Greetings!
Has a student ever asked you, "Why do I have to learn this?" In order to be motivated, students need to see value in learning. That's what this issue is all about! Remember, you'll find activity templates, articles, podcasts, and more information about my presentations and books on my blog or on my website. No registration required, and they are all free! Finally, who do you know who might benefit from this newsletter? Please forward it to them and remind them they make a difference, just like you do. Barbara |
Writing for Authentic Purposes Do you ask your students to write extended responses? Or answer with more than a word or a sentence? My students were not motivated to simply talk or write about something they had learned. In order to give them a more authentic purpose, I used the RAFT method. Instead of writing about the water cycle, imagine they are an adult water drop explaining the water cycle to a baby water drop. Or if you are studying the Aztec civilization, ask students to imagine they are Ole Winfrey, and they are interviewing Aztecs on their TV show. They have to write the questions they would ask and the answers. You can do this with any subject and at any level (primary grades will do this with pictures or orally). If you'd like more examples, just google RAFT!  |
Principal's Perspective
Relevance--the word we hear tied to rigor all the time. Authentic learning or real-life learning is all about relevance. Ask your teachers: for every lesson, why should a student learn this? Often times, they don't know other than, "it's on the test". We have to look further than that; otherwise our students won't care about learning, and thus will be less motivated to learn.
|
|
|
|
Tips for Engaging Learners
| Examples of real-life text materials include graphic novels, song lyrics, driver's manual, job applications, blogs, online magazines and articles, maps, charts, graphs, and applicable math word problems.
|
|
Recommended Resources
|
Authentic Learning Activities for Middle School Math by Brendan Kelly
Who Owns the Learning?: Preparing Students for Success in the Digital Age by Alan November
And don't forget to connect with me via social media. The links are above. If you'd like to connect on LinkedIn, send me an invite with a note that you receive my newsletter. |
|
|
