#wordgenic

[conlangcrab]

Can someone help me out I am itching to do something.

So in TES I: Arena, all character names are procedurally generated, and I love that shit tbh. But to me the most amazing naming system from there is the Redguard names, which has a total of 74,175 possible names for men and 519,225 possible names for women. This also continues in Daggerfall, where all Redguard names are unisex and there are 245,310 possible names total.

I. Am itching to have a whole list of the names. Like on god. If you don't know about my @444names and the subsequent @444namesplus blogs you don't know how crazed I am about this.

They are not listed on UESP due to the sheer size of the document, but I need. Need this.

Woowspace.com->Awkwords won't allow me to generate the whole thing efficiently since it doesn't have a "generate all possible combinations" option, and the Jasontank.net->Wordgen doesn't support multi-letter units.

[conlangcrab]

Try also:

-> @444names and the Markov chain procedural name generator.

-> @444namesplus and the WordGen by JasonTank, as well as Awkwords.

-> The Wiktionary and Wikibooks' real life names from various countries, cultures and religions.

-> @cryptolangsguy and the wonder of cryptolangs in general, on r/cryptolangs (as well, check out the GitHub cryptolang encoder by MurderWho).

While this method is fun shit and giggles, and I used it before, nowadays I find it way too basic/mindless for my taste.

Cheers .w.b

[radar-of-minecraft]

So, remember in the first attempt where I accidentally missed the update that added slimes, and the version I played removed them because of a glitch? well I did that again with Ferns, ferns spawned naturally in swamps starting in beta 1.5, and were removed in The Adventure Update, but Sheers only started working on Grass and Ferns in The Adventure Update, but because I didn't know they were removed so I have no chunks at all in my world that are inbetween b1.5 and b1.8. The other issue is I can't find anywhere on the internet which update they were returned in, I can only assume it was The Bountiful Update or The Update the Changed the World because those are the only 2 that actually change overworld wordgen besides structures until Caves and Cliffs, where I know they already exist.

[444names]

