Category Archives: Curriculum

From Brain Calisthenics to Heritage Promulgation, Music Can Do (Almost) Anything!

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By James Groth

Do you remember doing calisthenics in your high school phy ed class? They seemed rather pointless, but the concept was that through stretches and cardiovascular exercises, you would prepare your body for the physical rigors of the class. Your brain needs calisthenics too. Preparing your brain for learning  is just one of the many special abilities music exhibits. Because music education provides a host of benefits for students, Lutheran educators should maintain a special and cherished place for God’s gift of music and its many unique qualities. Continue reading →

Character Education: Implications for Lutheran Schools

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By: Seth Fitzsimmons

As the fabric of American society unravels and reports of school and societal violence increase, a renewed emphasis on character education (CE) is sweeping public schools. What implication, if any, does this have for Lutheran schools? With biblical teachings at the center of its curriculum, Lutheran schools may be positioned to capitalize on the CE wave. Continue reading →

ESL? What does that mean for Lutheran schools?

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By: Mark Zondag

Remember singing the song, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, every color, every race–all are covered by his grace, Jesus loves the little children of the world.”  I remember singing that song when I was growing up.  I have taught that song to children but, how often do we really think about these words?  If we really consider the lyrics, do we actually reflect the attitude of this song in our schools?  Can we say, by objectively looking around at the ethnicities of our students, that God does love all the little children?  If schools are meant as a means of outreach, are we reaching out into all communities or just one? Continue reading →

Common Core State Standards: A WELS Perspective

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By: Duane Vance

In the last few years, the Common Core State Standards have been a controversial topic among educators, politicians, and the general public who have heard various accounts in the media. At the present time, the content of the standards, their implementation, and the politics that surround them cause passionate debate between those who view the standards as the next best step in education and those who oppose the initiative altogether. The Common Core State Standards were developed with public education in mind, so where does that leave private schools in their relationship to the standards? In particular, how should WELS schools view and use the standards, if at all? Leadership and decisions makers in WELS schools need to familiarize themselves with this issue and be prepared to provide a sound answer to parents and other stakeholders in the school as to their approach. Continue reading →

Should Screen Time for Young Children Be Allowed?

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Written by Jason Schmidt

Take a stroll through your local grocery store or shopping center, and if your community is anything like mine, you might see several youngsters sitting in the cart or stroller being entertained with an iPad or cell phone. Depending on my mood, I look at this as either a stroke of genius, envy that I didn’t have that for my kids, or rage at this parent’s inconsideration for any kind of quality parenting skills. However, when I see kids using technology in my role at work, I am usually more than thrilled that teachers are incorporating this tool into the learning process at any age. Continue reading →

Where did Recess go?

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By: Professor Daniel Gawrisch

This topic was initially started in a previous blog post, addressing the value recess has on physical activity and the psychomotor domain. This second blog post will focus on the cognitive and affective learning domains and spiritual growth applications.

“What is your favorite part of the school day?” Ask most children this question and the inevitable response will be, “Recess!” Although you may have been looking for an “academic subject” as a response, think twice before you correct the child. Recess is a highly valuable part of the daily school schedule that accomplishes educational objectives and battles childhood obesity. Opportunities at recess promote growth in the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective learning domains and provide students with spiritual growth applications. Continue reading →

Recess: A Critical Part of the School Day

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By: Professor Daniel Gawrisch

“What is your favorite part of the school day?” Ask most children this question and the inevitable response will be “Recess!” Although you may have been looking for an academic subject as a response, think twice before you correct the child. Recess is a highly valuable part of the daily school schedule that accomplishes educational objectives and battles childhood obesity. Opportunities at recess promote growth in the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective learning domains and provide students with spiritual growth applications.

This topic will be covered in 2 separate blog posts.  The first blog post will focus on the psychomotor learning domain and value of physical activity. Continue reading →

Differentiated Instruction: Helping All Your Students Achieve

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Written by Dr. Alan Spurgin

Differentiation components are content, process, and product. The fourth component is environment and how differentiation looks in the classroom. How does your classroom stack up to differentiation of content, process, product, and environment? Maybe taking a look at differentiation and implementing the components would give your teaching a boost. Read on to find out how your classroom can look using differentiation. Continue reading →

Should Lutheran Teachers Use Differentiated Instruction?

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Written by Alan Spurgin

The way teachers were instructed how to teach, even as little as ten years ago, followed this line of thinking: Teachers were to teach to the middle, and those who were very bright (high cognitive ability) would learn in spite of the teacher. The child with low cognitive ability, or the emotionally and behaviorally disturbed child, would do menial tasks. Continue reading →

Elementary School Students Do Not Require Homework

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Written by Rebecca Berger

Homework assigned by teachers is an imposition on family time that has not been proven to benefit elementary school (kindergarten through grade 5) students. Educators in the United States have been researching homework for over 80 years without arriving at definitive conclusions about its purpose or efficacy. Continue reading →