Teacher’s Corner

The following are writing prompts and discussion topics based on the blog: Becoming clever, innovative, inventive, and smart.

1. Most young children go through a “saying-no” stage. This is the beginning of children learning to think for themselves.  Explain how a two-year-old saying “no” can actually lead to that child becoming a person who is able to think for himself. What can caring adults do to help children successfully become good thinkers?

2. At around one-year-old most children start getting into everything and crawling away by themselves even though it could be dangerous. This is the beginning of children learning to be curious, adventuresome learners.  Explain how the curiosity and hands-on-everything behavior of a baby crawler can be the foundation for becoming a good learner in later years. What can caring adults do to help children successfully become curious, adventuresome learners?

3. During the pre-school years most children start testing out their power to get their needs met. They can try manipulation or bullying, for example. This is the beginning of children learning about relationships with others and the use of personal power. What can caring adults do to help children understand that there are better ways to get along with others than overpowering and outsmarting them?

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.