How to engage students in a lesson

I think that teachers need to think about one question when they make a lesson plan, "So what?"  The teacher needs to make the lesson relevant to student's lives or else they won't care to learn it.  They need to be able to see why you are teaching this lesson to them and draw connections with real life situations; otherwise what you are teaching them would be useless.  I am sure we've all thought this before.

Communication

I found it interesting how descriptions of a drawing could change all because of lack of communication.  If one person doesn't get enough information to give the next person, the next person is the one who will have to communicate these descriptions to the next.  The problem with this is that the next descriptor may provide less information or interpret what the previous person said differently.  I think this assignment taught us how different people interpret things differently.  Even things that seem simple enough, like describing a ice cream cone, can have percise details.  We should think about this when we are designing assignments, we want to be as clear as possible for the person we are communicating too. 

The traveling story

I like the idea of a traveling story.  I think this is a fun way for students to be creative.  What I like is that the notes card get mixed around the class, and at the end nobody knows where their note card is.  When everyone reads their card out loud that they wound up with, the whole class can be exposed to different styles of  writing.  The class can assess how and where mistakes are made when writing.  If enough clarity is not provied by the first student to begin the card, as the card moves to someone else they may see that subject as something else and begin changing the subject that the initial writer intended.  A student can also assess their story and what others think about it, without worrying that someone is going to know who wrote it.  I know many students fear that. Since I am going to be teaching Math 4-8, I could see myself using this in my 4th or 5th classes, where I will have writing assisgnments involved.  In grades 6-8, it might be harder for me to come up with a mathimatical way to use this sort of writing assignment.  Off the top of my head right now I can't think of any.  If you can, let me know your ideas.