This week's academic spotlight shines on Lansing Elementary teacher Melissa Pierce and the engaging, hands-on 3D shapes activity she led with her kindergarten students. The lesson centered around identifying the characteristics of a sphere, and Ms. Pierce did a fantastic job of using the instructional strategy/practice known as "Explicit Instruction." This method has been shown to be highly effective with its sequential teaching and modeling, allowing ample time for students to practice and show their learning and giving teachers an opportunity to provide direct and immediate feedback.
"Using explicit instruction in my kindergarten classroom has helped my students know my clear expectation for what we are doing, leaving nothing left to guess," said Ms. Pierce. "Students learn to gain an understanding of our classroom expectations for them to be successful."
As a district, we have talked many times about the need to create environments of high expectations and structured procedures for students to thrive in. Ms. Pierce gets that:
"This is important for students, especially kindergarteners, in order for them to gain self-actualization in themselves, the classroom, and their environment."
I was very impressed with how well-behaved the students were while I was observing. Whenever they got distracted (typical for a five-year-old), Ms.Pierce quickly guided them back to the lesson at hand. The lesson activity also aided with the engagement.
"Having engaging, hands on lessons is a big part in making learning fun for young students. I use the interactive lesson portion to our curriculum as well as learn through songs and videos," said Ms. Pierce. "At the end each unit we complete a fun activity to showcase what the students learned during the unit."
The wonderful lesson had so many different activities that kept the students interested and delighted, including videos and chances to help/demonstrate their learning:
"My favorite part about math is our video part of the lesson with our mouse friend," said Tucker.
"I like being the Happy Helper," said Ross.
Ms. Pierce also uses other incentives and rewards to make sure the students, even at such a young age, stay focused and well-behaved:
"I love Getting to be the 'Heggerty Hero'," said Leo.
"My favorite part about Mrs. Pierce's class is earning special days with our class reward jar," said Bea.
Ultimately, the best part of the observation was seeing the students having a great time while learning. I will end this spotlight with two student quotes that demonstrate how much they love their class and teacher:
"My favorite part is math because it helps me learn," said Ryker.
"My favorite thing about kindergarten is learning with Mrs. Pierce," said Clara.
Thank you, Ms. Pierce, for helping some of the youngest students in our district succeed in math and realize how much they can love learning!