pseudo-norse list of syllables i made on jasontank.net/wordgen

Barrun Berres Berrym Birrers Bjarl Bjarn Bjarr Bjars Bjart Bjerl Bjerm Bjern Bjerr Bjers Bjirl Bjirm Bjirn Bjirs Bjirt Bjorl Bjorm Bjorn Bjorr Bjors Bjort Bjurl Bjurn Bjurr Bjurron Borrart Borrem Borrirr Borrys Brarn Brarryl Brars Brart Brerl Brerm Brern Brerr Brers Brert Brirl Brirm Brirn Brirrerm Brirs Brirt Brorl Brorm Brorn Brorr Brors Brort Brurl Brurm Brurr Brurs Brurt Bryrl Bryrn Bryrr Bryrs Bryrt Byrrul Byrryrl Darryl Darryrt Derrel Derryrt Dirram Dirryn Dorris Dyrres Dyrril Farrarril Ferram Ferror Ferrorr Firral Firrorl Firryrl Fjarm Fjarn Fjarr Fjars Fjerl Fjern Fjerr Fjerrurm Fjers Fjert Fjirl Fjirm Fjirn Fjirr Fjirt Fjorl Fjorm Fjorn Fjorr Fjort Fjurn Fjurr Fjurt Frarl Frarm Frarr Frart Frerl Frerm Frern Frerr Frers Frirl Frirm Frirn Frirs Frirt Frorl Frorm Frorn Frorr Frors Frurl Frurm Frurn Frurs Frurt Fryrl Fryrm Fryrn Fryrras Fryrt Furrel Furryrn Fyrrorm Fyrrort Fyrrym Garros Gorren Gorrus Gurril Gyrrorm Herren Herrun Hirrarm Hirren Hirres Hjarl Hjarn Hjars Hjart Hjerr Hjerril Hjert Hjirl Hjirn Hjirr Hjirros Hjirs Hjirt Hjorl Hjorr Hjors Hjort Hjurn Horros Hrarl Hrars Hrart Hrerl Hrerm Hrern Hrerrum Hrers Hrert Hrirl Hrirn Hrirr Hrirs Hrirt Hrorl Hrorm Hrorn Hrorr Hrort Hrurm Hrurn Hrurr Hryrm Hryrn Hryrr Hryrt Hurral Hurrul Hyrral Hyrrorn Karrun Kerros Kirral Kirrol Kirros Kjarm Kjarn Kjars Kjart Kjerl Kjerm Kjerr Kjers Kjert Kjirm Kjirr Kjirrern Kjirryn Kjirs Kjirt Kjorm Kjorn Kjorr Kjurm Kjurr Kjurs Korren Krarl Krarm Krarn Krarr Krars Krart Krerm Krern Krers Krert Krirl Krirm Krirn Krirs Krorl Krorm Krors Krort Krurl Krurm Krurn Krurs Krurt Kryrl Kryrn Kryrs Kurran Kurron Kurrus Kurrym Kyrrym Larran Larras Larryn Lerran Lirrol Lirrys Lorren Lurral Lurrum Lyrrem Merran Merrur Merryl Mirrern Mirrol Morrern Morron Morrym Murrerr Murrim Narryn Nerran Nerrarrum Nerrul Nurrum Nurryl Nyrrarl Nyrrum Parram Parrurm Perrurt Pirram Pirras Porrel Porrul Purren Purres Pyrrum Pyrrur Pyrryn Rerror Rjarl Rjarm Rjarr Rjart Rjerl Rjerm Rjern Rjerris Rjirl Rjirn Rjirrarm Rjirs Rjirt Rjorl Rjorm Rjorn Rjort Rjurl Rjurm Rjurn Rjurs Rjurt Rrars Rrart Rrerm Rrirl Rrirm Rrirs Rrorl Rrort Rrurn Rrurr Rrurs Rrurt Rryrs Rryrt Ryrren Sarrirn Sarrus Serril Serrun Sirril Sirrin Sirrirt Sjarl Sjarn Sjerl Sjerm Sjerrem Sjers Sjirl Sjirn Sjirr Sjirras Sjirt Sjorm Sjorn Sjors Sjort Sjurm Sjurn Sjurt Sorram Sorrarr Sorres Sorrin Sorrurr Srarl Srarm Srarn Srarr Srarres Srars Srart Srerl Srerm Srern Srerr Srerram Srerris Srers Srert Srirm Srirn Srirr Srirt Srorl Srorm Srorr Srors Srort Srurl Srurm Srurn Srurs Sryrl Sryrm Sryrn Sryrr Sryrs Sryrt Syrrorrel Tarrim Tarrorn Terres Terrys Tirryn Torrin Torrirn Torrors Torros Turrus Tyrrarrarl Varris Verrym Verrys Virrom Virrym Vyrrin Vyrris Vyrrors Warrurr Werrer Werryrm Wirrin Wirron Wirrul Worril Wurrarl Wurrus Wyrrir Wyrrol Zarrers Zarrom Zarryrl Zerras Zerrern Zerris Zerrurl Zirrer Zirril Zirrul Zorrern Zurran Zurrum Zurrun

[aether-asterisk]

skeleton dungeon: come for the precious materials, stay for the endless mobs that end with a big boss you weren’t even looking to fight

[conlangcrab]

Here's a long list of words to fill a dictionary.

My advice is to use this site here to generate words of the fashion needed for you, insert Wikipedia articles in the languages you want to have the vibe of, stripped of punctuation, here and simply adjust settings to your liking.

Also Awkword

...and WordGen

Vulgarlang got both Italian and Spanish (as well as Portuguese) in the presets, just go Phonology > enable Word Structure and just choose the needed presets below. WARNING: alters spelling, so open two Vulgarlang tabs, copy-paste the presets for both languages from one tab to another and there hit Generate.

Run through the pages for both Spanish and Italian languages on Wikipedia, especially the grammar/phonology parts (those might be their own articles).

does anyone have advice for conlanging? I’m trying to make a fictional language that sounds/functions a bit like Italian or Spanish and any help whatsoever would be INCREDIBLE, i have no experience with this but I’m hoping to create at least one functioning language for my fantasy world! Thank you so so so much to anyone who replies!!

[ixvyupdates]

Every Student Wants to Learn, We Just Need to Teach Them

Anyone who has spent time around young children knows how curious and wonder-filled they are. When my son was 5, we’d drive around and he would ask about the meaning of every road sign. I mean. Every. Single. One. It prompted us to buy him a book about road signs to help him learn more about them. I still have fond memories of him shouting, “Daddy, watch out for deers jumping out!”

This memory brings to mind a comment I hear from some teachers far too often, “Those kids don’t want to learn.”

