Working with the kids on Monday was a blast. The theme of the day was "Superheros" and my group had a positive response from our costumes. I made up a fake superhero called "Invisi-Girl" and the other three guys in my group were villains trying to find me. When I pulled the cape over my face I turned invisible, and the villains could no longer see me. The kids had a riot trying to tell the villains in my group where I was, which hurt my feelings a little bit. Hahaha. I thought I would get at least a couple on my side trying to hide me. During this time with the kids, I realized how important it was to commit to our idea and go all out with it. Even though I felt a little "corny" at first, it was worth it getting that response from the kids. They definitely listened to me and were intrigued by my mask and cape. I thought about the possibility the kids wouldn't take me seriously with the costume on, but I found the exact opposite :)
There were a couples aspects about our lesson that my group could have done more effectively. I think my group could have been more organized with what we were having the kids do as a warm-up to the central game. There seemed to be a lot of down time, and we needed to be more on the same page with each other. I think most of the kids really enjoyed "Zany Zoo" and it was a great workout for them. There were four different lines of kids and at the middle was a hula hoop with 12 cards with different actions on it. For example, one of the cards was "SuperHorse: Gallop like a horse". We could have made more cards so that the kids weren't sifting through to find one they didn't do. Also, I feel that we should have had a variation of the game to keep the kids engaged. Overall, I think this game was super effective, in that it incorporated different loco motor skills in the midst of a fun game.
Amy-
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right about having to commit to the ideas you have and go all out. By dressing up, bringing in props, etc., the students are drawn into your activity and it will often motivate them.
I noticed during your activity that one student who usually doesn't pay attention, and can be disruptive, was really engaged because you allowed the kids to wear a cape during the activity.
I also agree that keeping the instruction and down-time as short as possible is better, and being organized will help that. It sometimes helps if you let one of you in the group take charge and introduce the game to all the kids at once. That way all the students have the same instructions too so theres less confusion. But thats just an idea.
-Andrew