Fear Not!--Your Students are Amazing and they are Capable of Great Things!
Today I want to talk about every teacher's deep rooted secret fear. No, it isn't scissor related injuries. No, it isn't scary canteen food. It isn't even being sneezed on (although that is pretty horrible).
Every teacher (or at least most teachers--myself included) are terrified of giving their students control over their own work.
Allow me to pontificate.
I teach the very little guys and let's face it--it's hard work! On any given day teachers are dealing with a variety of abilities and short attention spans. Some of our little guys are still working to follow one step directions. When planning we often worry that a task will be too hard and we try to minimize and troubleshoot problematic hot spots before a lesson even begins. We trace outlines so the students who struggle with drawing won't have to stress. We pre-cut shapes to ease the concerns of children who labor with cutting. We pre-glue tiny pieces so our children with fine motor difficulties won't experience an ounce of frustration. And of course when we are done--we have a fantastically uniformed product.
Just check out these sharks we made during our habitat animal study.
Ooooo... bulletin board so pretty.
So what's the problem? Well, when we pre-plan everything, we leave very little room for actual learning. Let's look at this lesson. By the way, I taught this same lesson for three years (no shame in admitting it). When I look at this lesson--I often ask myself "What is it that my students were actually doing?" In this case I trusted them to glue the pieces together. Way to go Sam. You may have control issues.
Here's the truth. It's okay for your students to struggle a little.
"Hey, it is actually okay that you're struggling to cut that huge piece of paper. Here's a way to make it more manageable. We will learn techniques."
"Hey, you are going to have to pick up those tiny pieces and find a way to glue them on your paper. We will be resilient."
"Hey, you can draw! We will be creative."
It's okay to work with students 'in the moment'. It's okay to give that experience and trust to your students.
Yes, yes. We all agree with this in theory--but actually doing it? Actually giving your students the capability to create 'child made' products? Actually being willing to display said child made products regardless of whatever it may look like?
That is scary stuff.
This year, I decided to chuck all my old 'crafty' projects out the window--and I decided to try and commit myself to creating as much child-made art as possible.
Believe it or not--I know this may be hard to believe--I didn't have to modify much in my regular planning to do this. I actually spent less time on prep work--because all I had to do was prepare the 'Material Store' for lessons (more about this later).
The products? They actually turned out better than my boring cookie cutter lessons. Check out these awesome looking sharks--entirely made by the hands of students with very little to no teacher assistance:
Oooo... even prettier than before.
That's right. My students are four and five years old and they are amazing individuals.
My students? They love their work and beg me to take it home right away. When we made our sharks this week--the students begged to play with them as soon as they made them. That's something that had never happened before! The next day when they were hung up on our Ocean's board, the students dragged unsuspecting parents into the classroom to proudly point to their work. Students themselves spent a good portion of playtime looking at and complimenting one another on their work.
If you're thinking about trashing your cutesie crafts--JUST DO IT! You have no idea how much your students will impress you!
Every teacher (or at least most teachers--myself included) are terrified of giving their students control over their own work.
Allow me to pontificate.
I teach the very little guys and let's face it--it's hard work! On any given day teachers are dealing with a variety of abilities and short attention spans. Some of our little guys are still working to follow one step directions. When planning we often worry that a task will be too hard and we try to minimize and troubleshoot problematic hot spots before a lesson even begins. We trace outlines so the students who struggle with drawing won't have to stress. We pre-cut shapes to ease the concerns of children who labor with cutting. We pre-glue tiny pieces so our children with fine motor difficulties won't experience an ounce of frustration. And of course when we are done--we have a fantastically uniformed product.
Just check out these sharks we made during our habitat animal study.
Ooooo... bulletin board so pretty.
So what's the problem? Well, when we pre-plan everything, we leave very little room for actual learning. Let's look at this lesson. By the way, I taught this same lesson for three years (no shame in admitting it). When I look at this lesson--I often ask myself "What is it that my students were actually doing?" In this case I trusted them to glue the pieces together. Way to go Sam. You may have control issues.
Here's the truth. It's okay for your students to struggle a little.
"Hey, it is actually okay that you're struggling to cut that huge piece of paper. Here's a way to make it more manageable. We will learn techniques."
"Hey, you are going to have to pick up those tiny pieces and find a way to glue them on your paper. We will be resilient."
"Hey, you can draw! We will be creative."
It's okay to work with students 'in the moment'. It's okay to give that experience and trust to your students.
Yes, yes. We all agree with this in theory--but actually doing it? Actually giving your students the capability to create 'child made' products? Actually being willing to display said child made products regardless of whatever it may look like?
That is scary stuff.
This year, I decided to chuck all my old 'crafty' projects out the window--and I decided to try and commit myself to creating as much child-made art as possible.
Believe it or not--I know this may be hard to believe--I didn't have to modify much in my regular planning to do this. I actually spent less time on prep work--because all I had to do was prepare the 'Material Store' for lessons (more about this later).
The products? They actually turned out better than my boring cookie cutter lessons. Check out these awesome looking sharks--entirely made by the hands of students with very little to no teacher assistance:
Oooo... even prettier than before.
That's right. My students are four and five years old and they are amazing individuals.
My students? They love their work and beg me to take it home right away. When we made our sharks this week--the students begged to play with them as soon as they made them. That's something that had never happened before! The next day when they were hung up on our Ocean's board, the students dragged unsuspecting parents into the classroom to proudly point to their work. Students themselves spent a good portion of playtime looking at and complimenting one another on their work.
If you're thinking about trashing your cutesie crafts--JUST DO IT! You have no idea how much your students will impress you!
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