The children in Rafe's classroom are from all different cultures and are all very different. For most of them English is their second language which could be a problem in the future if they do not have good caring teachers. Luckily they have Rafe. Rafe's method of teaching where he makes his students re-do their homework until they get a 90% or higher is a great one in my opinion. This way the students are learning from their mistakes, and they have an opportunity to learn and get help from other classmates.
Since English is a second language for most of Rafe's students writing can be a very tough subject to teach. To learn grammar Rafe has his students write weekly book reports. He then uses anonymous examples from those book reports to point out and fix grammar mistakes. Within just a couple of weeks the improvements are already showing and by the end of the year all of Rafe's students are excellent writers.
Unlike reading or writing, math and numbers are an universal language that anyone can understand. Rafe said there is no neutral feeling when it comes to math, you either love it or hate it. He wants all of his students to love math, and comes up with many fun activities to make sure they do. My favorite activity that Rafe talked about was the buzz game. This game seemed like a lot of fun, but it also required a lot of knowledge and thinking about numbers.
Rafe incorporates a number of very fun ways to teach his students who are at all different levels and are from all different cultures.
You mentioned all of my favorite teaching activities that Rafe uses! I love the idea of the "dreaded rewrite" and the book reports. I'm really interested in helping children become as inspired by books as I am. It's really a rarity today. I'm also really impressed with Rafe's ability to work with children speaking English as a second language. I'm worried about teaching children who speak it as a first language, so I can't even imagine how hard Rafe works to help his children with things like grammar and language.
ReplyDeleteHi Courtney!
ReplyDeleteYes, luckily the students do have Rafe! He teaches the students through a variety of fun activities and helps these diverse students understand the lessons. These students speak English as their second language but yet Rafe has them up to speed. His strategy of the "Dreaded Rewrite" is a fantastic way to help students learn to always do their best the first time around. I agree that they will learn from their mistakes and have the opportunity to get help from their classmates. Even though math can be a tough subject, Rafe makes it fun and interesting. His students stay engaged in the lessons and learn so much from the buzz game and Marcy Cook's materials.
-Victoria Pope