Making connections with students and creating lessons that students can identify with is crucial. Students in the 21st century are faced with various multimedia everyday in our culture. Culture has changed over the years and our education has to be able to change with the times. Popular media and culture can be a way teachers can connect with their students. Teachers and students are submersed in this culture and finding connections with each other can help create a learning environment that can be more interesting and authentic. Technology, sports, television, movies, radio, magazines, cell phones, and the Internet are some of the ways that both teachers and learners can make connections. In the article by Hagood, it states that “Schools teach literacy in the same ways it has been taught for the past century, focusing primarily on the instruction of print-based reading mastery derived from a print-based curriculum (Arthur, 2005; Comber, 2000; Marsh & Millard, 2006; Sefton-Green, 1998).
I personally try to connect with students through sports. Sports are everywhere in our culture. Not only through participating in the activities but it has become a part of the media culture. One cannot turn on the TV without sports being somewhere on, commercials, magazines, radio, … Sports and technology go hand and hand. ESPN for example not only is a sports channel but there is a website, radio station, webcam, cell phone, blogs, podcasts, ESPN360, videos, video games, fantasy sports…. Connecting with students with this popular culture can really create an authentic learning environment both in school and out of school. Literacy needs to stay up do date and teachers need to use this popular culture as a form of teaching literacy.
Fantasy sports have become increasingly popular. It is mainly done online and players can create their own groups or play individually with people all over the world. Don Leu mentions the “global village” and how our world is becoming increasingly smaller. Fantasy sports helps create a way popular culture and communicating in this global village are done. Personally, I think fantasy sports would be a great way to teach students not only literacy but new literacies as well. Fantasy sport "General Managers" need to research players they are going to draft and this is done through internet research, reading newspapers and magazines, listening to the radio, or watching TV. Statistics and past player performance help when drafting and trading players, which can be done face to face or over the Internet and its various forms of communication. Stats can also be a great way to teach math. Blogs and discussion boards are also widely used amongst fantasy sports players. They are used for various things but mainly for asking for input, discussing various games, or just letting others know their opinions on topics that may arise during the season. In many high schools there are classes that use the mock stock market games, why can’t fantasy sports be used. The students will also be able to see the business side of sports and the costs of running teams. One main aspect to keep out is that it should not be done to win money as a prize if it is used in school. Fantasy sports can be done both in school and out of school and what better way than to have students connect with popular culture than with something that has become part of our popular culture as well as something that has become a part of our sports culture.
Another way I try to connect sports with kids is through Sports Illustrated For Kids. The website has just about everything and since sports are an integral part of our culture having it relate to kids is important. The website http://sikids.com/ can be used in school for various things like stats, research, reading articles, debating, games, trivia,…The article by Hagood talked in detail about identities. Many kids and even adults create identities through sports and athletes. Sometimes this can be a bit overboard but it happens. Michael Jordan even had a Gatorade commercial that had the saying “I wanna be like Mike!” Hagood states that “readers construct identities and gain a sense of place from uses of popular culture” (Dimitriades, 2001). Kids read on the Internet, hear about on TV and the radio, see all over magazines and newspapers about various sports and athletes and create their own identity through this. That is why it is of the utmost importance that these athletes are good role models whether they want to be or not. All too often we hear of athletes being arrested, carrying guns, or being called to the US Congress for using steroids/HGH to better their performance and these are only a few examples. One other thing on the SI for Kids websites is that kids can create their own superstar athlete. It is a fairly simple game and the creation of their own identity through sports is a microcosm of this game.
I personally try to connect with students through sports. Sports are everywhere in our culture. Not only through participating in the activities but it has become a part of the media culture. One cannot turn on the TV without sports being somewhere on, commercials, magazines, radio, … Sports and technology go hand and hand. ESPN for example not only is a sports channel but there is a website, radio station, webcam, cell phone, blogs, podcasts, ESPN360, videos, video games, fantasy sports…. Connecting with students with this popular culture can really create an authentic learning environment both in school and out of school. Literacy needs to stay up do date and teachers need to use this popular culture as a form of teaching literacy.
Fantasy sports have become increasingly popular. It is mainly done online and players can create their own groups or play individually with people all over the world. Don Leu mentions the “global village” and how our world is becoming increasingly smaller. Fantasy sports helps create a way popular culture and communicating in this global village are done. Personally, I think fantasy sports would be a great way to teach students not only literacy but new literacies as well. Fantasy sport "General Managers" need to research players they are going to draft and this is done through internet research, reading newspapers and magazines, listening to the radio, or watching TV. Statistics and past player performance help when drafting and trading players, which can be done face to face or over the Internet and its various forms of communication. Stats can also be a great way to teach math. Blogs and discussion boards are also widely used amongst fantasy sports players. They are used for various things but mainly for asking for input, discussing various games, or just letting others know their opinions on topics that may arise during the season. In many high schools there are classes that use the mock stock market games, why can’t fantasy sports be used. The students will also be able to see the business side of sports and the costs of running teams. One main aspect to keep out is that it should not be done to win money as a prize if it is used in school. Fantasy sports can be done both in school and out of school and what better way than to have students connect with popular culture than with something that has become part of our popular culture as well as something that has become a part of our sports culture.
Another way I try to connect sports with kids is through Sports Illustrated For Kids. The website has just about everything and since sports are an integral part of our culture having it relate to kids is important. The website http://sikids.com/ can be used in school for various things like stats, research, reading articles, debating, games, trivia,…The article by Hagood talked in detail about identities. Many kids and even adults create identities through sports and athletes. Sometimes this can be a bit overboard but it happens. Michael Jordan even had a Gatorade commercial that had the saying “I wanna be like Mike!” Hagood states that “readers construct identities and gain a sense of place from uses of popular culture” (Dimitriades, 2001). Kids read on the Internet, hear about on TV and the radio, see all over magazines and newspapers about various sports and athletes and create their own identity through this. That is why it is of the utmost importance that these athletes are good role models whether they want to be or not. All too often we hear of athletes being arrested, carrying guns, or being called to the US Congress for using steroids/HGH to better their performance and these are only a few examples. One other thing on the SI for Kids websites is that kids can create their own superstar athlete. It is a fairly simple game and the creation of their own identity through sports is a microcosm of this game.
1 comment:
Sports also play an important role in showing students the value of hard work. I use the example that Tiger Woods, well on his way to becoming the greatest golfer ever, still takes lessons and practices almost everyday. Most children don't completely recognize or understand the importance of hard work. They see the results, in your references, professional athletes, but weren't there for all the countless hours MJ was practicing free throws, viewing tapes, and getting into shape.
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