Tag Archives: imagination

Connecting Your Child’s Talents and Interests to School – Teacher’s Corner

by

0


Teacher’s Corner
The prompts below can be used for writing about or discussing how school connects to students’ talents and interests
Children’s screen time should be limited. It takes time away from other important activity and is addictive. Share the recommendations below with your students.
Have students write or discuss the following questions.
  1. Name two of your talents or interests.
  2. Can you think of a way that mathematics connects with one of your talents or interests? For example, if you are interested in a sport, consider how mathematics is involved in the stats that players and for which teams accumulate and receive awards.
  3. Can you think of a way that science connects with one of your talents or interests? For example, if you like to cook, what do you think science has to do with combining ingredients or figuring out how long to cook something?
  4. Can you think of a way that reading or writing connects with one of your talents or interests? For example, if you have acting talent, in what ways would that require reading or writing skills?
  5. Explain how getting along with others could be important when using your talents or pursuing your interests.
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.