The success of schoolchildren mastering new material largely depends on how interesting and unobtrusive it is. Often, various non-standard forms of lessons come to the aid of the teacher. This is especially true for elementary school students who have a great desire for something new, unusual. Numerous studies show the steady mastery of knowledge and skills, if they were acquired in a non-standard form, when the child was really interested in learning. Recently, teachers have resorted to such classes quite often, and non-standard forms of conducting lessons have become so diverse that you can easily choose the right one for any subject.
What is a lesson?
Before talking about non-standard lessons, I would like to mention what a lesson is in general, what goals it pursues.
A lesson is the basic unit of the school learning process. It is in these 45 minutes that the teacher needs to give children knowledge on a specific topic, to develop certain skills. Each specific lesson should have its own goal, which is realized through a series of tasks: training, developing and educating.
Ultimately, at the exit from the audience, the child must understand a specific topic, be able to navigate concepts and be able to solve practical problems.
Main forms
The classical methodology distinguishes the following types and forms of lessons:
- Post new material. The structure of the lesson is as follows: updating (organizational moment), it attracts the attention of children, resolving issues regarding absent, attendants; communication of the topic of the lesson and those goals that must be achieved on it; the main part is work on new material; consolidation of the passed; summarizing the lesson. Also at such lessons there is a stage of checking homework, but it can be included by the teacher in any place, depending on the concept of the lesson.
- Practical lessons. These classes are similar in structure to those described above, however, at the main stage, special attention is paid to the practical skills of the students themselves (working out the rules, solving problems, examples, working with maps, laboratory work).
- Systematization and consolidation of the past. Such lessons are usually held before control and test classes. Here, practical tasks alternate with the repetition of the studied rules and postulates, according to which knowledge control is to be.
- A lesson in the control of knowledge and skills. The main goal of this lesson is to check how well the children have learned the material. They can be carried out in various forms: control work, test, diagnostic work (complex), test-offset.
- Combined lesson. In such a lesson, for example, there can be, at the same time, a message of the new and its practical development. Systematization and control are also combined.
Non-standard lessons and modern children
Currently, there is an acute problem with the fact that modern schoolchildren, especially primary school students, are completely different from their predecessors, and what was acceptable in Soviet times does not always lead to the desired result. The guys now have a special curiosity, they are more mobile, and the system is no longer the same.
In addition, children have become more active. This also applies to their psyche. If a schoolchild of the Soviet era could calmly sit at a desk for 45 minutes in a row, then a modern one requires a constant change in activities, some kind of novelty. The reason for this is the information society, because the amount of knowledge has increased significantly, and they need to be put in the same 45 minutes as before. So teachers come up with such interesting forms of lessons so that the guys are not bored, so that they can absorb the enormous amount of knowledge that modern GEFs offer them. (GEF - Federal State Educational Standard).
What is a custom lesson?
What is a non-standard lesson? All of us, having studied at school, can clearly answer that any lesson at the main stage is as follows: checking homework, informing the teacher of any new information on a specific topic, fixing the material. These structural elements can change places, however, it is from them that the usual school lesson always consists. Non-standard forms of lessons suggest instead of the generally accepted “canon” to use an excellent, creative structure. Indeed, why not do the following: not tell them new material, but ask the children themselves to get to the bottom of the truth? Or do not tell “on fingers” about the life of medieval castles, but spend a virtual tour there.
And such types and forms of lessons can be thought out endlessly, limited only to the imagination of the teacher.
The objectives of the lessons in a non-standard form are the same as those of the classical ones, so any activity can be diversified in this way. When studying new material, it will be appropriate to take excursion lessons, travel, and video lessons. Integrated classes help to master topics well. These same forms are suitable for practical exercises.
When the teacher needs to bring the children's knowledge into a certain system, prepare them for the test, it is necessary to choose all kinds of games, contests, disputes, trials of characters or historical figures.
Even boring and exciting tests can be done unconventionally. Firstly, the preparation of the project on the subject and its subsequent protection will come to the rescue. These can be lessons with elements of theatrical performances, riddle lessons, fantasies.
Combined classes are a special flight for the teacher’s creativity. Any form is applicable to them. The main thing is to think over and choose the most optimal one for a particular topic.
Advantages of custom shapes
Non-standard lesson forms have a number of advantages over classical ones. Firstly, they create a steady interest of children in the studied material. The information that the guys received not just from the mouth of the teacher, but, for example, in their own search or from the lips of their classmates, will probably be better remembered, will be more understandable.