Truth be told? In my early days of teaching, I thought and, to my shame, said the same thing to students. I distinctly remember a day when I was very frustrated with what appeared to me to be my students’ lack of focus. I instructed the students who wanted to learn to sit in the front of the class, and the students who didn’t want to learn to go to the back of the class. I had oppressive ways of interacting and being with my students that I needed to recognize and unlearn.

How do we go from being familiar with the insatiable curiosity of children to thinking that they are no longer interested in learning? Do we stop to question the origin of this perception? Instead of blaming students for what may appear to be their lack of engagement, we should have the humility, vulnerability, wisdom and professional maturity to recognize and admit our own need for further learning and development. We need to ask the following questions whenever tempted to think of students as not wanting to learn.

Who doesn’t want to learn?

Which kids are we referring to? For me, it was the students I had a hard time relating to, and who didn’t learn like I learn, or how I felt like teaching. There was always so much to learn and do, and it just felt simpler to stick with teaching approaches that felt natural for me instead of adopting a new mindset or way of being. But that was my problem, not my students’. There was so much for me to discover about other ways of learning that were beneficial to me and my students. I just didn’t know it yet.

They don’t want to learn what?  

Is the content I’m engaging my student in relevant to them? Does it feel purposeful? When choosing literature to read, have I taken my students’ strengths, interests, experiences or background into consideration, providing them with both windows and mirrors? Are we connecting their math content to learning about U.S. currency from a social justice perspective? Are we connecting their science content to studying about food deserts and clean water? Do we avoid challenging discussions, or integrate topics like freedom, power, misperceptions about the continent of Africa, equity/equality, homelessness, #BlackLivesMatter, climate change, stereotypes and the history of enslavement into our instruction as Liz Kleinrockdoes with her third-grade students?

We didn’t all learn about these topics when we were students in the grades we teach, or even in our teacher-preparation programs, but there are so many resources available to support us personally and professionally—books (including audiobooks that we can listen to while commuting and doing chores), webinars, documentaries, podcasts and resources shared on social media. The Strategic Educational Research Partnership has many open education resources of high interest. My favorites are WordGen Elementary, WordGen Weekly, Social Studies and Science Generation units of study which incorporate word study, debate, readers’ theater, writing, science and math.

They don’t want to learn how?

When I think about teaching approaches, it reminds me of love languages. We tend to communicate love to others in the way we like to have love shown to us.

For example, I’ve loved words ever since I can remember. I wrote my first poem when I was 5. When my husband and I were dating, and even in the early days of our marriage, I wrote him so many poems and letters, and he bought me flowers every Friday for a while…until he realized that I didn’t like receiving flowers. It turns out that his love language was receiving gifts whereas my love language was words of affirmation.

We kept missing each other because we weren’t communicating in the ways we both needed. I think the same is true for teachers. We tend to teach how we like to learn, but we are most effective when we learn about our students and connect with them with content and in ways that are interesting and meaningful for them. For example, you can ask yourself, “Do my students have regular opportunities to engage in project-based learning in which they get to choose topics to explore, celebrate and contribute to their communities, and show what they know in a variety of ways?”

I don’t believe that there are students who don’t want to learn. We need to equip ourselves to engage all students in learning experiences that are considerate of what they’d like to learn and explore, and how they’d like to learn and grow. They’ll let us know if we ask. We just need to learn how to listen and respond.

An original version of this piece appeared on Better Lesson as “What Do You Mean When You Say ‘Those Kids Don’t Want to Learn’?”

Photo by Simone Nicole, Twenty20-licensed.

Every Student Wants to Learn, We Just Need to Teach Them syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com

[zipgrowth]

How Students Can Lead the Way for Civil Debate on Challenging Topics

Several years ago, after observing a class of students in a tough area of Boston run their own debate for a full class period, I commented that I couldn’t tell who was friends with whom because they all agreed and disagreed only on the basis of convincing arguments. I wasn’t seeing any “I’m with him” or “us against them” attitudes.

The students sat quietly and thought about that for a moment before one of them said, “I think we’re all friends.” These were 7th graders at prime age for forming cliques, but they had learned to listen to each other’s views and to disagree respectfully.

In a political era in which many Americans are disheartened by rhetoric that challenges the norms for civility in public discourse, and that plays fast and loose with factual evidence, we can all learn a lesson from them.

Today, schools across the country are reaching for a higher standard in discourse. Some have chosen Word Generation—an open education resource available for free to all—to accomplish this. WordGen was developed by the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP), the organization for which I serve as executive director. WordGen offers students and teachers the materials and guidance they need to bring serious debate about important social issues into the classroom. At the same time, WordGen promotes respectful, fact-based conversations where students must support their position with reasoning and evidence.

