Think like There is no Box!

January 2, 2016

Day 187 as an Oklahoma Teacher

     This morning,  I watched  a Josh Flores video on twitter. In his  30-second video, he talked about having older students teach younger students a vocabulary concept or skill. He referenced Elmo and Sesame Street and how vocabulary is taught on the show. He suggested having students make sock puppets as a way to teach a lesson. I have used a couple of creative lessons over the years that required my students working with younger students. One of my lessons required students to create children's books; the book contained sentence patterns and academic vocabulary. They read the books to a 5th grade class. For another lesson, my students rewrote Romeo and Juliet and gave it an Oklahoma flavor. They rewrote the lines using Oklahoma diction, went through the stages of the writing process, and then acted out the play in front of an 8th grade creative reading class. The last example is one that I did with this class that I am teaching right now. When they were sophomores, I had them plan and create a Shakespearean Faire. The students who were the musicians played Elizabethan songs; there were also games, crafts, and food. Students from other classes came to the Faire.
     So enough with my reminiscing, let me get back to Josh's idea. I tweeted that I would try it with my seniors and that I thought the puppets should be characters from literature or the authors. There is no limit from this lesson. Students could make puppets, write a script for vocabulary, grammar, or literature, and do a live version of a play or videotape it. I imagine puppets that are famous poets discussing their poetry and the poetic devices used in their poetry. There could be a rap, a cheer, a song, or a poem. Students could also dress in character if they don't mind being seen on camera. All of these ideas, if planned out, would fit every Oklahoma standard. It's not a sit down and take the test or write an essay assessment, but it would bring in creativity, innovation, and think like there is no box. Even though older students can do this for younger students, they also need to think about how they can learn vocabulary and grammar. I am going to give my students a set of grammar rules, and ask them what they would do to learn, apply, and not forget them. I'm going to work on my plan for this lesson and blog about it when it is finished.

Adieu! Adieu! Parting is such sweet sorrow, but I will be back with another blog tomorrow!