Issue link: https://takingitglobal.uberflip.com/i/1522644
We have had many art sessions where we were given the materials and instructions on how to work with water paints, acrylic, paint, pastels, rollers and ink, and stencils. Art is such a great way for students to express themselves; where students can shine and discover talents, they may not have been aware they even possessed. Art gives them avenues to learn about many different crafts from people who are experts and can give them the best experiences as they try new things. There are some teachers who have done such a great job in presenting math concepts through unique personalities they created, such as Fraction Hero. Fraction Hero asks for a class list of our names before he joins the session, and then he calls on students by their name and creates a personal fun time as he captives the class. His sessions always make the students smile. We feel as though he knows us as he calls on students and makes fun, encouraging comments. If students know they missed a session with him, they feel bad because they know they missed a fun time. As an educator on this side of the screen, it was important for me to go over the importance of good listening. Before each session, I would inform my students about the topic and discuss if they knew something about the topic. Then I asked my students to be good listeners with their eyes on the screen and their hands on their desks. I instructed them to raise their hand if they had a question. Of course, sometimes students get a little excited, and that shows me they really like it. But if they start chatting with one another, I would be quick to shut the chatter down so that we would not miss any information. It was important that I was also 100 percent present to help the presenters interact with the students. Sometimes we keep our mute button on when we share a presenter with other classrooms in case students want to call out answers to the presenter's questions. It is a learning in progress, and each session is unique. I found what is best is to have a success criteria written down so we can refer to it during sessions. C o n n e c t e d N o r t h i n O u r C l a s s r o o m Sherry McNear - Connected North in Our Classroom 39