Teacher’s Corner

The following are writing prompts and discussion topics based on the blogs:

Three Ways to Encourage Your Child’s Talents  and Three More Ways to Encourage Your Child’s Talents.

1. Read Three Ways to Encourage Your Child’s Talents and Three More Ways to Encourage Your Child’s Talents. These blogs list things that can help children develop their interests and talents. If a parent asked you how they could encourage their child’s talents, which two of the six things would you suggest? Explain why you selected those two things.

2. If a student were interested in computers, what type of things should he or she study in school?  In addition, what types of things could he or she do outside of school in order to further develop his or her talents?

3.  Do you think ALL students have a special talent? Why or why not?

4. Sometimes students don’t see what their talents are.  How can you help a student know and believe in his or her special talents?

Teachers, you can use this blog in classrooms. Here are two ideas about how.

1. For middle or high school parenting or child development courses:

• Use the blog for discussion topics
• Require students to research the topics and agree or disagree with what the blog is suggesting.

2.  For all courses, especially English Language Arts:

• Use the blog for writing prompts for paragraphs, theme papers, journal entries, class starters, etc. Have students read the blog and respond to:
  • Do you agree with what is being said about kids? Do kids really act, think or feel that way?
  • Do you agree with what is being said about parents, grandparents, teachers and child caregivers? Do or should they act, think or feel that way?
  • What would be your advice on this topic?
  • What was left out of this article?
  • If you were a parent, would you use any of this information? How?

Why can this blog be a useful teaching tool?

• Students that see connections between their coursework and their lives do better in school.
• Most students will either be parents one day or have children in their lives that they care about, so the topical information can help them build their knowledge about children and parenting and develop a positive image of the type of parenting they want to do.
• The new core literacy standards adopted by most states call for frequent writing in all courses.
• Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can think critically. These prompts help students practice critical thinking.
• Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can analyze what they read. These prompts help students practice analysis.