Tales from my Second Grade Classroom:
According to a study, approximately eighty percent of teacher interactions with students involve cueing and questioning (Dean, et al., 2012, p. 50). With so much time focused on these interactions, it is no wonder that there are many inferences as to the best possible method to use with students. In class with my Second Graders, I do a great deal of inferential questioning. I ask them to recall information that they may have previously learned and I ask them to build on it. This morning, in Language Arts, I wrote the word “adverb” I paused for just a moment, to allow them to concentrate on the term. I, then, asked the question, “who can raise their hand and tell us what an ADVERB is?” I usually pronounce terms that I want them to concentrate on in a slightly different manner. If it’s possible, I try to state those terms to mimic the word itself. In this case, my silly voices were not going to come in handy. A few student’s raised their hands to try to define the term, but it was new and tricky, so I tried again, “Let’s break apart our word. What about this word?” As I asked the question, I underlined the word “verb.” Suddenly, many hands shot up and everyone had an answer. “A verb,” they said, “is like an action.” They were right. A verb is an action. But, what does that mean to them? I then started jogging around the room and asked them to describe what I was doing. “Running!” one said. “Jumping!!” said someone else, but I was waiting for my magic words. “How am I running??” I asked. “Quickly!” one student shouted. “YES!” Adverbs, I said, are words we can use to describe a verb. They are words like “quickly, softly, and early. They often end in -ly and they answer specific questions.”
In teaching, much of what we do is ask questions. It is perhaps the easiest way to determine how much your students can recall about a topic or if your topic is entirely new to them. But, asking questions and cueing students seems to be an art; the more you develop as a teacher, the more in tune you become at asking the right questions. The cues I supply to my students extend beyond emphasizing important terms, it also comes with dissecting the terms to understand their meaning for the specific class. In English Language Arts (ELA), I like to incorporate various supplements to the curriculum to be sure that my students are able to develop their skills to the highest capacity. The school I work for is extremely focused on math, which is great, but I feel as though it needs to be more open to explore other, also valuable subject areas. So, I try to combine my Language Arts book with a component of art and specialized reading to ensure that my students are reaching the Common Core standards. For the lesson on adverbs, I used a graphic organizer to aid in the explanation of adverbs and adjectives. I enjoy using these tools because I believe it provides my students with an easier way to understand the skills.
After using a graphic organizer, I will take my students to the park where we will be using our graphic organizers to describe the actions that we see happening. Whether we see people laughing, jumping, playing, climbing, running or skipping, we will be capable of using our adverbs (and even our newly recalled adjectives) to describe what is happening. It is important to me that my students have a strong understanding of their terms, that they not only understand what an adverb is, but how it is properly used to describe something.
Many students struggle with giving details in their writing. In lower grades, many students will write sentences like, “My dog runs.” It is my hope that the couple of days spent highlighting information about ways that we can describe nouns and verbs will grow their understanding of writing. I have many challenges in store for this group of highly intelligent second graders. They will get there and when they do, they will be wonderful writers capable of impressing the upper-grade levels.
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Now, I know what you’re thinking… “How does this pertain to me- a parent?” Parents are a child’s first teacher. For some, you may fulfill the teaching role as a homeschooling parent. The important factor to consider is how we can deepen a child’s understanding of the material while simultaneously enhancing their curiosity about the subject. It isn’t always easy, but the very act of asking questions is a simple way to keep the ball rolling whether the questions are coming from you or from them.
I’ve had many parents tell me that the “why” stage is obnoxious. They feel like their kiddo isn’t going to understand complex concepts, so it isn’t worth explaining it. I, however, have a different take. By answering your child’s questions, you are engaging them in a new subject. If it is an old subject, then you are deepening their understanding of it. The beauty, in either case, is that they are learning. They may not be able to grasp advanced mathematics or scientific principles, but I implore you to utilize complicated jargon, their brains are soaking it up and creating new neuropathways as you speak!
So, don’t be afraid of the why stage. If your child asks you a question you don’t know the answer to, then look it up, watch a Youtube video and learn together! It’s acceptable to not be all-knowing, your child is bound to find out that you aren’t sooner or later anyway. But, offering an opportunity to learn something together is something that will last a lifetime.
References:
Dean, C.B., Hibbell, E.R., Putler, H. & Stone, B. (2012). Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement (2nd ed). McREL, Denver, CO