Secondly, as a rule, such classes encourage students to be creative, develop imagination, creativity, imaginative thinking.
Thirdly, lessons that are different from traditional ones allow you to use a large number of technical tools and visual materials.
Teachers, as a rule, choose the forms of open lessons from the category of non-traditional ones - they allow you to show your creative approach to the profession, to demonstrate proficiency in various pedagogical technologies. Such classes always look advantageous.
It should be noted that excessive use of such forms can cause a backlash: children will quickly get tired of it. Therefore, to introduce such elements into the educational process should be dosed. It can be just any stages of a traditional lesson, for example, a game when checking homework or a debate when learning new material.
Lessons in the form of a game
If we talk about non-standard forms of lessons in elementary grades, then the gaming positions occupy the leading positions. It is no secret that this particular type of activity, including cognitive, is the leading one in the child.
Another advantage of lessons in a playful way is the ability to apply for any school discipline, at any age. If for younger schoolchildren it can be travel games at stations, competitions, KVNs, for older students they can transform into classes such as the “Brain Ring”, business games, and others.
If you choose unusual forms of physical education lessons, then all kinds of games will come to the rescue: competitions, "Fun Starts"; you can even arrange a kind of Olympiad, not only at the level of any class, but the whole school. To attract sports to the family, many teachers arrange joint classes and games with parents.
Game forms of lessons can be divided into several types: retrospective (returning to the past - role and non-role), business (students in practice study a particular phenomenon of reality, most often, social or economic), competitions (have a competitive basis, can be either team, and no). These are today the most common forms to attract sustained interest in the subject. Business games are used in middle and senior management, retrospective games, contests, holidays have no special age restrictions.
Lessons - Public Practices
Children tend to copy adults. This applies not only to the manner of their behavior, but also to all kinds of life situations. Therefore, such forms of conducting lessons that allow you to feel like adults will be very interesting.
For example, disputes. These are the most successful forms of history lessons or other social disciplines. Such classes encourage students to prove their point of view, to conduct a dialogue on a specific topic. Preparation for such an event requires considerable preparation. It’s not enough to ask the guys to talk on a topic, it is necessary to study it in detail from different angles. The preparatory phase here is very important. After the event, it is also important to analyze it together with the whole class. This form of the lesson begins to be used in the middle link.
Consistency will lead to the fact that children will learn to prove their point of view, put forward theses, communicate on a given topic, give arguments - all this will help in the final exams when writing tasks of part C on humanitarian subjects.
Choosing the forms of literature lessons, you can pay attention to the trial of a character. This will be something similar to a discussion, but the point of view of children will already be formulated, it will need to be proved using good knowledge of the text.
Lessons with a public form of communication
Such lessons are close to those listed above, where the children learn not just to discuss, but to eloquently express themselves on the basis of the material of the subject being studied.
For example, the forms of history lessons, such as a press conference, reportage or briefing will not only allow you to see the children’s knowledge of the subject, but also show their ability to use certain terms, dates, and pose specific, relevant questions. You can ask the guys to interview some historical person, you can touch on a specific event.
This also includes such forms of art lessons as an excursion or a public lecture. You can ask the guys themselves to be guides, having prepared a message in advance about any picture, its genre and style of performance.
Creative lessons
Children especially love lessons where it is necessary to show creativity. Of course, it can be ordinary classes in fine arts or the Moscow Art Theater, but if we consider the forms of the lessons of the surrounding world, we can distinguish such a kind of work as the creation of the "Forest Newspaper". One group of children should be invited to prepare a story about a plant or animal, while others should be systematized and arranged in the form of an art wall newspaper.
To convey to students the need to preserve natural resources will help a similar type of work - compilation of the Red Book of their area.
Many forms of reading lessons are also based on creativity. In addition to art workshops, where the guys illustrate a particular work, you can conduct a lesson with a literary focus. Where, for example, guys make up their stories, or compose fairy tales or fables.
Fantasy lessons
Fantasy lessons are also based on the creative component. They differ in that in such events there is not only the compilation of a phenomenon (fairy tale, environmental history, concert), but also its full embodiment: costumed or decorated artistically: on paper or as a presentation.
Such forms of lessons at school allow children not only to show their imagination, but also bring the children’s team together very much, because the children work on tasks together: the whole class or groups.
