Photos as a Teaching Tool

With some students remote and some present in school, educators are scurrying to find engaging ways to interact with both groups and “up” the interest factor in their lessons. 

Using photographs as tools in the classroom is not a new technique, but maybe one to revisit in this day of COVID teaching. The strategy of popping a photo up without direction and leaving feedback open-ended makes the photo a “mystery” to be solved and encourages students to “lean in” by piquing their curiosity.  

There are so many ways to do this in very different areas ...

Use photos as Story Starters, giving students an opportunity to write a sentence or story about what they see. Embed lessons about sentence structure, word choice, etc. in a back door kind of way.  

Photos can be great language builders - descriptive words are a natural ... size, color, shape, etc. Try a word web on a topic using a photo as a launch point. 

 Science topics are a terrific fit for photo use! There is nothing like a visual prompt to get everyone involved in something like space, earth science, growing things ... any topic you want. 

KWL charts can be enhanced by using a few photos to boost the interest and grab your visual learners, prompting them to participate. 

An area where real life photos is underutilized is Math! Photos of block arrangements, groups of scattered manipulatives, or partially-filled containers with a “What do you notice?” will get your students thinking, looking for groups, similarities and differences, shapes or whatever else they come up with. They will begin to view math as a part of the everyday world. Great discussions and lessons can ensue! 

The BEST part is that, using technology, ALL of your students can see these photos at the same time and can feel that engagement of learning and exploring something new. A puzzle or mystery to be solved is sure to grab their attention.

Use photos as transition tools or do it just for fun, but toss a little learning in along the way ... What words can you make with these letters?

What do you see on these picture cards? Matches? Sizes? Lots of math concepts here ...

Have fun!

Books to Love: Commotion in the Ocean

A book like "Commotion in the Ocean" by Giles Andreae, can be used to teach so many things, besides being so FUN to read! The illustrations, by David Wojtowycz, catch your eye with their bright colors and cartoony features, which sets the stage for the silliness to begin :)

Each short poem about different sea creatures introduces new names and other related vocabulary, broadening the scope of what your child may know about each of these underwater animals.

The rhyme and rhythm incorporated in each poem will draw your child in - play the waiting game at the end of each section, drawing out the last sentence to see if your child will complete it with the final rhyming word :) Rhyming is an early reading indicator, and is best taught through organic word play within a text :)

Your child may want to recall and list the sea creatures, practicing sequencing and ordering. Or, maybe they would prefer to retell facts about each, displaying some retention or comprehension of the content. You could even simply play with beginning (or ending) sounds, stretching out the name of the animals.

Kiddos always love to hear sound noises and you can show them how they are shown as onomatopoeia, within the illustrations ... snippety snap and click and pitter patter. Try to re-create them using hands or toys or sticks - so much fun!

As an extension, the illustrations in this book provide great, simple shapes for tracing on paper and making stick puppets of each creature. Your child will get practice with tracing, cutting, and other fine motor practice while creating something fun - and useful! Attach craft sticks to make puppets or make sets for practicing visual discrimination and matching games, all centered around the sea creatures in the book!

So many things you can do!

Have fun!

Board Game Bonanza

Playing board games with your little ones can be so much fun - and such an unexpected learning tool! Along with things you might think of - counting, letters, colors, etc. - game-playing is also GREAT for practicing social skills and language skills!!

To plan some game time, first you need to pick out some fun, engaging, and visually appealing games to play - little ones love to see lots of pictures and colors. When it is set up right, they can "read" what is going on, even before they can actually read words :)

Some first favorites are Candyland and Chutes and Ladders, both of which are labeled for children as young as three years old. They involve moving along a path on a game board, with some counting, one-to-one correspondence, and unexpected turns here and there. Your child will get practice following directions, taking turns, and being a "good sport"- all great things for them to learn!

   
Another fun option is Zingo, a Bingo-type game, where they have to use visual discrimination to cover their cards, to match the pictures/words shown. They get to fill up their whole card and will have a great time doing so :) There are other versions of this game which highlight numbers, sight words, etc., but the first one is all about pictures.

Any one of the Memory games offered at stores or online will help your child with this same skill, as well as recall and position words. With so many Memory games out there, your child will have no trouble finding a favorite to pick from :) They turn over two cards at a time, looking for matches, and then have to remember where the matches are as the game progresses.

Charades for Kids can be so much fun for children - and get them talking and acting things out! These are great ways to grow your child's language skills, both when it's their turn and when guessing what others are trying to show. All the cards have both pictures and words to choose from, so even non-readers can play!

There are Spot It cards for many different skills - alphabet letters, shapes, numbers - and they all help with visual discrimination and language skills - make sure you're talking with your child while playing! Any opportunity to engage in new vocabulary with your children is GREAT!

I recently saw a card game called Dr. Seuss "I Can Do That!" that looks like kids would have a blast playing! Each card has a different, sometimes very silly, activity to do that will get your children up and moving! It's on my list!

Get some games together, and get going! It will be great time for conversation, socializing, learning, and, most of all ....

Having fun!