I have to admit that I had quite forgotten that we have a classroom set of "magnadoodle" or magnetic magic boards (you can order them from Lakeshore Learning).
I was working with my Kindergarten and 2nd grade students today, reviewing the characters they have learned so far, introduced in the book "At the Beach" by Huy Voun Lee. The main character, a little boy named Xiao Ming, learns characters with his mother by writing in the sand. I pulled out the magnetic boards and told them that, instead of writing in the sand, they would be practicing their characters on the "magnadoodle" boards instead. I have to admit that I had quite forgotten that we have a classroom set of "magnadoodle" or magnetic magic boards (you can order them from Lakeshore Learning). I rediscovered these magnetic magic boards in one of the cabinets of our classroom last Friday, and realized just how useful these could be in learning to write characters. I immediately incorporated these into my lesson plans for this week. After teaching two classes using these boards today, I feel as if these are the BEST thing ever to use for introducing characters to young students, because anything they draw is easily erased. Thus they don't have to be afraid to try to write--and if it's not quite right, they can easily erase and try writing it again. In fact, I noticed some students who are usually not as confident in their schoolwork, begin to really have fun learning to write their characters. I also noticed that some students who don't usually like to write letters, had fun writing Chinese characters because it was more like drawing a picture. I felt as if the lessons were such a success, that all I can think of is, "Why hadn't I thought of doing this earlier?" I will definitely be using these magic boards in many more classes as we continue to learn to write Chinese characters.
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About MeChristina has been a Chinese language teacher for the last 5 years and now teaches "Think Tank," a Critical Thinking class to elementary students. She is also mom to two amazing girls, wife to a wonderful husband, violinist, and Christian (not necessarily in that order). Archives
August 2014
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