What Exactly is Creativity?

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Creativity has been deemed as a 21st Century Skill, because creative ideas can lead us to success in society and in our jobs. Have you ever thought about what creativity actually is and what it means? When I think of this word-I think about something unique, inspiring and eye-opening. In its most basic sense, creative means “original and of high quality.” (Perkins, 1981).

According to Wikipedia, creativity is “The use of the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work.” Encarta dictionary agrees.

So, basically, to be deemed “creative” one must produce an original idea. Are you creative? I am not. I can easily copy someone’s painting, but producing one from my own imagination is more tricky and near impossible!

According to a recent article in Educational Leadership magazine, creativity can and should be taught. The most important key is to give our children constructive feedback. This article asserts that we teachers must first set clear goals for our students. We can’t just say “Write a creative story!” First, it is important to emphasize that the story should be original, inspiring, and imaginative. However, I like how Perkins included that creative products should be of high quality. Perhaps teachers could even facilitate a thinking session where students discover and list what creativity means. If I create a new BMW model, and it looks great yet it breaks down continually, then I was simply not creative. However, if I create a new BMW car with features unlike any other car and superb quality…well then, I was creative. In the same respect, we can teach our children the differences of “original” products and replica’s. We don’t want our students to just copy and mimic everything that is taught to them. Yes, we want them to have knowledge, but it is how they use that knowledge to create new things that is of vital importance.

Recap:

1. Set goals for students products and creative works.

2. Help students see the difference between originality and replica’s.

3. Have a creativity lesson! Brainstorm what is means.

4. Emphasize the importance of original and high quality works.

I would love to hear your thoughts! What is creativity to you? How do you help your students or children be creative?

References:

http://www.wikipedia.com

Encarta Dictionary via Microsoft Word

(Brookhart, S., 2013).”Assessing Creativity” Educational Leadership. ASCD.  http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb13/vol70/num05/Assessing-Creativity.aspx

Image from: http://rinskesblog.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html

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The Magic of “Interactive” WhiteBoards

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This video below displays the true magic and capabilities of the Interactive White Board. I have been so blessed to have one in my classroom and the children just love it. However, what they love most is when it is their turn to “touch” or interact with the board.

When I first integrated the Interactive Whiteboard into my classroom, I was unsure of how to involve each and every child. I must admit that I used it to show short videos and read-aloud animated story books. However, as I became more comfortable with its capabilities, I learned how to manage my students so that each child truly interacted and had a turn at some point in the day. This took practice and patience (from my students). I finally came to the point that each time we sat down for a lesson or activity at the IWB, not each child would have a turn. I helped them understand that if they did not have a turn at that moment, that they would later. Since tracking who had a turn was a challenge for me, I gave each child a number. They learned their numbers so quickly. Whenever it was time for a child’s turn, I simply called out the next number. And believe me-no one forgot when it was their turn, who had a turn already or who was absent and couldn’t have a turn!

I must emphasize that the most important feature is its capability to interact. The worst thing that it can be used for is a tv or movie player. Let’s face it, our students go home and watch tv-and most likely – alot. Their brains need interactive stimulation. They need to stand up and move their bodies and fingers. They need to think about the appropriate action. They do not need to just sit and listen. The IWB should not be used as another “teacher” who just talks and provides knowledge.

So, I encourage you to allow the students to interact with the board. Remember-its not just a whiteboard. It’s an Interactive White Board!

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The ABC’s of Teaching Letters

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by: Andrea Howell Chouhan

The ABC’s of Teaching Letters

What is the first step in teaching a child to read? Letters and sounds instruction is the key! In simple terms, for a child to learn to read independently and construct meaning from text – he needs to be able to identify words automatically. He can do this after he decodes unknown words. In order to reach this point, children have to first learn the 44 speech sounds of letters and more than 100 spellings that are made.  Therefore, a child must first be able to identify letter names and then be able to produce letter sounds. Then, he will be ready to read! The next step is to implement a carefully planned and systematic presentation of explicit letter/sound teaching.

Which Letters Should Be Taught First?

The hardest question for researchers and professionals to answer is – “What order should the letters be taught?” Although there is not one universal answer to this question, there is great data to give professionals guidance in creating and/or implementing the necessary systematic order of instruction. Teachers everywhere successfully teach children to read. Children also learn differently. Quite honestly, there is no wrong order to teach letters. Many teachers follow the curriculum, which determines the letter order.

When deciding the order to teach the letters, please keep in mind what some research says.

What Does Research Say?

