What's the Difference? by Natalie Graves

Hello, my name is Natalie Graves. I am an Intern in the Supportive Reading class with Mr. Lagana and I have taken over his blog for the day.

Today marks the third week of my return to the public school system. Even though it has only been a few years since I have been in the student’s desk of a public classroom, I can note several changes that have taken place in my absence. I am glad to report that most of the differences are ones that have left me thinking, “Gee, I wish my teachers did that for me when I was in school.” I have thought this, specifically, in reference to the increasing emphasis on differentiated instruction in the classroom.

If you’re like me then the phrase “differentiated instruction” might have just thrown you through a loop. That is okay; you are not alone. Really though, the concept behind the jargon is simple. It just means that teachers should be making changes in their instruction based on the varying needs of students in their classroom. No two students are the same, and teachers are finding ways to switch up how they teach in order to bring all students to the same end.

Over the last few weeks I have observed several methods teachers have implemented to make differences in their lessons. Sometimes it is as simple as giving a student a ruler to help with a map activity in Social Studies; or folding a bubble sheet on a test so that one section shows at a time to help relieve a student’s anxiety. Sometimes the differences are more obvious, such as creating completely different activities in a math class to help students become familiar with the different ways that numbers are presented.

It has been a good experience to see the ways in which teachers are recognizing their students as individual learners. The tools teachers are giving students today will help students to become more effective learners in the future. Ultimately, the differences teachers make in their instruction might just be what makes the difference in how well your student learns.

Coloring our World Views

I first heard about The Atlas of the Real World by Daniel Dorling while listening to a podcast on an NPR show. (I don't recall which show.) The topic proved interesting enough that I decided to search for it on the Internet.

The concept is simple: Show how the world is, not through pie charts or bar graphs, but by land mass. (This area of study is called cartography and is sometimes subject to heated debates as a means of showing information.) Still, it can make for some interesting discussions.

E.g. if you follow this link http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/the-atlas-of-the-real-world/ you can see some of the maps from the book. You should be prepared to be a little weirded out by the "maps" as they look completely foreign in their warped formations. As you review more of them, it becomes much easier to assess what's being demonstrated.

These are the types of discoveries that get me enthused as a teacher. I cannot help but think that such a book -or even concept- would be great fun for students of all ages to explore in social studies and apply in math. So, for example, if students generated a bar graph of the obesity rates throughout the world they could then map it using a cartographer approach to make it more meaningful. Bar and pie charts are great but leave a lot of personal connections on the wayside.

Anyway, it's worth looking this book over. If nothing else, it may color your view of the world differently, not for better or worse, but differently.