December 12, 2012

Quick No Fluff Fillers

You have exactly 3 minutes left and you don't want to waste them. Here's a quick review method, which many of you know, but it is worth repeating. . .

Speaking of repeating, that is what this is all about, REPETITION.

Here's how it works:

 You ask the students "What did you learn today?" Their answer is their ticket out the door. Once they tell you what they learned the whole table gets to line up.        

TEACHER TIP: With 27-30 kids in our classes now-a-days it's much more interesting to do this by table then by person. It would take ten minutes to hear 30 students, add in all the redirection time (because kids get bored) and it would take the majority of our art class. So, 7 students (one per table) works best. I rarely say what they learned was incorrect. It could be anything from a personal learning experience, to an objective, to a vocabulary word or skill. REPETITION seems to be the key to learning for most students. It's something we hate to admit as we all "poo poo" route memorization. But I think there is a place for repetition and memorization in school. There are loads of ways to slip in repetition to your day.

I will tell you the most powerful way I use repetition in my teaching next post. 

How do you use repetition in your teaching? Do you think it's an effective teaching tool?


Anonymous said...

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
Repetition is so important. We read the same poem every day for a week, we read/recite the same memory verse for a week or two. Kindergarteners love to do things over and over. Repetition does not necessarily mean it is done exactly the same way though - you can still mix it up. I don't learn things very well only hearing them once, and neither do most children.

Mrs. Impey said...

I've been doing something similar with my Kindergartners/1st/2nd graders. Since I push learning the primary colors, secondary colors, lines and shapes in Kindergarten, I made these flash cards. If we end up with 2-3 minutes left at the end of class, I make them all sit like Mona Lisa and then I go from kid to kid with the flash cards. Depending on the project will depend on the flash cards used.

To make the flash cards I used paint chips from the hardware store. I drew horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines (Mondrian project...), I put in primary and secondary colored cards, and I drew shape cards with the words.

Very quickly I show the students a card, if they get it right, they get to line up. If they get it wrong, I either come back to them or help them understand the correct answer before they line up.

Phyl said...

Yes! Yes! We learn through repetition. It imprints our brains. I always used repetition with instructions, having kids recite/repeat back to me, whether it was 'wipe, wash, wipe' with a paintbrush, or 'weaving with a warp and a weft' or singing 'put your name on you paper -FIRST THING!' Or more complex instructions or info. And we'd repeat stuff together at the beginnings and ends of classes. Even just simple attention getter call &response: call: 'macaroni and cheese'; response: 'Quiet please!'

SJS Art Studio said...

Agreed! And it's especially important for the meets- once-a-week-class.... And the more they say it themselves, the better it sticks!