I am so glad that you brought up this topic, Justin. In fact, PowerPoint use in the classroom came up in a grad research class I'm taking. The student researchers are of the opinion that PP is totally ineffectual. I reminded them that not all teachers use PP as we often find in meetings or college-level classes - YAWN. When used correctly and interactively, the kids LOVE it and YES - it is VERY effective!
As for teaching vocabulary, I am a huge fan of Foldables. We use a shutter fold w/the word, POS, and icon on front. The students write the definition and a sentence or story using vocab on the inside. This is their study guide. Now comes the fun part - Basketball Vocab Shoot-out! :D Once the kids have a good grasp on the vocab, we play basketball assessment. Students answer questions based on vocab, and when correct, they get a chance to shoot. I don't know if my kids just love vocab or if they love to shoot baskets! Wait a second ... I think I actually know that answer! ;) The bottom line is that they have become vocab whiz-kids!
I am so glad that you brought up this topic, Justin. In fact, PowerPoint use in the classroom came up in a grad research class I'm taking. The student researchers are of the opinion that PP is totally ineffectual. I reminded them that not all teachers use PP as we often find in meetings or college-level classes - YAWN. When used correctly and interactively, the kids LOVE it and YES - it is VERY effective!
As for teaching vocabulary, I am a huge fan of Foldables. We use a shutter fold w/the word, POS, and icon on front. The students write the definition and a sentence or story using vocab on the inside. This is their study guide. Now comes the fun part - Basketball Vocab Shoot-out! :D Once the kids have a good grasp on the vocab, we play basketball assessment. Students answer questions based on vocab, and when correct, they get a chance to shoot. I don't know if my kids just love vocab or if they love to shoot baskets! Wait a second ... I think I actually know that answer! ;) The bottom line is that they have become vocab whiz-kids!