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Ask for help > nice kid, difficult student
nice kid, difficult student
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chiara72
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nice kid, difficult student
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Hi
I �m teaching a group of 5-7 year olds in a morning summer camp. It �s a mixture of arts and crafts and simple english exercises such as matching sounds etc. along with simple vocabulary. The children are arabic which means it can be very difficult to get them to listen to you at the best of times. However, for the most part the group complete their exercises, with some cajoling and prompting from me. However, the oldest boy in the group is proving to be a problem. His 5 year old brother is very bright but this little guy seems to have some sort of problem. He won �t do any of the work I set him unless I stand over him, literally holding his pen with him, to get him to write the words. Today he took 20 mins to write the letter �a � while the rest of the class worked pages ahead. He is capable but is either lazy or perhaps is on the autism spectrum. He loves super heros and seems happy to just play with the pens on the desk for most of the time. I have accepted that he �s not going to do the work I set for the rest of the group, but does anyone have any ideas as to what I could set him that might engage him a little? We do play games but he doesn �t even join in these properly. His mother is anxious he learns something in my class and I feel awful that to date, he hasn �t engaged with anything I �ve done. Any advice is received gratefully.
thanks
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20 Jul 2009
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Eneya
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Hello Chiara,
Those kind of situations are difficult to deal with, and sometimes even nerve breaking. I had a similar kid once, his parents had moved from Egypt to Spain and he needed extra practice after school to pick up what he �d missed, because they had arrived when the term had already begun. At first I thought he was autistic as well, he had trouble focusing on anything, it didn �t matter what subject I picked to review, and the language barrier didn �t help much, and he seemed to get angry easily. Soon after I discovered that his family was going through some hard times, his father couldn �t get a job, and arguments in front of the kid were frequent. However he seemed fascinated with insects. He knew a lot about all kinds of bugs, and he had a passion for snakes, too.
In the end, I decided to use that to make him work, we would do Maths but instead of adding simple numbers we would add up ladybugs, for language practice we would write a mini composition about how cobras survived in the desert, when it came to geography I �d ask him to draw on the map where some species lived and so he would learn also the names of the countries, capitals, rivers, and so on.
So my advice to you is that you take advantage of his love of superheroes. Plan a class devoted to that topic, make flashcards with superheroes in them and practice the verbs of their abilities, for instance, Mister Fantastic (Fantastic 4) -> stretch, spiderman -> climb/swing, and maybe prcatice the parts of the body by reviewing what makes each superhero special, for example superman -> eyes (he can use x-rays). You might also want to prepare a craft on those lines. This way you will keep him interested and get his attention for more than 5 minutes, and you can also try to exploit that to make him talk about it.
Hope this helps,
Take care, -Eneya
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20 Jul 2009
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Jorgelinaac
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Hi, I agree with everything Eneya has said. I think they are great pieces of advice. I don �t really know your student, but I had one student who wouldn �t do anything unless I stood over him and I "pushed" him to do things, so simply as..... please open your notebook, get your pencil, etc. He had some problems with concentration. Anyway, I think that maybe the fact that you stand next to him and ask him to do things may end up encouring him. Sometimes, these difficult students require a lot of attention and they need to feel you really care for them. Of course, don �t forget the other students, it is not that easy! My advice is be firm but gentle and patient.
I hope it is useful!
Best regards,
Jorgelina |
20 Jul 2009
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anitarobi
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Just don �t give in to him - my advice to all my trainee teachers with such kids (and we all have them) is:
1. emphasize and encourage, even reward everything positive any member of the class does - he will eventually want his share of praise, too
2. don �t focus all your attention on him and don �t settle for less from him just because he settles for less - being a teacher means always asking for more from your sts and challenging them
3. have a teacher �s helper - always have one st who helps you during class - distributes the wss, gives stickers and stamps and stuff - for me it �s the one who does sth best, helps others, etc. in the previous lesson - he will want to earn this privilege
4. never compare him to his brothers - kids hate sentences like Why can �t you be more like your brother?
5. most importantly - stand your ground, STICK to your rules - be the king/queen of your classroom, but be a wise and just king
6. don �t give up - kids like to give up because it �s easier; parents like to give up because it �s easier - your job is not to give up(you can rarely influence the parents, but you can influence such small kids, and if you change them, you have changed their kids, and so on.
Good luck and stay strong!
Anita |
20 Jul 2009
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dunneteaching
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I have a lot of experience working with children on the Autism Spectrum but he would display many more symptoms then that. I suggest you put an incentive chart on his desk and then provide a model. Work with him one-on-one for five minutes. After the five minutes point to your watch say"good job" initial the box and provide him with a primary reinforcer. The students I am working with this summer love fruit snacks but it works well with any thing. I open a bag and give each of them one (fruit snack, not a bag) for working. Then start him off again and move away after a few minutes for him to complete on his own. If he stops wait for the five minutes to be over and then X the box, no reward. Start over and again show him what you want him to do and move away....This will keep him motivated and teach him what you are looking for. Priimary reinforcers work well, and eventually increase his time on task 5, 10, 15, 20 etc...... Of course do not forget the others and when you give him one treat, provide the same thing for the other students in the class, always giving praise for doing the work, completing the task, ignoring disruptive behavior etc... the whole class will work even harder. Hope this helps. From a behavior-shaper in Virginia. USA
Charlene Dunne |
21 Jul 2009
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jennybohmes
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thanks charlene it was useful for me too.
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21 Jul 2009
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