A Kid’s Eye View Of An Innovative Classroom: Adora Svitak . . Www Adorasvitak Com

A Kid’s Eye View of an Innovative Classroom Adora Svitak www.adorasvitak.com

Introduction l BACKGROUND:

I’ve been teaching writing workshops since I published my first book at age seven.

l l TV

SHOWS: I’ve been featured on Oprah, CNN’s Young People Who Rock, NBC Nightly News, and lots of other programs.

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Introduction…continued l PROGRAMS:

My presentations feature live writing demonstrations, interactive activities, and storytelling. My social studies workshops teach kids (and teachers) how to use writing as a creative learning tool across disciplines. I provide kids with a tangible and exciting example of where writing can take them.

l Today,

I use new technology, like videoconferencing and Elluminate webinars, to reach students in places as diverse as Costa Rica, Dubai, and Canada.

My Goals l All

of my presentations center around a common goal—to show kids that writing is ,

n Fu l EMPOWERING and Exciting!  

,

lI

can easily customize my presentations to make them relevant to higher grades, like high school level students, younger kids, from kindergarten to third grade, and special education students.

l l We

welcome any advance info from teachers or coordinators about student levels or other relevant topics.

l l Today

I’m here to give you a kid’s eye perspective on how to empower students with technology. I’ll be talking to you from the perspective of a student —and a teacher.

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g n i n r a Le

lT o

te a ch , I first think about what is interesting to me as a learner .

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lWhat

makes learning special for me?

l lI

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like being able to use what I learn.

lFacts

seem more relevant to me when I incorporate them into a creative project.

The vendors gathered around the Colosseum.

l In

find it easier to process new information if I am reading for inspiration, or looking for ideas to include in stories, poems, or blog entries.

l If

I have a creative project in mind when I read, I have a greater sense of purpose. Instead of reading something because my teacher told me to read it, I’m looking for information that will be useful for my purposes--details or ideas I can incorporate into my project.

l When

I am reading with intent, I evaluate each new piece of information more carefully. I think about how I can incorporate it into my story, poem, or other project.

n r a e L o t e t i r W s a e d I

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lWrite

about a current event in the first person. Write about the same event from two different perspectives. (This activity works with historical events as well.)

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lChoose

a topic you want to become an expert in, and create weekly blog posts about the things you learn.

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lWrite

poems that represent new vocabulary words and then have your classmates guess which word inspired the poem.

“Insolent” She would not listen, simply screamed While others stared in shock; She put her mother in the pantry Locking every lock; 

She did not do her sums at all She made fun of her aunt Whenever asked to do something, Her favorite word was "can't." 

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She would have continued If she hadn't packed her trunk And set sail on a caravel Which promptly sunk. 

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l Writing l 

to learn inspires me to

write more on my own.

l l Another

thing that really inspires me is when my teachers participate in a creative project.

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TEACHING

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When you participate, it lets students know that you aren’t just expecting them to share—you’re willing to share yourself.

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Before students tackle projects on their own, collaborative group

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writing is a good way

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to demonstrate new

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concepts.

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After giving a basic definition of the concept, I will demonstrate the concept in a write-along activity.

l There

are so many new technological tools available for collaborative writing—Google Documents, Microsoft Word, and, of course, Elluminate!

l To

show you what I mean by this, let’s pretend that you’re students. Together, we’re going to do a descriptive writing activity about a tree house. I’ll ask you some questions along the way.

Kids love gross stuff–

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(although a few may not admit it).

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When I teach, I exploit the gross factor to get kids interested.

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Essentially, I try to utilize things that naturally excite kids, such as makebelieve, food, gross stuff, weird stuff, the chance to be in control, fun visuals, video, and technology.

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I incorporate these elements into my teaching in order to make the connection between excitement and learning.

lI

also ask kids lots of questions in my presentations to get them thinking about the topic that we’re focusing on. For instance, in a slide about child labor, I would ask students whether they considered themselves child laborers.

l l In

a slide about conflict and obstacle, I might ask the kids about some conflicts and obstacles they have faced.

y g o l o n h c Te

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If it weren’t for technology, I would not be here teaching today.

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Technology sparked my love for writing.

l l When

I was six, my mom bought me a used laptop, and suddenly a whole world opened up to me. Instead of laboring over a few lines, I could write pages and pages each day.

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Spell-check allowed me to learn spelling independently; the synonyms option allowed me to expand my vocabulary independently; being able to write with ease got me excited about writing and propelled my desire to achieve—which also meant spending time perfecting my ability to write by hand.

lTechnology

allows me to reach a wider audience.

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Elluminate allows me to reach out to you.

l To

show you how technology actually helps me make my lessons, here are sample pages from some of my presentations. The first is on personal narrative writing, and the second is on child labor.

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We face conflicts and obstacles every day.

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For example: deciding what to wear, arguing with a friend, running to catch a bus, taking a test, learning how to cook, trying to concentrate, trying to make a basket, overcoming a fear

Are you a child laborer? • Most of us have to do chores at home. Do you do chores at home? Tell us what some of those chores are. • • Do you consider yourself a child laborer or not?

l As

you might notice, there were lots of interesting visuals, like clip art, in the slides that I showed you. I love to use relevant art to get kids excited about my presentations. l I also use a variety of other fun tools, like action buttons, color coding, and AutoShapes to spice up my presentations.

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You can use fun Elluminate tools, like writing on the board, clip art, and pointer icons in your presentations.

lI

have a reciprocal relationship with technology—it gives me the opportunity to learn and then share what I learn with other people.

lOnly

when we pay attention to how we learn can we really know how to teach.

Frequently Asked Questions With Adora Svitak www.adorasvitak.com

Q: How would you help students combat a fear of writing?

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l When

students first start out, I try not to focus on rules quite as much. A lot of kids worry that what they are writing is not correct.

l l In

the beginning, I focus on fun writing topics.

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l For

each new topic, I ask a lot of questions to help students come up with things to write about. (For example: What did it look like? How big was it?) l I try to praise students for each new achievement without pointing out too many flaws. 

l Once

kids get excited about writing, they will be more receptive to learning rules of writing.

l lA

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kid who identifies as a soccer player will want to get better at soccer. Kids who identify as writers are the same way.

lA

lot of students have trouble with really open ended assignments— so I still give them guidelines.

l l The

trick is to be specific, but not to be alarmed if students write something a little off topic.

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Q: How do you help students make their writing interesting?

l It’s

important to help them understand that writing is relevant. When students can publish their work and receive feedback, they begin to see writing as a path toward recognition.

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lI

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use paths like blogging to give writing a greater sense of relevance. Students who publish their writing get a greater sense of accomplishment--instead of just disappearing after it is written, their writing is on display and it’s something they can be proud of.

l If

blogging doesn’t work for a classroom, I check out Web sites that allow students to publish their examples online.

l Allowing

students to write about gross topics or funny topics is another good way to get students excited about writing. I could ask them to describe a disgusting meal or ask them to imagine what would happen if the classroom pet suddenly grew to 100 times its normal size.

lI

also take a cross-disciplinary approach and have students write creatively about a topic they are studying in history or science.

l If

students are studying the Civil War, I could have them write from the point of view of a Civil War spy. Writing creatively and incorporating new facts into their writing will help them come to a deeper understanding of the subject, and gain a sense of ownership over the subject and writing itself.

l It

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will also help them remember facts. Writing seems more relevant if it ties into their learning and helps them do better in other subject areas.

To Learn More… About the author: Visit www.adorasvitak.com 

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About the programs: Visit www.cilc.org (search “Adora”) 

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Or contact us.

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