Kelly Madigan, Jennifer Cantin, Cristin Jamieson, Carlo Celebre, Dan Berthiaume, Sue Korosec

The Parable of Parables D.I.

“No two children are alike. An enriched environment for one is not necessarily enriched for another.”

Marian Diamond

Would you stop to help a homeless person

sleeping on the sidewalk? Why or why

not?

Why We Started

*We needed to engage our students

*We needed to know how they like to learn and where their strengths were (Learning Styles Inventory)

*To increase their awareness of their Catholic Faith

*To bridge the gap between elementary and high school

Kinesthetic vs. Visual vs. Auditory

Kinesthetic Learners: (Demonstrate it)

Visual Learners: (Write it)

Auditory Learners:(Say it)

•Doing, hands-on approach•Physical involvement in learning•Short blocks of time•Frequent breaks when learning•Experimental learning

•Taking notes and making lists•Seeing a demonstration•Using charts, maps, timelines, flashcards, graphic organizers•Colour coding learning•They like to study in a quiet place

•Participates in class discussions and debates•Read text out loud•They like to share ideasorally•Use storytelling to demonstrate a point•Like speeches and presentations

Sample of Completed Learning Styles Survey

*We decided on the expectation that we wanted to meet (making Parables relevant)

*As a group we sat down and brainstormed possible activities

*Developed a choice board based on the three Learning Styles

*We worked towards having more consistency between elementary and high school in the areas of evaluation and approach

How We Started

Student Assignment Includes…

•A copy of the Parable with image

•Choice Board

•Reflection Questions

•Rubric

Re-tell the story of The Lost Son from the

point of view of the older brother. Show

how he felt about the welcome that their father gave to his younger brother.

Write a modern story about a son or

daughter who upsets or disappoints their

parents. Explain what they do and how the

parents behave towards them.

As human beings we can find it very hard

to forgive people who have wronged us.

Give some examples of times when you

have found it difficult to forgive. Look for

situations in the news where the people

involved might need to forgive others.

Create a poster using pictures and words to show what Christians

believe about forgiveness, after

reading the parable of The Lost Son.

Use the computer to create your poster.

Create a comic strip that

summarizes the parable The Lost

Son. Use the computer to create your comic strip.

Retell the story in the form of an

interview. Include at least 10

questions with the answers.

Create a Modern Day retelling of the parable using

Pictures/Collage/Sli

de.

Develop a News Article based on

The Lost Son, including the five

W’s and H.

Create a script based on The Lost Son. Remember to include all of the characters. Be

prepared to act it out!

 

Choice Board

*High student engagement

*Enjoyed choice board

*Able to take the choice and make modifications based on their ideas and interests

*Gained a deeper understanding of parables

*Rich dialogue amongst the students in small and large group

*The message carried over into other subjects and conversations

*Use of technology

*Introduce students to a “new” approach to learning (D.I.)

*We found reflection questions very valuable to determine if the students understood the main idea

*The reflection questions allowed students to put their understanding into their own words and make a personal connect to the main message of the parable

Benefits

Challenges*Technological glitches

*Difficult to book computer labs

*Geographical location for Internet, not all students were able to work from home

*Reflection questions needed further clarification and explanation

*Too many choices

*Some students unaware of their Learning Styles had a hard time picking one of the activities from the Choice Board

*Some students were unfamiliar with D.I. process

*Because there is no choice to do reflection questions, some answers were minimal

Student Testimonials

Next Steps*Create a “hook” to engage students

*To incorporate “Choice Boards” into other subject areas

*To provide students with more choice during evaluations

*Get to know your students better by opening up the dialogue