Word Generation is a supplementary curricular resource that offers a series of discussable dilemmas designed to promote students’ academic language and argumentation skills in English language arts, math and other subjects. Each of the 98 one- to two-week units focuses around a social or civic dilemma of interest to students in grades 4 to 8. Word Generation creates the opportunity for students to become familiar with current issues and persistent dilemmas, while acquiring skills prioritized in the Common Core State Standards.

Challenging issues include: Why do we value what we value? Do we need to give up our privacy to protect our communities? Is the death penalty justified? Are kids responsible for stepping in to prevent bullying? Should doctors be allowed to assist seriously ill patients with suicide? What makes an American?

With guidance from a teacher, students become increasingly skilled across the school year at developing and supporting arguments and at listening to and responding to each other’s reasoning. Perhaps most importantly, students become comfortable changing their minds after considering new evidence or arguments.

The idea that we should start early with learning to engage in civil debate is not an easy sell. Many teachers initially express doubt that their students are capable of thinking about and discussing complex social issues, let alone seeing those issues from multiple perspectives. But often they are surprised by what they hear.

After years of teaching, a veteran teacher told me she was embarrassed to learn that she had been greatly underestimating her students’ thoughtfulness. Her 7th grade students had just debated whether school athletic teams should require a minimum G.P.A. One student said “yes” because too many kids think they will be the next sports star, but most won’t and need to be able to be able to get good grades so they can get a job in the future. Another disagreed, asking if someone who really struggles academically because they just don’t understand even when they try hard should be doubly punished by not being able to play on a team.

I’ve also seen the right question literally wake up a student. Ten minutes into a debate—What do we have a right to know about people who are running for office?—a hand drifted up from a student who had slumped into class and put his head on his desk as the period began. The student said he didn’t think everybody has a right to know if a candidate did something when he was a teenager, like smoking marijuana. But if a candidate smoked marijuana recently as a fully grown adult, he said, “I have a right to know because I’m not going to vote for somebody who thinks he can break the law.” Stereotypes would have pegged this student as a likely law breaker. Giving him voice revealed a morally sophisticated thinker in the guise of a disengaged student.

The Parkland tragedy has sparked a youth-led revolution in which passivity is passé, giving way to young people’s passionate participation. As educators, our challenge and opportunity is to give our students the tools they need to engage in a civil society whose future they will shape.

How Students Can Lead the Way for Civil Debate on Challenging Topics published first on https://medium.com/@GetNewDLBusiness

[puisilover]

#Repost @wordgenic ・・・ Ayah, Ibu, ini calon ibu dari cucumu. #poet #poem #puisi #puisilover #poeticwords #wordgenic

[conlangcrab]

Vulgarlang for funzies generating conlangs and seeing how a conlang is formulated.

Conlang Critic for reviews on existing conlangs and funny stuff.

K Klein for curiosity diving into linguistics.

JasonTank WordGen for making structurally generated words for your dictionary.

Awkwords is another such generator for dictionary filling.

Agma Schwa - the Conlang Circle Jerk (affectionate).

@thecrazyneographist for conscript/neography inspiration (or borrowing, or commissioning).

Omniglot.com for a lot of language info and also the index of all writing systems on Earth today (excluding neographies not submitted by their authors).

Linguistics portal on Wikipedia.

IPA (you can also use Vulgarlang's ^^^ custom phonetic inventory redactor to hear how things sound).

I’ve reached a new low high in my writing procrastination:

I’ve started developing a conlang

Maybe I should do a linguistics degree because this shit is interesting at fuck. I was in a YouTube rabbit hole of rhoticity and velar fricatives for hours.

