Submitted by Danielle (not verified) on March 24, 2008 - 11:33.
Learning should be fun for students at any age. And I have tried to make lessons as enjoyable as possible regarless of the age group I have worked with. When I was in college I visited a school where they had built a mini town. The town had a bank, a pizza restaurant, store, and a couple other buildings. Each grade used this throughout the year to help learn real life exerpiences. Although I didn't get to see how well this worked I thought it was a great opportunity for students to understand the concept of money. The students were given a set amount at the beginning of the school year and there were ways to earn money and they were able to buy supplies at the school store, pizza for lunch, etc. The bank showed students how to deposit money to help save or for safe keeping. Each teacher kept track of the students money, however if a student was running low on money and wanted to buy something and didn't have enough they weren't allowed to buy anything until they earned money back. I think this form of play is very beneficial for children of any age. It helps teach responsibility as well as mathematical concepts.
After reading Kimberly's response about play and how "experience shapes the brain," this was the first thing I thought of. How this school was using real life experiences to help these students understand situations they would eventually encounter.
Real life experiences
Submitted by Danielle (not verified) on March 24, 2008 - 11:33.
Learning should be fun for students at any age. And I have tried to make lessons as enjoyable as possible regarless of the age group I have worked with. When I was in college I visited a school where they had built a mini town. The town had a bank, a pizza restaurant, store, and a couple other buildings. Each grade used this throughout the year to help learn real life exerpiences. Although I didn't get to see how well this worked I thought it was a great opportunity for students to understand the concept of money. The students were given a set amount at the beginning of the school year and there were ways to earn money and they were able to buy supplies at the school store, pizza for lunch, etc. The bank showed students how to deposit money to help save or for safe keeping. Each teacher kept track of the students money, however if a student was running low on money and wanted to buy something and didn't have enough they weren't allowed to buy anything until they earned money back. I think this form of play is very beneficial for children of any age. It helps teach responsibility as well as mathematical concepts.
After reading Kimberly's response about play and how "experience shapes the brain," this was the first thing I thought of. How this school was using real life experiences to help these students understand situations they would eventually encounter.