Lesson 7: Think like a Teenager

As a teacher, it is imperative that I keep in mind that adolescents are going to be impulsive and emotional.  Adults, in contrast are typically better able to provide reasoning and organized thoughts to process their feelings.  Adolescents have to be accountable for their negative actions, however, as a teacher, I have to keep a perspective that they are not adults and will act differently. When I am communicating with adolescents, I have to provide gentle guidance and discipline in order to help them develop the reasoning and organized thought processes that my students need to be successful in life.  Modeling reasoning, impulse control, and organized thinking, even when it is difficult, is very important to help guide students.  An example of this is not letting students’ behavior affect me.  As a teacher, I need to remain calm and collected, setting an example to all of my students. As teachers, we need to put ourselves into our student's shoes to understand them.  Thinking like a teenager will go along way!  

Lesson 7 - Music and Math in the Classroom!

The contept of math is often misidentified by students as something that is not important in the "real world".  We need to change this mindset and help students understand that math skills will utilized in so much of what they do as adults. We, as teachers must incorporate math into all content classes, to help students develop an interest in it. When we do this, it will help students understand their need for it in the world.  Some examples of how math is used on a daily basis is balancing a check book, paying bills, measuring ingredients for a recipe, establishing time frames, and so many other ways. With any subject, showing them the importance of knowing certain concepts will help stir a desire within them to learn it.  As a teacher, I want to be excited about all content that I teach.  If I act uninterested in the material being taught, how can I expect them to be excited about it and want to learn it?  

The impact of incorporating musical training into learning is a great tool to enhance learning in every subject!  Music naturally increases joy and mood.  Research shows that “feel good” music even enhances student’s testing ability and raises test scores. 

Even as a health teacher I can incorporate music and instruments into my lessons.  As an assignment, I could give students an option to write songs using lesson content and perform their songs to the class.  Even playing music softly in the classroom may help calm student’s nerves and help them enjoy their learning, as they associate the content with a positive environment. 

Lesson 5: Teachers- Develop Reading and Language Skills in Your Students

Language development starts in Utero, as research shows that babies brains are already responding to voices and other noises.  As babies and children are continuously exposed to greater amounts of vocabulary and language interaction, their brains are building a foundation to support language development.  Reading and speaking to children from birth can help children develop strong reading and language skills.

Some children are not fortunate to have a lot of positive language interaction early on, and may lack the necessary brain structure to support advanced language development and advanced reading skills. The good news is that with some dedication and training, these children can still develop the necessary skills.  As a secondary school teacher, it will be easy to recognize those students who have only developed basic reading and language skills, and who have established compensating mechanisms to "make do" up to this point. By identifying these students, I can get them the necessary help that they need to become advanced in these skills and help them succeed through high school and even college.

There are some simple strategies that teachers of all grades can do to help students who may be struggling. One of these strategies is to give full explanations of instructions and  even taking the time to help students understand vocabulary words that they may not be familiar with.  Reviewing the instructions and vocabulary words through different methods, will help students achieve retention and help students develop understanding.

Another method is by teaching grade appropriate content, at a grade appropriate level, but reinforcing basic skills by simultaneously including these within the teaching.  An example for me, as a health teacher is if I am teaching a lesson on Anti-Bullying. Most people can read that lesson title and understand that this lesson reinforces why bullying is wrong.  What about those students that don't understand what "anti" means?  From the start, these students may be confused, hindering their ability to learn the content.  To prevent this, from the introduction of this lesson, I will review what "anti" means, and reinforce this concept with some quick activities in class.  I can continue to do this whenever there is a word or phrase within the lesson that may be confusing or misconstrued by students.

By incorporating a basic vocabulary lesson, I have helped students be able to comprehend the content material, as well as enhanced their language and reading skills!