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Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts

Active learning vs. Passive watching: building lesson plans that engage students


Hello Omifans! I've been teaching in one form all my adult life through a spectrum of teaching styles and theories. And one thing that has never changed, though it is seems "more honoured in breach than observance" is the importance of active learning vs. passive. These days, we may talk active learning by we walk cyber school, heavy internet focus and near-constant screen time (via mobile phone, TV etc.).

Yes, I know, it's easier to do everything on the computer and there is surely a place for digital learning. But as our bodies have shown, constant sedentary activities are not healthy. More kids suffer from juvenile obesity, diabetes and learning problems than ever before. Reading comprehension goes down 25% when reading a screen vs. a hardcopy book. 

Cyberschool may have its place but not to the exclusion of hands-on learning. So I'm issuing a Get Up, Learn and Play (GULP) Challenge. Even if you're classroom bound to a large extent, students can and should be doing more hands-on and interactive learning experiences AWAY from a screen. They should be engaged in tactile exploration, building and active play. They should be doing a lot more than seeing and hearing. 

Here are some relatively simple ways to build active learning in your homeschool or classroom:

Don't just turn TV off, put it away.  Losing the remote is not the worst thing that can happen. It will force kids to turn to activities and use their own creatively and inventiveness to entertain. 

Same with phones. This goes for adults too. None of us is going to get to the end of our lives wishing we'd fooled around on our phones more. 

Put on a play or puppet show. Bust out your dress up stuff, recycle bin and craft supplies. Get kids busy writing scripts, creating costumes, working out blocking and stage movement, experimenting with lighting, building sets, designing puppets, even making music to accompany the show. A historical or literature based play? So much the better. You can cover the entire curriculum:  math, STEM, creative writing, social studies, science, reading, drama, by putting on a play. I'll blog more on this for sure. 

GET OUTSIDE: Did I yell that loud enough? Read outside. Have a picnic. Take a nature hike. Do arts and crafts. Cook outside (thank you Coleman stove and campfire!)

Every time I talk to my grandkids (hey Silas, Moses, Lola, Lucian, Milo, Ezra, Juno, Emmett and Remus!) it's the active things I hear about not the TV shows or apps. My kids' best memories are of forts and sidewalk chalk and homemade games! I'll blog more on that later too! 

I'm not trying to guilt anyone for relying on the TV or phone to entertain. I get it. But I will guarantee better behavior and happier kids when you shut those off, haul out the blocks and tell kids to build a city!



Animal costume patterns for craft projects, dress up, learning centers


Dress up is a crucial part of learning play in preschool classrooms and Montessori learning centers. If you homeschool, dress up should be part of your practical life, dramatic play and even science learning centers. The more hands-on and interactive the lesson plans, the better children learn. 

My most recent post gave ideas for a children's literature book party. One book party activity is for children to dress up as characters from books. Here are ideas to make simple, no-sew DIY animal costumes, using your recycle bin and some basic household scraps. These are perfect for preschool science learning centers, kids plays, story party activities and children's theater. Get more Montessori bang by having children create costumes themselves. Click here for free printable animal costume patterns. 

For basic animal costumes, you will need. 

* blanket sleeper (zippered pajamas with covered feet). Use an old one or pick one up second hand. Choose sleeper color based on the type of animals it will be used for:

--green: frog, dinosaur, gecko, snake, lizard, dragon, caterpillar, parrot

--yellow or tan: baby chick, tiger, leopard, lion

--red: ladybug, bird, fox

--pink: pig, shrimp, flamingo

--black, brown, white or gray: cat, dog, donkey, horse, cow, squirrel, raccoon, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, penguin, spider, groundhog, woodchuck, chipmunk

--orange, blue or purple: bird, fish, butterfly

* knit hat in matching color

* five old socks in matching colors

* recycled cardboard from cereal boxes or packaging

* glue dots or self-stick Vel-cro

* sharp scissors

* assorted fabric scraps, pom-poms, feathers, faux gems, ribbon, sequins (optional)

Now

* Draw design details with permanent marker on sleeper: lines, circles, stripes, spots wings etc.

* Use glue dots or Vel-cro to add embellishments to sleeper: sequins or faux gems are great for fish scales or birds. Glue faux feathers on for bird wings. Glue ribbon on for stripes. Pom-poms can be fish scales or hair on curly-haired puppies.

* On two socks (or old old knit gloves) draw black lines on toe ends simulate paws or claws. Draw circles on the palm to look like paw pads (socks make great improvised mittens).

* Stuff one sock with recycled rags for a tail. Sew it to the back of the sleep or hot glue it on. You can also glue a large pom pom on the back for a fuzzy tail.

* Make ears using the remaining two socks and the knit hat. Stuff the socks halfway full of scrap fabric. Cut two small holes in the hat for ears. Push open ends of socks through holes and tie knots in ends so socks won't slip through hole.

Montessori says lesson plans should allow children maximum creativity in open-ended, hands-on, interactive activities. Encourage them to make up their own designs for animal costumes. You could make these in collage or art learning centers also. Once children have made costumes they might write their own scripts for plays about their characters. They might also act out preschool children's literature selections based on animals. 

Here are free printable animal masks to complete costumes. Engage the youngest learners making masks, to keep them productively involved and make them feel part of the activity. 

Free Printable Angelina Ballerina, Ballet, Dance Coloring Pages

Angelina Ballerina is an endearing series of childrens' stories from Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig, featuring a little mouse named Angelina, who takes ballet and her friends. Here are free printable Angelina Ballerina coloring pages and crafts.
PBS Kids has a cute assortment of free printable Angelina Ballerina coloring pages featuring Angelina and her friend Alice Nimbletoes, grandma and grandpa mouse, Angelina's mother and father Maurice and Mathilda Mousling, Miss Lilly dance mistress of Camembert Dance Academy, Henry, Angelina's little cousin, Sammy Watts, Penelope and Priscilla Pinkpaws, William Longtail, Polly, Queen Sepharina and Princess Valentine.
Angelina Ballerina is the homepage for Angelina Mousling. Along with free printable coloring pages, you can find free printable Angelina Ballerina activities. Get free printable Angelina Ballerina crafts, door hangers, bookmarks, post cards and picture frames. There are also games to play, like jigsaw puzzles, tile matching games, sing along, Dance with Me, Reach for the Stars and other charming little games to play with Angelina Ballerina and friends.

Nick, Jr.free printable crafts, activities and games for Angelina Ballerina.
Coloring has assorted 
free printable ballet coloring pages and crafts featuring couples, specific dance positions and ballet steps, famous ballerinas, costumes from famous ballets and general ballet coloring pages. These coloring pages would make excellent supplemental resources for dance class and physical education.


  HSanAlim at Hubpages (click here) has 14 gorgeous free printable ballet and dance coloring pages. Each iamge is a work of art and features different dance positions, floor exercise and ballet dance steps. These images make great instructional posters or an instructional ballet activity book.


  Free Printable Coloring Pages has over forty ballet and ballerina coloring pages, about half of which are serious ballet coloring pages featuring ballet positions and dances.   Coloring-Nichole.blogspot.com has free printable coloring pages on many subjects. The images are art nouveau/ art deco and very nicely drawn.


  Coloring has 30 ballet coloring pages. Several feature animals and other forms of dance. About 20 of the 30 dance coloring pages feature famous dancers, ballet steps and positions.


  Sherri Allen: several nicely detailed images of ballerinas.


  For more free printable activities, crafts, coloring, projects and educational games, visit me at www.freeprintableactivities.blogspot.com and www.freeprintablelessonplans.blogspot.com and www.freecoloringpages4u.blogspot.com.