Perceptual Learning Experience

I teach First Grade. I am required to teach Reading, Math, ELA, Science and Social Studies. Our student population of our school is about 95% African-American, 3% Hispanic, and 2% White. The student population in my classroom is 96% African-American, 3% Hispanic, and 1% White. I have 1 White male, 4 African-American males, 1 Hispanic male, 2 Hispanic females, and 13 African-American females. This is a Title 1 school. Every child here receives free breakfast and lunch. I teach in a low income school where many of the students come from broken homes, have one or both parents incarcerated, are in the foster care system, or are being raised by grandparents. We have students who leave at noon for day treatment programs. Figure …show more content…
We have whole group and small group instruction. We also have some students who get one on one instruction. Since we are teaching our students reading, writing, spelling, and math, they need constant exposure to get them there. Perceptual learning is automatic. It happens all the time. It also occurs through sensory interaction and practice. Perceptual learning is very important when you have one on one instruction. I like using flash cards whole group, small group and one on one. To enhance our learning, we use computers, iPads and the smart board. Sometimes we use songs to teach us important concepts. For example, while we were learning text features, we listened to a rap song. The song incorporated the text features and explained what they were. The students in my classroom know text features now. Some of them still do the rap for help when they need to answer a question about text features and that is fine. It is simply the way they have learned this particular reading concept. We also talk a lot. We have a lot of discussions. We have a question of the week, and use that to help with our discussions. It is important for children to be able to express themselves and their thoughts. It is equally important that they develop listening skills. Students should be able to think over what their classmates have said and be able to formulate a response in a respectful way. This is why I think …show more content…
I have a student who was not motivated at all. He would sit and pretend to do his work and would not participate in discussions. He did everything he could to avoid having to take part in anything. I could not get anything from him, so I started paying attention to see what would at least grab his interest briefly. I discovered he loves science and social studies. From that, he was given reading books that are science and social studies related. He now participates willingly! He will raise his hand to answer questions and can summarize our discussions. His reading level has gone up, and he feels good about himself now. I see confidence in his eyes when he looks at