Motivate Your Kids to Learn

Major parent complaint: 

"My kids just aren't motivated to (insert any verb here related to education)."

Most often expressed teacher plea,

 "If I could just motivate my students to (insert any verb here related to education).

What if there were a simple answer to create motivation for

 reading, writing, researching and presenting? Could it really be?

This year for Christmas, we got our boys a present they love and treasure. And it was SO simple.

A science kit.

Not the fancy dancy science kits that cost a lot and do only one or two different experiments. This was a science kit filled with the ingredients you probably already have on your shelves, like corn starch and corn syrup, salt and vinegar, etc. I remember the day I went to use my corn starch and it was all gone, having been the subject of science the day before. So... yes. We got them their own kit of materials to be used JUST for science. (See a complete list at the bottom)

It has been amazing to watch them try out the experiments, discuss the science behind each experiment, and.... (enter drum roll please)

...write and present about their experiments! 

(ok.. so it's still a bit of a challenge for the writing part, but if you require a written portion before they can video tape, Motivation.Is.There!)

What I love most?

Seeing the kids come up with their own experiments. Their favorite question is,

"What would happen if...?"

Actually what I loved even more, 

Seeing my 5 year old daughter come up with her own experiment and then sit down at the computer to type what it was she was doing. She asked for help to spell each of the items in her experiment. She proudly printed it out and showed Daddy. She then asked for it to be her turn to video tape and show her experiment.

See what's missing? No nagging. No arguing. Not even encouraging!

Simply guiding the genius that is already your child or student to emerge.

Asia Citro, MEd author of The Curious Kid's Science Book said,

"Children are born scientists. Young children are curious, observant, and determined problem solvers. Giving children a chance to make their own experiments allows these natural skills to grow and bloom."

Conducting science projects is now a favorite family activity looked forward to almost as much as movie or game night!

Are you a teacher and wondering, "Sure, that's great for the home setting, but that won't work in my classroom?" Stay tuned for my next post on ideas to incorporate experiential science into the classroom. It CAN be done!

Here's the Video!

Sticky Glitter: 

Starting Our Experience Books!

After visiting with my Early Intervention (EI) Specialist, who had brought me handouts on starting an Experience Book with  my toddler, I vowed I would start the very next week.

One week went by....

                                  then another..........
                                                            
                                                                and another.....
                                                                                        
Finally, I bought composition books and thought, "YES, We'll start next week."

One week went by....

                                  then another..........
                                                            
                                                                and another.....

I started saving brochures from places we visited, keepsakes from a hike, tickets, etc. They are in a pile on my shelf.  The books have stayed empty.

Fall organization hit. I started cleaning out my shelves to file all of the clutter that had added up.(I'm sure there's a blog post somewhere about de-cluttering and keeping things organized that I need to read!)

And I found them! I found the handouts my sweet EI Specialist had brought me.

And I read them!

And I realized I had this whole Experience Book thing wrong.

I had been putting it off until I could print out pictures, until I could have more time to make it look nice, etc. etc. As I read the handout and the mother talked of DRAWING pictures and TRACING toys and then describing them, as well as printing out pictures and gluing in tickets, etc, it became real to me.

                                                                 

We started the next day. 

              This was no beautiful scrapbook with carefully placed pictures with elaborate captions.

This was SWEET and SIMPLE. I started by sitting down at the computer, toddler in my lap and finding pictures in clip-art. We started with those foods that were her favorite things to eat.

I let her glue. I let her write. I even let her try to cut! After all, this is her EXPERIENCE book!

Our first page!

We have done pretty well, adding an additional page every other day or so!  There is so much more I want to do. My goal now is to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE things when we go out, and to look for ANYTHING we can add to our Experience Book!

We simply traced some of her favorite toys.

I found a way to make us both smile, even at 4:30 am. The pencil is a little hard to see. This entry was made when she woke up early in the morning and would NOT go back to sleep.

Are you ready to get started??? 

Here are some great tips for that great hand out! 

(handout by Kerry Dowling, parent of a deaf child)

• Find a special home for your Experience books. A basket in a well-used room is a good place.  (I have yet to do this one. After already misplacing it twice, I know it is essential to do this!)
• Keep a list handy for ideas: when you get an idea of an entry, jot it down. Save tickets, brochures, pictures, etc. to add in. That way on days when you can't think of what to do for an entry, you have your list!
• Involve the child. Let her draw, cut, glue. Ask her favorite things and put them in the book. 
• Use double-sided tape to put all the great stuff you have saved in easily.
• Involve others. Invite others to draw in the book. Label who it was and why they came to visit or why they drew what they did.
• Incorporate goals from your child's IFSP. If you are working on colors, do a page on that, etc. You can also focus on story telling or building vocabulary, etc.
• Focus on parenting goals. Find ways to teach how to be a good friend, have good behavior, how to help clean up, or wash your hands. (absolutely LOVE this one!)
• Colored pencils or markers work better than crayons. Markers sometimes bleed through the page. Pencil is hard to see. =)
• Use the Experience Book to generate new conversations and language. Don't hold to the words that are written on the page, but instead talk about what is on the page, the memory and the understanding your child has now related to the same objects or events.
• "Later on, it's all about reading." This will be a great reading tool as known content is matched to the exact print and learning of specific words can occur. 
• Have FUN! Make this a great experience for the WHOLE family to enjoy.

"Oh the Thinks You Can Think"

Yup... Dr. Seuss.

Revered by all educators and parents everywhere, Dr. Seuss is a legend. Right?

