Effective Lesson Design
The practical lesson should get the student thinking about the topic and make them able to reflect on it. To achieve it, the learners need to get inspired and motivated to know more. Children like to be praised and demonstrate their knowledge, so the first approach to build successful interaction lies in asking them background knowledge, providing them chances to speak, and actively participate in the learning process (Hassrick et al., 2017). For example, instead of simply stating the lesson’s purpose, “Today we will know the reasons for Civil War” it is better to ask, “can you tell me why Civil War began?”. In such a way, the students try to think and answer the questions, and those who do not know listen up as their competitive skills stimulate them to understand.
In addition to that, the lessons need to be designed as discovery time when the pupils learn concepts from working with materials rather than by the teacher’s direct explanation. The session’s body can also be guided by the open-ended questions to facilitate the students’ engagements. Moreover, elementary school students are usually intrigued by maps, puzzles, models, and old documents that look genuine and touch their curiosity (Hassrick et al., 2017). Therefore, the teacher can make the lesson more interactive by asking them to analyze the evidence, provide the reasons, and make relevant conclusions. This approach is also used in Montessori education practices and has proven to be effective to trigger the students’ interests. To conclude, effective lesson strategies should include collaboration, integration, immersion into the lesson, and developing problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Accommodating Multiple Learning Styles
Accommodating different learning styles could foster the motivation for education even more. Multiple techniques are suggested for children of the elementary school age that help convey the new information in interactive form. They are essential to be implemented because the children cannot keep their concentration on a particular thing for long (Hassrick et al., 2017). Hence, different styles of teaching can help to engage their attention for the theme of the lesson. Furthermore, the elementary school teacher has the opportunity to follow the engagements of the children and increase their level of knowledge in the subject of particular interest. The subjects ranging from science to history can be taught interdisciplinary and facilitate the researching skills of the students. Still, there is a factor that can be more important than the method of approach: the expression of genuine interest in teaching. Children are highly empathic, and they profoundly comprehend emotions and sincere attention. Finally, adopting various lesson plans to draw the students’ interests and expressing it can be the most useful lesson style for the elementary school setting.
Accommodating Exceptionally Able Students
It should be noted that some students may exceed the teacher’s expectations and show overwhelming results. Such students feel boredom in the course of the lessons or exert pressure on others who fail to achieve the expected. Even though it may seem that those learners excel in any circumstances, at first sight, it is not usually the case. Their development is the same as that of others, so that they may have difficulties achieving higher results in the future. Hence, the teacher needs to educate them to face the challenges and prevent behavioral problems and depression. Moreover, they can be misunderstood because their mental age does not match their physical maturity, which can create the reason for psychological distress (Hassrick et al., 2017). The exceptional students’ necessities are best met in the regular differentiated class rather than putting them into the elderly environment where they might feel alienated. As there is multidisciplinary education followed in Montessori practices, the educator can provide a great range of tasks for the stimulation of logical, comprehensive, research, and social skills of the students. The teacher gives them the tasks that relate to the same activity, and they can start from an increased level or comprehend information at an elevated pace. As a result, the educator can lead them to success and stimulate others to foster as well.
Inclusion
Except for high-achieving learners, some classrooms also have students from social minority groups. As noted above, elementary school is where individuals are taught to be socially responsible citizens. Hence, the teacher should treat all students equally and praise adequate relationships among children. Sometimes, teachers need to address the problem of unequal treatment in the community and clarify appropriate moral dogmas (Hassrick et al., 2017). Furthermore, teachers should think about equal opportunities for each of the students, and take their background into account to provide fair practice in the work. Taking the fact that there are students from 6 to 12 years old in the elementary school setting, some individuals could feel alienated from others. To avoid such traumas, the teacher should pay particular attention to engaging all students in the activities as well as highlight the importance of supporting and helping each other. Sometimes there could be needed additional efforts from the teacher so all students can access education.
Reference
Hassrick, E. M., Raudenbush, S. W., & Rosen, L. (2017). The ambitious elementary school: Its conception, design, and implications for educational equality. The University of Chicago Press.