Reflection #8: Organizing Thoughts on Paper... OR COMPUTER!

Organizing Thoughts on Paper

What?  I recently discovered a phenomenal website through Jonas' blog which is aimed for moms of students.  The particular video that I would like to share about is located in the link above.   The host, Victoria, a Teacher of the Year and mother of 4 talks about creating creative writers and thinkers.  For little children, she advises having them draw detailed pictures so they can later express their thoughts in verbal detail.  A strong visual concept and strong oral skills will boost their ability to think critically and express those thoughts on paper when they are ready to do so.  In order to spark a desire in children to write, Victoria says it's critical to believe that what they have to say is actually valuable and important.

So What? I particularly appreciate this episode because I am an avid journaler.  I love organizing my thoughts on paper because it helps organize all of the mumbo-jumbo in my head!  Likewise, teaching children and students to organize their thoughts helps them understand what they think and express it to others, whether verbally or visually.

Now What?  I want to add though - that thoughts can be organized no only on paper - but on computer!  I used to fill up notebook after notebook of my entries, but now all of my thoughts are expressed in typing and it is faster, takes less space to store, and is easy to access later on and reflect upon.  Therefore, I might add to this episode that technology can be incorporated to get students to express their critical thoughts as well.  For young children, they can use a program like Bitmap images to draw pictures and save them on a file.  When they have mastered the alphabet and are beginning to write, they can type poems and letters in fun fonts and colors.

 These are activities that I have taught my nieces, nephews, and cousins in which I've observed that they absolutely love the mixture of technology with these creative activities!  I think young children are often times shooed away from computers rather than invited to use them.  When they are taught how to use a mouse to draw and colors and different features, they learn many skills at once including technology!