Teaching With Infographics

Teaching children about exercising and the benefits of exercising is very important.  It also can be such a fun and interesting thing for them to learn about.  Therefore, I have chosen standard 1.NPA.3.1 to share a lesson idea and infographic on.  1.NPA.3.1 states that students will recognize the benefits of physical activity.  

The topic of this lesson is What Does Exercising Do For Me?  To begin, as an aspiring elementary education teacher I find value in teaching lessons that are fun, interactive, and interesting for my students.  What better way to do so then by using infographics.  Infographics are such a practical tool to use as an aid in a lesson because it provides such a great visual representation for students.  It breaks information down, giving students a better chance of being able to understand. 

For my lesson I created the infographic to the left titled, "What Does Exercising Do For Me?"  I chose to teach the standard this way because I wanted to make it relevant to the life of my students.  This is a standard taught in first grade therefore, I wanted to make the visual "short, sweet, and to the point".  

This infographic will be used in the teacher input part of the lesson.  In other words, it will be used to teach the content of the benefits of physical activity.  During the lesson, it will be shown via smartboard.  When the lesson is complete, I will print the infographic and hang it on the wall in the classroom for support.  This will allow students to reference it when needed.                    

Digital Literacy: What You Need To Know

Digital literacy can be defined by a few things.  According to the University Library of the University of Illinois, “it is the ability to use digital technology, communication tools or networks to locate, evaluate, use and create information.  It is the ability to understand and use information in multiple formats from a wide range of sources when it is presented via computers.  It is the ability to read and interpret media, to reproduce data and images through digital manipulation, and to evaluate and apply new knowledge gained from digital environments.” (US Digital Literacy)

Digital literacy is important for children because it allows them to better sustain themselves academically, socially, and globally, they can educate themselves inside and outside of the classroom with the touch of a button, and as education becomes more accessible, they become more accountable for their individual knowledge base. As the US Digital Literacy webpage states, "The use of digital tools emphasizes discovery through applying, finding, assessing, synthesizing, and utilizing information."  

There are many different examples of digital literacy in and out of the classroom.  A few examples are:

• ·      Smart Boards to teach and implement lessons  
• ·      Computers to use the web in order to enhance the learning of the students
• ·      Using online videos to enhance teaching lessons

"Copyright is a protection provided by law to the creators of original works." (6070 Robb, Copyright, Plagiarism, and Citations)  It is necessary for not only teachers but also students to understand copyright.  This means both teachers ands students need to be educated on what can and cannot be done in order to stay compliant with the laws of copyright.  It's important to teach students how to correctly cite information.  Also, making sure students understand that copying someone else's work and not citing it is called plagiarism.  

   

Classroom Management

I have been blessed with many opportunities as a future elementary education teacher to work in different classrooms and observe different teachers.  What a learning experience that is because every student is different and every classroom operates differently. 

I want to begin by saying I personally have struggled with classroom management during my field experiences.  Due to that, I have taken interest in researching classroom management strategies.  Pinterest has provided me with some really wonderful ideas therefore, I want to share a few of my favorites.   

1. Brain Breaks 

If there is one thing that I have noticed in all the classrooms that I have observed, it is that elementary students cannot focus nor sit still for extended amounts of time.  Children need breaks to move or what is known as brain breaks.  Brain breaks give students time to get up and move.  Often times they are short activities that only last a few minutes.  Children love being able to get up and they often have a lot of fun doing these short activities.               

2. Classroom Rewards

Children love to be rewarded.  This strategy actually became one of my favorite due to my current field experience.  My teacher uses this strategy with her students.  Children love this strategy and they really get excited.      

3. Classroom Jobs 

In every classroom that I have observed that utilizes the classroom jobs strategy, the students love it.  From my observation, it seems as though it allows students to feel like they are a vital part of the classroom.  I feel that it makes the students more open to learning and actually more respectful while teaching them responsibilty.  This strategy also avoids chaos in the classroom.