Foldables?
Foldables seem to be the latest gadget in learning. Check out these foldables by
I was then prompted to do some research, and found this and this.
I then contemplated how I might use foldables with my students.
With respect to teaching the range, I suppose that foldables would appeal to the kinesthetic learner. But, how different are foldables from, say flashcards, for practicing vocabulary and verb conjugations? That is as much a hands-on, kinesthetic activity as foldables.
I give Miss Teacha mad props for using a new strategy with her students. For me, I am not sure where all of this is going with foldables. We re-invent the proverbial wheel when a newer, shinier model isn’t really necessary.
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This is a new strategy, and I guess anything that might help the kids do something more exciting and out of the ordinary is cool with me.
Jose - March 20, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Yes, it’s true that foldables are just fancy flashcards, but the novelty keeps the interest of my sixth graders. The effort they put into making them results in a study tool they want to and are able to use. Their flashcards were becoming increasingly illegilble and were not being used. Each time I change to style of the foldables, they respond like it is something complete new. I don’t get it, but I am not twelve years old.
I would think that by eigth grade, and higher, such mind games would not be needed.
care020 - March 23, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Miss Profe, thanks for the link to my blog. I’m always trying anything that will get my students attention! Hoping that learning will take place. . . .
care020, it is quite the opposite, mind games are quite needed. Students play video games and are used to being entertained. By the time the get to high school, their attention span is the same as it was in 8th grade. It has not increased. Just like your 6th graders, the novelty keeps student interested, even my seniors. The seniors have asked for more classes in which they get to do these types of things. They enjoy them and they learn the information–thats all that matters.
Miss A - March 28, 2008 at 12:35 am
Miss A., thanks for the reply to my comment. My colleagues and I have often debated the need to keep students “entertained” during a lesson. My feeling is that you can’t call it a learning environment if the students don’t do their part. I guess foldables are one more way to get student buy-in during the “boring” parts of learning.
care020 - March 28, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I think you may be considering the average student. Take for a moment the ESL student that has a harder time with understanding the sequence or order. How do flash cards accomplish this?
Scott - April 22, 2008 at 9:27 pm