For Learning, Exploration, and Discovery ….l
Do you ever have a few minutes in class where you just are not sure what to do? You don’t feel like there is really enough time to get started into a new lesson or project. Literacy is one way to fill those extra minutes!
You might think Literacy is just reading and writing … but I think it is so much more … thinking plays a great role in literacy also …
If Literacy is just reading and writing, there are so many skills involved in reading and writing that one can work on when they have a few minutes here and a few minutes there ….
Here are a few ideas:
- Read one page of a story or just show a picture from a book and let students predict what might happen (Having a book open on Big Universe in case you have a few extra minutes is a great way to take full advantage of the free minute and a valuable resource)
- Challenge students to think of a new character to include in the next story he or she writes. Students can thing about names and characteristics, like hair color, height, eyes, clothes, special abilities. They could even think about parts of the stories they will create with this new character.
- Need a few minutes to practice spelling and vocabulary words? Students could partner up to do this or work individually … even while standing in line waiting to go in the hall.
- Part of learning is being able to ask the questions. Did you know that thinking of questions to ask is one way to develop and support critical thinking skills?
- Have you ever seen a crazy word when reading a story? (Think about some Dr. Seuss stories if you have trouble thinking of any.) Why not let students create words and silly definitions. Students may not realize the power in this form of creative thinking, but they are thinking and learning during this time too!
Take advantage of every opportunity you have for learning, exploration, and discovery ….
image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/26720971@N02/3970279665/
