I think the downfall of teaching will be the afterthought of holiday parties. Because we didn't have school on Tuesday, I went to my practicum on Wednesday which also happened to be Halloween. The morning was close to business as usual, but the afternoon was madness.
My teacher decided before school even started that our class was going to be distracted-- they were surprisingly on task. This predetermined idea that they would be distracted naturally led our class to get distracted, playing right into the "lesson" my teacher wanted to do. Upon arrival, my teacher asked me to compile a list of halloween words that we were going to have a fun spelling test with. I did a google search of halloween spelling tests. My class would be bored with the typical words like "witch" and "ghost," but I included them anyways. My teacher was going to pick the ones she wanted and continue from there.
My teacher divided the teams to boys v. girls (bats vs. ghouls) and we played reverse hangman. The students were not allowed to write the words, but they had to spell it out-loud correctly without help on their first try in order for it to be counted. Some words included harvest, vampire, werewolf, creative and jack o' lantern. I included Ichabod Crane as my own personal challenge because of the folk tale, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Most of the students have not heard of the story, and neither team spelled it correctly. One girl in my class came up to me afterwards and knew the story and was also able to spell his name. I decided that I wanted to see if i could find a version of the story to read to connect where that name came from to halloween and our class.
I went to the school library and found a copy of a book that had The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in it. After the parade, I started to read. According to my teacher, half the class was not interested, the other was. I was cut off quickly by parents trying to plan the afternoon party, and my idea of learning something in the midst of the halloween party was gone.
I think that with more planning, the morning could have had a relevant halloween theme and not have been lost to non-instruction. Especially with stories and history. Language arts and social studies are so easy to connect with traditions and relatable materials. I was so stressed out being in the presence of chaos without any plan. I don't know if it is easier to just let the parents "supervise" the afternoon, but I know that I was wanting to have some kind of organization in the afternoon. I think students could learn that even things they really enjoy for the non-academic purposes can be related back to academics in a way that doesn't take much effort.
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ReplyDeleteMeg, I really enjoyed your post. I think that schools tend to approach holidays in one of two ways: 1. Assuming it is a "lost cause" of a day and just giving it up to a party, OR 2. Refusing to allow it to become a "lost cause" and treating it like a normal day. I know at my practicum site the students were not allowed to wear costumes. I wasn't there for the day, but from what I heard, it was just treated like a normal day and Halloween didn't seem to be mentioned at all.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be nice to find a happy medium. I definitely agree with you— we should be using these holidays and events to engage students in language arts and social studies. I liked your idea of creating a language arts "lesson" that was based on something (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) that has both language arts and social studies content and value. We can also use these holidays and events to get students more excited about math and science too— weighing and carving a pumpkin, for example, seems to be a favorite. There are lots of ways that we can harness the energy and enthusiasm that many students bring to the table for things like Halloween and focus it in an academic way.
From what you've written, I definitely get the sense that your future classroom will be a place where students are still allowed to "celebrate" the holiday in a way that still respects instructional time. Go you!
Holidays are always so challenging. It's a great time for kids to be in school with their friends, but also a time where it's hard to get a lot accomplished. I always try to be straightforward with my students and provide them with both the schedule and expectations right up front in the morning. These are the times we are working on different things, and the expectation. I always say that the "fun" activities related to the holiday are "reserved" for those kids who are on task and participating--much like a "reserved" section of a concert etc. This seems to help and we just need to communicate the expectations very clearly.
ReplyDeletePlanning activities like "candy graphing" or reading about El Dia De Los Muertos also helps kids stay engaged with what is going on. Takes a little more planning on the teacher end, but can help keep the day moving.
This is a great example of the best laid plans going awry. The idea that student's will automatically be distracted to me is a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy and frankly a cop out of sorts in that teacher's are the leaders of their classrooms (or so we hope) and therefore have a great deal of influence on where student's focus their energy. Granted, the story wasn't planned, but I think what you found was a teachable moment and also one where you had a rare opportunity to bring literature and story telling to life. Unfortunately, the impending party and the excitement surrounding it seems to have gotten in the way. Parents and students alike were naturally anxious to have fun at school and engage one another. That said, in the future perhaps, you could have asked your cooperating teacher if you could find a quite corner to continue with the interested student's as that folklore is very heavily ingrained in our culture, and honestly its a great spooky story. Hopefully, this provided a platform for you and your cooperating teacher to discuss what engagement looks like, how to maintain it,and what some strategies for regrouping might be should one find him or herself off the path.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post, and be encourage because it was a great idea!