[danazumario-blog]

Bi

Birama menuju tanda tanya yang memekakkan telinga Yang mengatasnamakan hujan sebagai penyalah berita Diantara tanda seru yang terbentang membelah sebagian mata Di sana hanya ada gaung abadi yang menyalahkan kita Yang sedang menjadi target cupid yang salah arah

 Bi… Bilamana rerumputan bersahutan memanggil namamu Ia dibaiat rabi yang sedang kasmaran di sudut tergelapnya Yang terlupa merapal mantra untuk membaptis dunia Agar kodrat manusia berjalan sebagaimana mestinya Agar aku tak jadi pendosa karena lupa mengucap doa Dan menyebut namamu dalam ketidaksucian yang fana

 Bi… Bicaralah padaku dalam bahasa yang kita berdua pahami Agar kita berdua dapat duduk bertatapan 24 jam lamanya Tanpa perlu khawatir pagi kan menjadi malam yang gelap Dan udara yang segar mendadak jadi lembap dan pengap Karena kita bercengkerama melewati batas spasi

 Bi… Kau terpaut oleh waktu yang tak bergaris letaknya Absurditas hidup memaksa kita ‘tuk jadi tak nyata Ambiguitas garis hubung membutakan matamu dan aku Bahwa kita bukan lah Satu Bahwa kita terjerat permainan Tuhan akan rindu

 Bi… Bicaralah padaku dalam gelapmu Katakan padaku Bisakah kau bersanding dalam paragraf yang ku tulis?

[conlangcrab]

Wonderful, Awkwords is down, the best word generator on the net for me.

Wrdz sucks because it's misimplemented and buggy (always tries to generate monosyllabic words even when prohibited from doing that?), WordGen by JasonTank is mediocre/bad because of how it encodes symbols (aka literally without spaces, disallowing making a two-letter unit, and Vulgarlang is just outright unsuited for the task.

[ixvyupdates]

Every Student Wants to Learn, We Just Need to Teach Them

Anyone who has spent time around young children knows how curious and wonder-filled they are. When my son was 5, we’d drive around and he would ask about the meaning of every road sign. I mean. Every. Single. One. It prompted us to buy him a book about road signs to help him learn more about them. I still have fond memories of him shouting, “Daddy, watch out for deers jumping out!”

This memory brings to mind a comment I hear from some teachers far too often, “Those kids don’t want to learn.”

Truth be told? In my early days of teaching, I thought and, to my shame, said the same thing to students. I distinctly remember a day when I was very frustrated with what appeared to me to be my students’ lack of focus. I instructed the students who wanted to learn to sit in the front of the class, and the students who didn’t want to learn to go to the back of the class. I had oppressive ways of interacting and being with my students that I needed to recognize and unlearn.

How do we go from being familiar with the insatiable curiosity of children to thinking that they are no longer interested in learning? Do we stop to question the origin of this perception? Instead of blaming students for what may appear to be their lack of engagement, we should have the humility, vulnerability, wisdom and professional maturity to recognize and admit our own need for further learning and development. We need to ask the following questions whenever tempted to think of students as not wanting to learn.

Who doesn’t want to learn?

Which kids are we referring to? For me, it was the students I had a hard time relating to, and who didn’t learn like I learn, or how I felt like teaching. There was always so much to learn and do, and it just felt simpler to stick with teaching approaches that felt natural for me instead of adopting a new mindset or way of being. But that was my problem, not my students’. There was so much for me to discover about other ways of learning that were beneficial to me and my students. I just didn’t know it yet.

They don’t want to learn what?  

Is the content I’m engaging my student in relevant to them? Does it feel purposeful? When choosing literature to read, have I taken my students’ strengths, interests, experiences or background into consideration, providing them with both windows and mirrors? Are we connecting their math content to learning about U.S. currency from a social justice perspective? Are we connecting their science content to studying about food deserts and clean water? Do we avoid challenging discussions, or integrate topics like freedom, power, misperceptions about the continent of Africa, equity/equality, homelessness, #BlackLivesMatter, climate change, stereotypes and the history of enslavement into our instruction as Liz Kleinrockdoes with her third-grade students?

We didn’t all learn about these topics when we were students in the grades we teach, or even in our teacher-preparation programs, but there are so many resources available to support us personally and professionally—books (including audiobooks that we can listen to while commuting and doing chores), webinars, documentaries, podcasts and resources shared on social media. The Strategic Educational Research Partnership has many open education resources of high interest. My favorites are WordGen Elementary, WordGen Weekly, Social Studies and Science Generation units of study which incorporate word study, debate, readers’ theater, writing, science and math.

They don’t want to learn how?

When I think about teaching approaches, it reminds me of love languages. We tend to communicate love to others in the way we like to have love shown to us.

For example, I’ve loved words ever since I can remember. I wrote my first poem when I was 5. When my husband and I were dating, and even in the early days of our marriage, I wrote him so many poems and letters, and he bought me flowers every Friday for a while…until he realized that I didn’t like receiving flowers. It turns out that his love language was receiving gifts whereas my love language was words of affirmation.

