Critique
of 5 Instructional Teaching Materials
When teaching in the classroom there are many
different tools and ideas that can be used to help engage your students and to
help them learn. Below, I will go through 5 instructional teaching materials
that I have come across and find to be helpful.
Flashcards.
Flashcards are a good way to help students learn
sight words, and to memorize them. I have used flashcards in my tutoring to
help my student get to know words on his reading level. We would go through the
flashcards each day, and would add a few words each day. I found that the ones
he struggled with all had things in common. For example he had trouble with
words with long vowel sounds, and digraphs. By starting with the flashcards, I
was able to see where his trouble area was and we worked harder on these words.
Not only did he read the words, but I also had him use the words in a sentence.
One downside to flashcards is if you
keep them in the same order the child will just try to memorize the words,
instead of learning them. I shuffled the cards each day and added in new words.
We began each lesson with flashcards and I used his problem areas to find new
words to add. Another downside is for higher-level readers. This might not be
as effective for older students that are reading on their grade level. Students
that have a higher vocabulary do not need the practice with sight words. Flashcards could be of use for older students
for memorizing definitions.
Bingo.
Bingo is another example of instructional material
that I used in tutoring. Again I used the words with areas that my student was
struggling with. For example we played bingo with words with long vowel sounds.
This was a fun way for us to begin to recognize the words. Bingo was a way to teach the words in a fun
and different way. It wasn’t the same as going over flashcards, or doing
worksheets. It made the reading a little more exciting and the student was more
interested in the game we were playing and enjoyed playing bingo.
This is a strategy that can be used
from younger students to older ones. You can use bingo in many different
subject areas. Bingo is also a very easy game to put together and it keeps
students engaged. This is a fun way to teach, and to review things before a
test.
Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers are a big help in the classroom.
There are many different types of graphic organizers and you can use them to
teach many different concepts. This is a great tool for reading comprehension,
because you can use graphic organizers to break down a story to better
understand it. I have used many graphic organizers and am a huge fan. You can
gear them towards anything that you are teaching and can design them any way
that you would like. It is also a great way to help organize your thoughts or
what you are teaching. It can help students take what they have learned and put
them in an organized way that will help them better understand the big picture.
Graphic organizers are also a great
way to get your students to organize their writing. If you have your students
organize their thoughts it may help them to write a better paper. It can help
them see what they want to say and to make sense of it.
Word Wall
Having a word wall in your classroom is a great way
to display words that are used often. Word walls can be used from elementary to
secondary classrooms. Many classrooms
that I have been in have word walls. You can change the words when your unit
changes, using the vocabulary words for your unit will help the students keep
them fresh in their minds. You can use the word wall on a daily basis to help
your students better recognize and learn the words in your unit. Word walls can
be used in all subject areas and all grades.
Videos/Songs.
Videos and songs are another way to teach
vocabulary, or phonics. In my tutoring, I used Schoolhouse Rocks videos to show
some of the sounds that letters and combinations made. The videos of these
songs grabbed the attention of the student I was working with. He was engaged
and even some of the little songs stuck in his head. He said that he would
remember them when he was trying to read. One phrase he held onto was “when two
vowels are walking the first one does the talking,” I thought this was great
because it helped him to sound out words. There are many songs and videos that
may be a way to get concepts to stick in the child’s mind. They can also be
helpful when you have students write their own songs to remember vocabulary.
As you can see there are many
different tools and ideas that can be used in a classroom besides textbooks and
worksheets. You can be creative and reach many different types of learners by
being creative.