But... have you ever tried to sign a Dr. Seuss story in ASL? Now that's a different story. I would balk at trying to translate any Dr. Seuss story into ASL. Attempting to translate the rhyme and the nonsense words was pointless to me. The books that tell actual stories: Horton Hears a Who, etc. would get my best ASL story telling skills, but the rhyme never translated. Being hearing myself, I always felt like my kids were missing out on something. Something I had no way to give them....

 

Until I found "Hands Land: ASL Rhymes & Rhythms." This project is underway and is creating great resources for deaf children. I love their translation of Dr. Seuss' "Hop On Pop". It inspired me. When I saw our copy of Dr. Seuss' "Oh the Thinks You Can Think," I knew I had to try my hand at reading it to my kids.

It was an instant success! My 20 month old was copying the signs with me from the 2nd page, learning 2 new signs the first time I read it. When my older children arrived home, I had them sit down so I could sign it to them. They, of course, helped me add and revise the translation. It was so fun!

Hope you enjoy the video! And the next time you pick up a Dr. Seuss book... just Think of all the Thinks you Can Think - and start signing away!

*Insert educational strategies note for teachers and parents. This video was signed, filmed, edited and captioned by my son and I. He is 8. He took the pictures, then uploaded and added them. He did about half of the editing, captions, and more than half of the signing.

This is a FABULOUS project idea for deaf children! Video recording their own stories is such a confidence builder. It allows them to see their storytelling as real. They are able to watch their story and analyze the language: what could have been more clear? Do I like the story I told? I love using iPADs for this strategy, allowing the kids to have an ASL journal or Free composing time using the built in webcams.

Then, when my son sat down at the computer to edit and started to caption it, I was blown away! Inside, I was jumping up and down. In reality, I calmly said, "That's a great idea!" Having students watch their ASL and transcribe it into English is a great way to have them really understand how to link ASL to English. He sat there watching himself sign, trying to figure out how to put it in English words. It was great. We worked together on a lot of it. I ended up finishing it because it was getting too long... and we had some other interesting events happen that I'll post about soon! 

Effective Instructional Strategies Explained... These are the Good Ones!

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted the more ineffective strategies... NOW! For the good ones! Again, as I said in my first post, a BALANCE of the different approaches is needed! Here's the link to the strategies to limit (more Ineffective Strategies)

Whole Language approach: Also called, the “Top to bottom approach,” and is contrasted to a phonics or skills based approach to decoding and spelling. The philosophy here is to focus on meaning and strategy instruction, literature-based or integrated instruction. Many of the next strategies are a part of a whole language philosophy. When looking at second language learners, including Deaf children, this philosophy and approach to language is critical! This one will get its own post…for now this link shows a very basic overview.

A Writing Activity

Readers and Writer’s workshop: Writers engage in reading and writing for their own purposes. Led by the teacher through ‘mini lessons’ the students learning reading and writing strategies while choosing their own reading and writing topics. This is a great explanation! 

 You can also see how I did a mini writer's workshop lesson with my son during the writing of our recent vacation blog. In it I note how I picked two grammar principles to teach during that writing session. After we had done the writing together, he felt confident to write on his own.

Cooperative learning: More than just working in groups, cooperative learning gives each student a chance to fulfill a different role in a group: a leader, a secretary, a moderator, etc. while completing the assigned task. More here

Visuals (SMART boards, pictures, tables, graphs): Visuals are so important for deaf children, it is their primary learning style (even if they are using Auditory Listening Devices (ALDs)). Teachers who use visuals will have an easier time of keeping students’ attention while increasing performance.

Bi-lingual/Tri- modal instruction (English/ASL/speech and listening as needed): Using American Sign Language (ASL) to teach English. More than just using sign language as the ‘mode of communication’ in the classroom, these strategies connect and bridge ASL and English while developing both. The goal is for your child to truly become bilingual in ASL and English. This one needs its own post… and you can find basic explanation here for now. This is one article of how a preschool approach might look.

This is our Sensory table - with spelling words!

Balanced Literacy Approach – Children need read in different ways every day. The teacher should be reading aloud to the class daily in ASL following the 15 principles of Read Alouds . Shared reading happens as the same book, or book type, is read repeatedly and the reading shared between student and teacher, with the teacher modeling and supporting the students as they read. Finally, the students read the SAME book on their own, with confidence.

Hands on Activities: Math manipulatives, science projects, field trips, art, constructing reports on research, creating artifacts. As part of integrated units, hands on activities give the students a way to discover new knowledge or to put their learning into action. Our LegoFraction lesson is one example.

Painting a house as part of our Fire unit.

Integrated Thematic Units: Teachers select a theme around which to base all subjects around. In the Fall math, science and language arts can all relate to the Autumn Season. Basic skills instruction is still built into the daily routine, but the main teaching revolves around the theme. Focus is on depth and world knowledge through whole language learning. Check it out more here.

Development of child’s Native Language (ASL): ASL should be focused on and developed. When bilinguals strengthen their native language, the second language is also strengthened (reference here). Easily added to thematic units, ASL can enrich the learning of any subject. We’ll have some fun examples of this!

Always Reading!

Differentiated Assessments: Rubrics, portfolios, testing on content only (using ASL and oral exams), presentations, projects, writing samples, etc. While standard testing is still required, grades can be determined based on a variety of assessments that not only allow the students to shine in different ways, but also develop a variety of different skills. Find a great explanation here.

Structured routines with strong classroom management: All students thrive off of structured routines and strong classroom management. Class meetings and rules can engage the students in the governing of their own class, encouraging more cooperation. Positive reinforcement for following routines and being engaged in learning is a must.

While this list is extensive and feels overwhelming, as you learn more about a Whole Language approach, you will see how so many of these strategies fall into place. It is my goal to provide you with examples of these strategies and how they might look both in the classroom, and at  home.I'll update this post with links to those examples as they come!