We kept missing each other because we weren’t communicating in the ways we both needed. I think the same is true for teachers. We tend to teach how we like to learn, but we are most effective when we learn about our students and connect with them with content and in ways that are interesting and meaningful for them. For example, you can ask yourself, “Do my students have regular opportunities to engage in project-based learning in which they get to choose topics to explore, celebrate and contribute to their communities, and show what they know in a variety of ways?”

I don’t believe that there are students who don’t want to learn. We need to equip ourselves to engage all students in learning experiences that are considerate of what they’d like to learn and explore, and how they’d like to learn and grow. They’ll let us know if we ask. We just need to learn how to listen and respond.

An original version of this piece appeared on Better Lesson as “What Do You Mean When You Say ‘Those Kids Don’t Want to Learn’?”

Photo by Simone Nicole, Twenty20-licensed.

Every Student Wants to Learn, We Just Need to Teach Them syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com

[ixvyupdates]

Every Student Wants to Learn, We Just Need to Teach Them

Anyone who has spent time around young children knows how curious and wonder-filled they are. When my son was 5, we’d drive around and he would ask about the meaning of every road sign. I mean. Every. Single. One. It prompted us to buy him a book about road signs to help him learn more about them. I still have fond memories of him shouting, “Daddy, watch out for deers jumping out!”

This memory brings to mind a comment I hear from some teachers far too often, “Those kids don’t want to learn.”

Truth be told? In my early days of teaching, I thought and, to my shame, said the same thing to students. I distinctly remember a day when I was very frustrated with what appeared to me to be my students’ lack of focus. I instructed the students who wanted to learn to sit in the front of the class, and the students who didn’t want to learn to go to the back of the class. I had oppressive ways of interacting and being with my students that I needed to recognize and unlearn.

How do we go from being familiar with the insatiable curiosity of children to thinking that they are no longer interested in learning? Do we stop to question the origin of this perception? Instead of blaming students for what may appear to be their lack of engagement, we should have the humility, vulnerability, wisdom and professional maturity to recognize and admit our own need for further learning and development. We need to ask the following questions whenever tempted to think of students as not wanting to learn.

Who doesn’t want to learn?

Which kids are we referring to? For me, it was the students I had a hard time relating to, and who didn’t learn like I learn, or how I felt like teaching. There was always so much to learn and do, and it just felt simpler to stick with teaching approaches that felt natural for me instead of adopting a new mindset or way of being. But that was my problem, not my students’. There was so much for me to discover about other ways of learning that were beneficial to me and my students. I just didn’t know it yet.

They don’t want to learn what?  

Is the content I’m engaging my student in relevant to them? Does it feel purposeful? When choosing literature to read, have I taken my students’ strengths, interests, experiences or background into consideration, providing them with both windows and mirrors? Are we connecting their math content to learning about U.S. currency from a social justice perspective? Are we connecting their science content to studying about food deserts and clean water? Do we avoid challenging discussions, or integrate topics like freedom, power, misperceptions about the continent of Africa, equity/equality, homelessness, #BlackLivesMatter, climate change, stereotypes and the history of enslavement into our instruction as Liz Kleinrockdoes with her third-grade students?

We didn’t all learn about these topics when we were students in the grades we teach, or even in our teacher-preparation programs, but there are so many resources available to support us personally and professionally—books (including audiobooks that we can listen to while commuting and doing chores), webinars, documentaries, podcasts and resources shared on social media. The Strategic Educational Research Partnership has many open education resources of high interest. My favorites are WordGen Elementary, WordGen Weekly, Social Studies and Science Generation units of study which incorporate word study, debate, readers’ theater, writing, science and math.

They don’t want to learn how?

When I think about teaching approaches, it reminds me of love languages. We tend to communicate love to others in the way we like to have love shown to us.

For example, I’ve loved words ever since I can remember. I wrote my first poem when I was 5. When my husband and I were dating, and even in the early days of our marriage, I wrote him so many poems and letters, and he bought me flowers every Friday for a while…until he realized that I didn’t like receiving flowers. It turns out that his love language was receiving gifts whereas my love language was words of affirmation.

We kept missing each other because we weren’t communicating in the ways we both needed. I think the same is true for teachers. We tend to teach how we like to learn, but we are most effective when we learn about our students and connect with them with content and in ways that are interesting and meaningful for them. For example, you can ask yourself, “Do my students have regular opportunities to engage in project-based learning in which they get to choose topics to explore, celebrate and contribute to their communities, and show what they know in a variety of ways?”

