High Pointe Teacher Makes Learning Fun
(CEDAR HILL, TEXAS) High Pointe Elementary School Fifth Grade Teacher Juana Walcott spent the entire day, last Sunday, transforming her classroom into a hospital wing.
She got the idea after seeing something online about a teacher in another state conducting the lesson, and it grew from there.
“Last year, my scholars did a construction site activity, and the room was made to resemble a work zone,” Walcott said. “These types of activities make the kids think anything is possible. After the lesson, several kids said they want to become doctors. They were really proud of the medical IDs they received at the end of the class.”
Walcott said the class had been working with informational text, and she was looking for a “fun, engaging lesson” to have the scholars pay closer to attention to boost their reading comprehension.
“The expectation after today’s lesson is that they will include text features in their writing,” Walcott said.
Walcott was able to emphasize how important reading and English Language Arts are for the medical community.
After organizing the information, the scholars have a second day to complete their “medical charts” – where they describe the purpose of various text and graphic features.
Walcott said she like many things in 2020-2021, she had to adjust the logistics of the lesson to ensure COVID-19 safety protocol.
“Normally, the scholars would work in pairs/groups on a patient,” Walcott said. “Now each person had their own, hence requiring more operating rooms. I am very strict when it comes to social distancing. I make every effort to include all of my scholars in everything I do.”