  • Some letters are harder to learn than others: U, Q, V
  • The following letters are most well-known by children, even if they have not been taught them: O, A, B
  • Children are most likely to learn the first letter of a their name more easily and quickly
  • Teach the letters in an order that allows a child to form many words with them (for example: C, M, A, T)
  • Begin with letters that make “simple sounds” that are easiest to stretch out and are easier to blend: M, S, F, R, N, L
  • Teach new sounds in small steps
  • Review previously taught letters and sounds
  • Introduce commonly encountered sounds before the infrequent sounds: For example, “A” occurs more commonly than “Q” or “V.”
  • Teach the letters that occur more frequently in most words. The most commonly occurring letters are: E, T, A, I, N, O, S, H, R, D, L, C
  • Introduce vowels early. A child must know the vowel sounds, in order to make and read words.
  • It is suggested to teach graphemes together, like C and H, C and K, T and H
  • Alphabetic order is not ideal because it does not address the needs listed above
  • Do not pair and teach together letters that are auditorily and/or visually similar: E, I and D, B
  • Introduce some continuous sounds early: M, S
  • One study suggests introducing lower case letters first, unless upper case letters are similar in shape: (Similar: S, s, U, u, W, w; Dissimilar: R, r, T, t, F, f) Note: I have always taught capital and lowercase at the same time: Ss, Rr, Tt, so I do not disagree with this study, I myself and just unfamiliar with its effectiveness
  • Do not teach similar looking letters together: b, d, p, q
  • Introducing letters in isolation may confuse some children about the purpose of letters in relation to words and reading
  • Some letters take longer to visually discriminate:  t, a, e, o, s, i

 Suggested Letter Order Instruction

 As a teacher, I always used the “letter order” sequence that was outlined by my school. I wondered what reasonings were behind teaching letters in a certain way. So, I set out and discovered that research proves that there are various effective methods for teaching letters in a systematic sequence. Below are the compilations of my finding. The last column is what I created based on the feedback that I received from other educators who used each of these systems.

Letter Order Suggestions

 

Public School in Houston

(No More Letter of the Week Method by P. Lusche)

 

Montessori Method (Montessori Matters by M. Carinato et.al)

Another

Montessori Method

(How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by T. Seldin)

 

Right Track Reading

(by M. Gagen)

Combined Curriculums (Montessori & No More Letter of the Week)

Letters Overview

s, m, t, a, p, f, c

c, m, a, t

c, m, a, t

Letters Overview and 1st letter of childs name

Letters Overview and 1st letter of childs name

r, b, l, I, g, n, d

s, r, i, p

 s, f, r. n

Capital to Lowercase comparisons

Pp, Aa

h, j, k, w, o, u, v

b, f, o, g

n, l, e, b

Mm, Aa, Tt, Ss, Cc

Bb, Ll

y, z, x, q, e

h, j, u, l

i, h, d, g

Rr, Ii, Pp, Ff, Bb

Ss, Hh

d, w, e, n

o, k, p, j

Ll, Oo, Gg, Nn, Dd

Nn, Ww

k, q, v, x, y, z

 q, u, x

Hh, Jj, Uu, Qq, Ee

Ee, Cc

v, w, y, z

Vv, Ww, Yy, Kk, Xx, Zz

Qq, Uu

Rr, Yy

Gg, Zz

Dd, Oo

Ii, Jj

Ff, Xx

Vv, Kk

 Note: The first column shows how my school in Houston taught the letters. “No More Letter of the Week” was one resource, however, the letter order above was created by my school district.

The many resources below provide a plethora of suggestions for the sequence of teaching letters and sounds. So, glean what you will and happy teaching!

Sources:

http://www.readingrockets.org/blog/53818/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Hootsuite&utm_campaign=RRSocialMedia

http://livingmontessorinow.com/2010/09/07/in-what-order-should-you-introduce-letters-to-your-preschooler/

http://www.righttrackreading.com/teachphonemiccode.html

http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/au/au_programs.php

http://www.ciera.org/library/presos/2001/2001nrc/01nrcstahl/01nrcsta.pdf

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104134/chapters/phonics-and-word-study.aspx

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Which has more Potential? A Child’s Brain vs. the Internet

I came across this wonderful video which gives the scientific answer to this question. Which has more potential- A child’s brain or the internet? You can find out for yourself by watching “BRAIN POWER: From Neurons to Networks.” You will actually build more connections in your brain by watching the video, because you will be learning something new!

Interesting facts about the brain:

* A child is born with 100 billion neurons.

* The Internet has 100 trillion links.

* An adult’s brain has 300 trillion connections.

* A child’s brain has a quadrillion connections, which form during the first five years of a child’s life….that is 10 times the amount of the entire internet!

* A fruit fly has 100,000 active brain cells.

* A mouse has 5 million.

* A monkey has 10 billion.

* Adults have had 100 billion active brain cells, since birth!

Sources:

http://letitripple.org/

http://www.thelearningweb.net/chapter03/page113.html

Do You Believe in Me?

Dalton-Sherman-Success

This simple question is how a ten year old student begins his speech to thousands of educators. “I can do anything, be anything, create anything because you believe in me and it rubs off on me,” says Dalton. Someone believed that he could “communicate” and give speeches.

