“It was interesting to hear how Mindy, the guest speaker, went from teaching 2nd grade to 6th grade & how it affected the way she taught writing. I had an experience that was the reverse of what Mindy experienced. After 24 years of teaching 16 to 21-year-old high school vocational special education students, (I taught them English, Math, & Life Skills), I was transferred to teach a combined 1st- & 2nd-grade special education class - quite the change! I loved teaching writing to my high school kiddos, as I would come up with engaging projects that motivated them to write. I developed a pen pal project with a friend’s LD middle school class that took off beyond my wildest imagination. The students became friends & started spending time with their pen pals outside of school! My project write-up was eventually published in the professional literature! I also used journaling to get my students’ creative juices flowing; for example, a favorite holiday journal topic was “Pimp Santa’s Sleigh”. They had to describe the changes they’d make & could include drawings. Changing to 1st- & 2nd-grade was a let-down, because it focused much more on mechanics, letter formation, grammar & punctuation rules, & was much more formulaic.”
tll6601 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
12/09/20