size differentiation.


11/5/99
Germ came again when we read Mortimer Mooner Takes a Bath and when we learned to clean our fingernails with individual nail brushes during OT—Also, when we cut out healthy foods (eat a lot) and junk foods (eat a little).

Best of all was the Billy Goat and Troll puppets. The children used them with the para and were absolutely delighted. I thought I couldn’t make them recognizable but they worked wonderfully. I guess personality counts and the children gave them personality plus. I took photos.

Now I’m going to go for those Thanksgiving puppets I thought I couldn’t do. I also recommended Puppetools to the speech teacher today.


11/8—11/10/99
I have found I have begun to incorporate the simple puppets into more and more of what I do. In the last three days I have used Germ, Dora Don’t-Know, the Three Billy Goats and Troll puppets, and a simple girl cloth puppet in a health lesson. I used to just read the section to the children. This time I had the puppet tell the story. Never had I had such rapt attention to this story. (Actually two stories: Never Touching a Needle on Tues. and Never Touching Another’s Blood on Wed.—both are required AIDS prevention lessons part of health and safety units.) The children then acted out simulations and were rewarded by a kiss from the puppet. All were delighted.

I continue to see more and more avenues of use for these puppets as part of the lessons and the life of the classroom. They enhance the atmosphere and bring such delight.