The first grade
classes have been learning about George Washington Carver, and for most of the
teachers my media center lesson introduced him to the students. However, due to
scheduling conflicts, one teacher wasn’t able to get her class into the media
center until the end of their study on George Washington Carver. I didn’t have
another age-appropriate book handy, so I had to use the introductory biography
that I’d used with the other classes. I didn’t know exactly what the teacher
had used during her classroom lessons, but I knew there was a good chance that her
students might already know most of what was in the biography. That would not
make for an interesting media center lesson and would more than likely end up
with a class of first graders who were restless and could quickly get out of
control.
Thankfully, my
creativity was working on the fly that day and I came up with the “thumbs up”
and the “GASP!” Students were to show a “thumbs up” when they heard a fact
they’d learned in class. The students were to dramatically “GASP!” when they
learned something new. As to be expected, there were a few students who wanted
to “GASP!” at everything they heard, but after a quick reminder from me and
from their teacher, they quickly stopped being overly silly.
I admit that I
was surprised how much the students enjoyed this activity and very grateful
too! The students were engaged throughout the entire lesson and enjoyed
discussing the new facts they learned in the biography I read to them. The
teacher was so impressed with their enthusiasm she’s going to use this in her
classroom. It turned out to be a more interesting and fun lesson than when I’d
done the introductory lessons with the other classes.
Wishing you health and happiness,
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