Younger ages demand primarily physically active types of methodology. By the time children get to grade school, their vocabulary and reasoning abilities have greatly expanded. Their attention spans have lengthened a bit as well. They are ready to tackle some mental activity blended in with the physical.
Methodology Good to Use with Grade School Children:
Choose methods that provide opportunity for grade school students to both physically and mentally engage in the learning process. Some of the methods can lean one way or the other depending on how you structure their use.
Also consider using methods that include some basic discussion types of methodology. While you shouldn’t build your lessons for this age level solely around discussion, especially for the younger grade school ages, you can use some.
This article is included as a handout in the Reaching All Age Levels Resource with a list of some of the methods that fit the above criteria for grade school students. The resource also includes other articles for all the age groups and PowerPoint slides to use for a group teacher training session.
What are the most effective learning methods for elementary school children?
The most effective methods, as this post notes, are those that engage the children mentally, yet with some physical activity. That could range from listening activities to collaborative projects to active drama and games that teach, with a host of methods in between.
How to choose the right learning method for children with different learning styles?
We first, of course, need to identify the learning styles of the children in the class. Unless you have an extremely small class, you won’t be able to build every activity around each individual’s style. Where possible you should provide choices about how to approach an activity. You might simply need to vary your approach from one activity to the next so that through the course of the session you will hit on all styles. The actual methods for the different styles would be those that enable your students to engage in activities that pull on their preferred means of learning. The link in the first sentence of this response gives suggestions. Of course, you want to make sure those methods fit within their age level abilities and the content of the lesson.
What is the teacher’s role in implementing effective learning methods in the classroom?
Teachers are more like a facilitators, guiding the students to learn. The methods are simply means to get there. Teachers must come prepared, not only having chosen the right methods but also thinking through the logistics of those methods working with their group and in their setting. In class, they must provide clear instructions, as needed, for students to successfully engage, but should guard against dictating each and every step students take.