I don’t believe that there are students who don’t want to learn. We need to equip ourselves to engage all students in learning experiences that are considerate of what they’d like to learn and explore, and how they’d like to learn and grow. They’ll let us know if we ask. We just need to learn how to listen and respond.

An original version of this piece appeared on Better Lesson as “What Do You Mean When You Say ‘Those Kids Don’t Want to Learn’?”

Photo by Simone Nicole, Twenty20-licensed.

Every Student Wants to Learn, We Just Need to Teach Them syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com

[ixvyupdates]

Every Student Wants to Learn, We Just Need to Teach Them

Anyone who has spent time around young children knows how curious and wonder-filled they are. When my son was 5, we’d drive around and he would ask about the meaning of every road sign. I mean. Every. Single. One. It prompted us to buy him a book about road signs to help him learn more about them. I still have fond memories of him shouting, “Daddy, watch out for deers jumping out!”

This memory brings to mind a comment I hear from some teachers far too often, “Those kids don’t want to learn.”

Truth be told? In my early days of teaching, I thought and, to my shame, said the same thing to students. I distinctly remember a day when I was very frustrated with what appeared to me to be my students’ lack of focus. I instructed the students who wanted to learn to sit in the front of the class, and the students who didn’t want to learn to go to the back of the class. I had oppressive ways of interacting and being with my students that I needed to recognize and unlearn.

How do we go from being familiar with the insatiable curiosity of children to thinking that they are no longer interested in learning? Do we stop to question the origin of this perception? Instead of blaming students for what may appear to be their lack of engagement, we should have the humility, vulnerability, wisdom and professional maturity to recognize and admit our own need for further learning and development. We need to ask the following questions whenever tempted to think of students as not wanting to learn.

Who doesn’t want to learn?

Which kids are we referring to? For me, it was the students I had a hard time relating to, and who didn’t learn like I learn, or how I felt like teaching. There was always so much to learn and do, and it just felt simpler to stick with teaching approaches that felt natural for me instead of adopting a new mindset or way of being. But that was my problem, not my students’. There was so much for me to discover about other ways of learning that were beneficial to me and my students. I just didn’t know it yet.

They don’t want to learn what?  

Is the content I’m engaging my student in relevant to them? Does it feel purposeful? When choosing literature to read, have I taken my students’ strengths, interests, experiences or background into consideration, providing them with both windows and mirrors? Are we connecting their math content to learning about U.S. currency from a social justice perspective? Are we connecting their science content to studying about food deserts and clean water? Do we avoid challenging discussions, or integrate topics like freedom, power, misperceptions about the continent of Africa, equity/equality, homelessness, #BlackLivesMatter, climate change, stereotypes and the history of enslavement into our instruction as Liz Kleinrockdoes with her third-grade students?

We didn’t all learn about these topics when we were students in the grades we teach, or even in our teacher-preparation programs, but there are so many resources available to support us personally and professionally—books (including audiobooks that we can listen to while commuting and doing chores), webinars, documentaries, podcasts and resources shared on social media. The Strategic Educational Research Partnership has many open education resources of high interest. My favorites are WordGen Elementary, WordGen Weekly, Social Studies and Science Generation units of study which incorporate word study, debate, readers’ theater, writing, science and math.

They don’t want to learn how?

When I think about teaching approaches, it reminds me of love languages. We tend to communicate love to others in the way we like to have love shown to us.

For example, I’ve loved words ever since I can remember. I wrote my first poem when I was 5. When my husband and I were dating, and even in the early days of our marriage, I wrote him so many poems and letters, and he bought me flowers every Friday for a while…until he realized that I didn’t like receiving flowers. It turns out that his love language was receiving gifts whereas my love language was words of affirmation.

We kept missing each other because we weren’t communicating in the ways we both needed. I think the same is true for teachers. We tend to teach how we like to learn, but we are most effective when we learn about our students and connect with them with content and in ways that are interesting and meaningful for them. For example, you can ask yourself, “Do my students have regular opportunities to engage in project-based learning in which they get to choose topics to explore, celebrate and contribute to their communities, and show what they know in a variety of ways?”

I don’t believe that there are students who don’t want to learn. We need to equip ourselves to engage all students in learning experiences that are considerate of what they’d like to learn and explore, and how they’d like to learn and grow. They’ll let us know if we ask. We just need to learn how to listen and respond.

