Making effective learning methods fun in school
Many teachers and teaching assistants working in Primary schools with young children have had to think very carefully about the teaching methods they are using in the classroom presently as normal, well-recognised strategies for engaging children in their learning have been had to be changed and adapted as we try to keep children and staff in schools safe. This has been a big challenge especially with the youngest children who are mainly unaware of the need to distance from others and refrain from sharing toys and equipment. Many teachers have been incredibly inventive whilst trying to make school a safe place to be and have made children individual learning packs with pencils, crayons, erasers, rulers etc in them to avoid the need to share this equipment. Reading books are having to be quarantined before being given to another child and teachers are having to wear face shields in order to hear children read an essential role for any teacher.
Teachers are extremely skilled at finding the fun aspect of most situations and encouraging children to enjoy their learning. They are always looking for ways to stimulate children to communicate effectively whether verbally or on paper. The stimuli they use often taps into interests that the children of a particular age have, be it a favourite television programme, an interest in animals or their family and a whole series of lessons can be planned based on these offering the children a wonderful opportunity to enjoy and relate to their learning.
Mathematics with young children should always be very practical and should be linked to learning in other areas if possible. For instance, understanding plant growth in science can be linked to measuring the height of growing plants and measuring the amount of water a plant is given. Giving children the opportunity to get involved practically with the curriculum is a great motivator and helps them to engage during lessons.
Young children respond very well to songs and rhymes and this is a fun way to get them to remember multiplication facts, days of the week and months of the year. It does not matter if the teacher does not play a musical instrument as the pupils just enjoy singing unaccompanied. The use of music to encourage learning is not a new concept but it is a tried and tested method of bringing fun into the classroom and although large scale assemblies are not currently advised, classroom singing can be utilised.
