Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Friday, 18 September 2009
Promoting Learning Through Fun!
1 COMMENTS
Catalogued under: Classroom Environment, Classroom Management, Classroom Procedures, Motivation, Teaching Life, Videos
Catalogued under: Classroom Environment, Classroom Management, Classroom Procedures, Motivation, Teaching Life, Videos
YAY! Each successive episode gets better and better (or so we hope)!
We "pre-released" this episode at a Parent-Teacher Potluck... It was supposed to "air" on Monday (in school), but oh well! :p
Check out all my school-related videos HERE.
We "pre-released" this episode at a Parent-Teacher Potluck... It was supposed to "air" on Monday (in school), but oh well! :p
Check out all my school-related videos HERE.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Monday, 31 August 2009
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Morning Music Meditation
0
COMMENTS
Catalogued under: Classroom Environment, Classroom Management, Little Systems, Motivation, Teaching Reflections, Videos
Catalogued under: Classroom Environment, Classroom Management, Little Systems, Motivation, Teaching Reflections, Videos
The benefits of music have been long hailed.
And when joined with meditation, and visualization techniques... wow!
For the last few months, I spend 5 minutes or so every morning with my class doing meditation.
Each day is different.
Somedays I give more directions, using visualization techniques and a bit of yoga breathing, and other days it's just up to the students themselves.
This video has a bit of everything - mostly just letting them focus on the music and responding to the music (this is music therapy), and if you notice, there is heavy breathing sounds - which is a yoga breathing technique.
Visualization was only used a little in this particular session. Sometimes I use more visualization which has to do with colours and using actions as well.
Notice that I don't say anything in the beginning (when the students are walking in) - I use visual and auditory cues (dim lighting, music in background, PowerPoint slide) that tell the students what they should do. You'll notice that many of the kids just walk in, sit down, and immediately get into meditation "mode".
By the way, the "You Are A Tree" bit has really helped - many of my kids usually have issues with staying still (yep, hyperactive!), an when I first taught them to breathe in and out, they had trouble balancing and staying upright! So using the basics of the yoga tree-pose, I taught them to keep their eyes focused on one point and to ground themselves like a tree. Immediately, the students who usually could not keep still showed resolve and focus in their eyes. No more swaying around and off-balance postures.
Finally, I ended with smiling.
The benefit of just putting your facial expressions into a smile is that your body can't tell the difference between a real smile/laugh or a fake one... sometimes I get the class to just laugh for 30 seconds non-stop. This helps put the kids (and myself) in a good mood at the start of the day!
Results of meditation - my students have feed-backed to me that the daily meditations have helped them feel calmer, happier, more focused...
... but hey, don't just take it from me - try it with your students and see the difference yourself! ;)
And when joined with meditation, and visualization techniques... wow!
For the last few months, I spend 5 minutes or so every morning with my class doing meditation.
Each day is different.
Somedays I give more directions, using visualization techniques and a bit of yoga breathing, and other days it's just up to the students themselves.
This video has a bit of everything - mostly just letting them focus on the music and responding to the music (this is music therapy), and if you notice, there is heavy breathing sounds - which is a yoga breathing technique.
Visualization was only used a little in this particular session. Sometimes I use more visualization which has to do with colours and using actions as well.
Notice that I don't say anything in the beginning (when the students are walking in) - I use visual and auditory cues (dim lighting, music in background, PowerPoint slide) that tell the students what they should do. You'll notice that many of the kids just walk in, sit down, and immediately get into meditation "mode".
By the way, the "You Are A Tree" bit has really helped - many of my kids usually have issues with staying still (yep, hyperactive!), an when I first taught them to breathe in and out, they had trouble balancing and staying upright! So using the basics of the yoga tree-pose, I taught them to keep their eyes focused on one point and to ground themselves like a tree. Immediately, the students who usually could not keep still showed resolve and focus in their eyes. No more swaying around and off-balance postures.
Finally, I ended with smiling.
The benefit of just putting your facial expressions into a smile is that your body can't tell the difference between a real smile/laugh or a fake one... sometimes I get the class to just laugh for 30 seconds non-stop. This helps put the kids (and myself) in a good mood at the start of the day!
Results of meditation - my students have feed-backed to me that the daily meditations have helped them feel calmer, happier, more focused...
... but hey, don't just take it from me - try it with your students and see the difference yourself! ;)
Monday, 8 December 2008
The Moving Tables Method
About The Moving Tables teaching method:
This is a cooperative learning method.
Best used for revision/review.
4 tables, 4 mini-projects/quizzes.
Groups of 4 to 5 students each spend about 5 or 10 minutes (length of time for all tables must be the same, but depends on difficulty of mini-project/quiz) working at each table.
When the time is up, teacher calls time and groups move in a clock-wise fashion to the next table.
After all tables are completed, project work is either peer-marked on teacher-marked, scores are totaled, and a winner is declared! :)
Copyright Shimona Kee, November 25 2008.
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