Online classes for children, although it is as effective as the learning that happens in a mortar and brick institution, has some drawbacks. Sometimes, getting their attention can be a problem. When they are online, a lot of distractions are present. They can easily go to another site to play or browse. That does not even include the distractions that they face in the physical place where they are accessing the online course. Whether it is at home or in their room, there are bound to be distractions that will make them lose concentration during the learning process.
When teaching kids, it is very important that you learn to use tools and methods that will keep them glued to what is being taught. One of the methods that you can use is storytelling. There is nothing like a fictional story to make a boring lesson come to life.
The great thing about a story is you can add relevance to the lesson. This is a great way to connect it to the everyday occurrences in the life of a person. When done correctly, you can even tap into their emotions – which will strengthen the learning experience and the retention of a concept in their memory. A great storyline can also make the online classes more interesting to the children.
Here are the various do’s and don’ts when you are using stories in online learning for kids.
Do’s
- Think about the intro carefully. This is your chance to draw in the children to the story. The truth is, they all love stories. But you want to make sure that the start of the story can successfully introduce the characters, scenario and the conflict that has to be solved.
- Use characters they can identify with. Make sure you only use characters that they are familiar with. If possible, the main character should be a child as well – or at least, the narration is made from the point of view of a child. That way, the children can put themselves in the shoes of the character and relive the story in their mind easily. In effect, they can retain whatever skill or knowledge the character had to use in order to overcome the conflict.
- Create opportunities to interact. One example is letting the children choose the next step that the character should do. Let them decide the action of the character and make sure to clearly state how each scenario will play out. Give them two options if you want to make it simple.
- Give it a happy ending. This is for online classes for kids. You have to give it a happy ending. At least, this is how it should be if the children make the right decisions when choosing the outcome of the story.
Don’ts
- Make the storyline complicated. Again, these are children. You want to make the story simple so it will not distract the students from the key point that you want them to learn from it.
- Bury the key concepts in the story. The important concepts that they have to learn should be obvious. Not only that, the relation of the story to the online classes should also be evident. Otherwise, you might lose the attention and interest of the students.
- Use complex and irrelevant metaphors and symbols. Always keep in mind the audience. The children should understand the metaphors and symbolisms that you will use in the course. That way, they can fully relate to whatever will be taught through the story.
Without a doubt, the use of stories in online classes can be effective – especially when it involves children. However, you have to make sure that it is done correctly and you follow the rules of storytelling.
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