An original version of this piece appeared on Better Lesson as “What Do You Mean When You Say ‘Those Kids Don’t Want to Learn’?”

Photo by Simone Nicole, Twenty20-licensed.

Every Student Wants to Learn, We Just Need to Teach Them syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com

[ixvyupdates]

Every Student Wants to Learn, We Just Need to Teach Them

Anyone who has spent time around young children knows how curious and wonder-filled they are. When my son was 5, we’d drive around and he would ask about the meaning of every road sign. I mean. Every. Single. One. It prompted us to buy him a book about road signs to help him learn more about them. I still have fond memories of him shouting, “Daddy, watch out for deers jumping out!”

This memory brings to mind a comment I hear from some teachers far too often, “Those kids don’t want to learn.”

Truth be told? In my early days of teaching, I thought and, to my shame, said the same thing to students. I distinctly remember a day when I was very frustrated with what appeared to me to be my students’ lack of focus. I instructed the students who wanted to learn to sit in the front of the class, and the students who didn’t want to learn to go to the back of the class. I had oppressive ways of interacting and being with my students that I needed to recognize and unlearn.

How do we go from being familiar with the insatiable curiosity of children to thinking that they are no longer interested in learning? Do we stop to question the origin of this perception? Instead of blaming students for what may appear to be their lack of engagement, we should have the humility, vulnerability, wisdom and professional maturity to recognize and admit our own need for further learning and development. We need to ask the following questions whenever tempted to think of students as not wanting to learn.

Who doesn’t want to learn?

Which kids are we referring to? For me, it was the students I had a hard time relating to, and who didn’t learn like I learn, or how I felt like teaching. There was always so much to learn and do, and it just felt simpler to stick with teaching approaches that felt natural for me instead of adopting a new mindset or way of being. But that was my problem, not my students’. There was so much for me to discover about other ways of learning that were beneficial to me and my students. I just didn’t know it yet.

They don’t want to learn what?  

Is the content I’m engaging my student in relevant to them? Does it feel purposeful? When choosing literature to read, have I taken my students’ strengths, interests, experiences or background into consideration, providing them with both windows and mirrors? Are we connecting their math content to learning about U.S. currency from a social justice perspective? Are we connecting their science content to studying about food deserts and clean water? Do we avoid challenging discussions, or integrate topics like freedom, power, misperceptions about the continent of Africa, equity/equality, homelessness, #BlackLivesMatter, climate change, stereotypes and the history of enslavement into our instruction as Liz Kleinrockdoes with her third-grade students?

We didn’t all learn about these topics when we were students in the grades we teach, or even in our teacher-preparation programs, but there are so many resources available to support us personally and professionally—books (including audiobooks that we can listen to while commuting and doing chores), webinars, documentaries, podcasts and resources shared on social media. The Strategic Educational Research Partnership has many open education resources of high interest. My favorites are WordGen Elementary, WordGen Weekly, Social Studies and Science Generation units of study which incorporate word study, debate, readers’ theater, writing, science and math.

They don’t want to learn how?

When I think about teaching approaches, it reminds me of love languages. We tend to communicate love to others in the way we like to have love shown to us.

For example, I’ve loved words ever since I can remember. I wrote my first poem when I was 5. When my husband and I were dating, and even in the early days of our marriage, I wrote him so many poems and letters, and he bought me flowers every Friday for a while…until he realized that I didn’t like receiving flowers. It turns out that his love language was receiving gifts whereas my love language was words of affirmation.

We kept missing each other because we weren’t communicating in the ways we both needed. I think the same is true for teachers. We tend to teach how we like to learn, but we are most effective when we learn about our students and connect with them with content and in ways that are interesting and meaningful for them. For example, you can ask yourself, “Do my students have regular opportunities to engage in project-based learning in which they get to choose topics to explore, celebrate and contribute to their communities, and show what they know in a variety of ways?”

I don’t believe that there are students who don’t want to learn. We need to equip ourselves to engage all students in learning experiences that are considerate of what they’d like to learn and explore, and how they’d like to learn and grow. They’ll let us know if we ask. We just need to learn how to listen and respond.

An original version of this piece appeared on Better Lesson as “What Do You Mean When You Say ‘Those Kids Don’t Want to Learn’?”

Photo by Simone Nicole, Twenty20-licensed.

Every Student Wants to Learn, We Just Need to Teach Them syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com