What would happen if every child in our schools were inspired to develop their talents?  One such child was encouraged to develop his talent of public speaking and communication skills. Dalton Sherman, a ten year old fifth grader from Dallas gave the keynote speech to the Dallas School District in 2009. His speech is inspirational, personal and powerful.

Isn’t that what teaching is all about? Making a difference. Helping a child grow and develop into a productive citizen? When adults simply believe in a child, that child becomes empowered to work and try harder. If you as an adult can think of someone who believed in you and helped you become who you are today, then you are proof that “belief” is powerful!

Watch his video. You don’t want to miss it!

Read more about Dalton here:

www.successfoundation.org/meet_dalton.php

www.educationblog.dallasnews.com

www.ellentv.com/…/check-out-5th-grade-speechmaker

www.georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/tag/dalton–sherman  

Wow! Science Lessons on a 3-D Animated Sphere

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On this mornings digital New York Times, I read about a new technology that I did not even know existed. Sure, I’ve seen some amazing computer screens and animations on Iron Man, but never anything similar for real people. So, I began wondering why this was such a treat for me to read about. To be honest, I find it difficult to find interesting technology lessons that deal with Science. What about you and the technology that you use in the classroom? What subject do you use technology in the most? Perhaps it is a digital Math curriculum, similar to Pearson Success net. Or maybe you incorporate iPad’s or Interactive Whiteboard lessons into sight word games and lessons. It is even possible to use Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr. to teach Science in a fun way. How about Geography and Astronomy? The more specific a topic becomes, the trickier it can be to find technology to use in an interesting way in the classroom.

“Earth on a Sphere” or the “Magic Planet” is a two foot 3-d model of the Earth. It is not projected onto a flat surface. It is actually projected onto a spherical screen, using four projectors! It is the aspiration of the inventor, to one day have such models in classrooms, just like interactive whiteboards are becoming more common. Currently, there are 85 models in institutions around the globe. Most of them being in museums.

Lessons have already been made for classroom use; however, they focus on older elementary age levels. One such lesson was created by an 11-year old girl. She researched how global warming affects animal life. She then projected her results onto the sphere to show how climate warming actually affected the turtle population and how warming caused more female turtles to be born.
In the videos below, the movement of airplanes is shown over time lapses across the globe. In addition, the illumination of lights at night is shown on the 3-d Earth on a Sphere. Even a visual of the ocean currents during a Tsunami are shown. This information in a 3-D model is genius and I hope to see one in the future!

What do you think? Is this something that could be used in your school or classroom? If so, how? I would love to hear your ideas!

-Andrea

References:

New York Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/science/digital-globes-a-new-way-to-view-the-world.html?hp&_r=0

Science on a Sphere Information: http://www.sos.noaa.gov/What_is_SOS/index.html

English: NOAA's Science On a Sphere ® in the P...

English: NOAA’s Science On a Sphere ® in the Planet Theater at the Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, CO (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Resolve to Make Attainable Goals! Learn Something New…..

goals

Did you know? Learning something new can make you smarter. Perhaps you can make a goal (or a New Year’s Resolution) to do just that. Instead of making resolutions that will make you feel guilty because they are too hard to reach, simply make more positive choices. Here are some attainable suggestions:

  •  Create your own blog – Begin with baby steps by following blogs! (WordPress.com and Blogger.com are easy to use and completely free).
  • Read a Non-fiction book – Seeing how someone else overcame or attained something can encourage and motivate you to do the same!
  • Travel – Go somewhere you have never been before. Choose somewhere close by or travel abroad. Learning about new people transforms your thinking.
  • Study a New Language – You don’t have to become a master. Simply begin by learning 10-20 vocabulary words and 2-5 phrases.
  • Tweet – Learn to use twitter and follow successful and influential people!
  • Use Pinterest – Sign up. Dive in. Pin. Follow. You will get many ideas and inspiration from others.
  • Take a Free Class – On iTunes University you can listen to lecturers from well-known Universities.
  • Drink more Water – It increases your concentration and also aids in weight loss.

Whatever you hope for in the New Year- I wish you a great journey as you work towards it. Should you need more inspiration, I recommend reading Joel Osteen’s “I Declare.” It has encouraged me to keep moving forward towards the things I want to attain.

-Andrea

Common Core Video Clip

I found a short video that explains how the Common Core came about. It is very informative!

Source: From Common Core State Standards: A New Foundation for Student Success, 2011, Hunt Institute.

I think it is good that our nation has come to a common agreement of standards to teach. The highest performing countries across the world have common teaching standards. I don’t think that change will happen over night, but in the long run, I can see our nation moving back towards the top, as a result. What are your thoughts? Opinions? If you are amongst the majority of the states (44 as of 12/8/2012) that have adopted these standards…how has it affected your teaching or classroom?

Additional Sources:

http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_Math%20Standards.pdf