Here are some examples of fantasy lessons in various subjects of the school cycle. For example, a lesson in Russian folk tales motivates children to work. Immerse them in this atmosphere helps a special attribute of the lesson - a "magic" mirror. In the main part of the lesson, a quiz is held, the tasks of which are aimed at manifesting the students' imagination, for example, in a short time to portray a fairy-tale hero or make a proverb.
Another lesson, already in fine arts, dedicated to the Day of Cosmonautics, called "Planet of Friends." During the lesson, designed as a journey to a distant planet, the children depict its inhabitant - an alien.
Classes focused on the imagination of children are good at the middle level. For example, when studying the stories of N. Nosov from the series “Fantazers” at the stage of consolidation, one can conduct a lesson staging particularly favorite works.
Project Method
Special forms of lessons that are being used by an increasing number of teachers are based on the project method. Such classes are good in that they encourage students to practice, learn to apply the knowledge in practice.
These lessons are aimed at revealing the identity of each child who feels his personal responsibility to other members of the team. As a rule, a class is divided into several working groups, each of which is given a specific task. This can be any type of activity, from finding the answer to a specific question to drawing up charts, diagrams, memos, and so on. In the course of the work, children learn any new facts, systematize them, choose the main thing and draw up. In other words, these forms of lessons are taught to learn.
Work on the project usually lasts the entire academic year. According to the latest educational standards, a certain number of hours are allocated for this type of work in the school-wide schedule. The lessons of project activities involve learning the basics of systematization, goal setting, the teacher corrects, prompts, directs them. They do not look like standard classes, even if the role of the teacher is minimized here - the children themselves organize the work and set priorities.
The children need not only to draw up a specific project, but also to protect it in front of the teacher and the rest of the class, and maybe even school students (recently, the practice of such scientific and practical conferences in educational institutions is extremely common).
Integrated lessons
Integrated lessons are especially attractive to students - those where two or more subjects of the school cycle are connected. They allow you to create a sustained interest, show that disciplines are interconnected, encourage the search for knowledge.
The forms of integrated lessons are very diverse from the traditional presentation of new material and further practical activities to travel, quizzes, KVNs and competitions.
You can integrate a variety of school subjects. Here are a few examples:
- Literature (reading) and history. For elementary school, such lessons are relevant in the study of works of war. Much more space opens up in the middle link - then such lessons are especially justified. The fact is that the school history course lags behind the literature course, so often the language teacher has to tell children about a particular period. Why not combine the goals of teachers? There are a lot of examples of such lessons: “The Captain's Daughter” by Pushkin, the Cossacks in “Taras Bulba” by Gogol, “Borodino” by Lermontov, for high school - the poem of the Bloc “Twelve”. When studying “War and Peace”, you can conduct an integrated lesson in the form of a concert dedicated to the reflection of this historical event in various works, literary, artistic, musical.
- Mathematics and Russian language. It is very good to carry out such an integrated event when studying the topic "Numeral Name". A form can be a trip to the stations, where each student will be offered a task on the topic of the Russian language or mathematics.
- The world and art. The study of the theme "Seasons" can be combined with the image of landscapes for drawing. The same goals can be achieved through the integration of the world and technology (labor).
- A classic example of integration is physical education and life safety. In this case, you can build a specific life situation, for example, being in the forest. It can be a lesson-game or a lesson-workshop.
- Foreign language and geography. As an example, a lesson is a trip around the country of the language being studied. A foreign language is also well integrated with literature, history, and Russian.
- Computer science and mathematics.Here the choice of topics is very diverse: from the basics of logic to solving simple equations. In general, computer science can be integrated with absolutely any subject of the school course, because making presentations, tables, graphs, making reports is required when studying each discipline.
Video lessons
Progress does not stand still, it penetrates into all aspects of our life, including school. It is not surprising that teachers are increasingly turning to such a form of organization of the educational process as a video lesson.
At such an event, students include a recording or an online presentation by a teacher on a topic. As a rule, such lessons are well understood by students: it is modern, new, interesting.
However, it is worthwhile to understand that it is difficult for young people from the junior and middle management to look at an interactive whiteboard or screen where the broadcast is going on. It will be more appropriate to include video lessons in the main lesson: this will attract the attention of children and help them better understand the topic.
Currently, a large number of developmental and educational videos, so finding them for any subject is not difficult.
Consider when the most relevant video tutorials.
- Foreign language. Watching movie clips and cartoons in the language you are learning is very useful. Children will hear the speech of native speakers, learn to perceive it by ear.
- Literature (reading). The use of fragments of staging the studied works on stage or in the cinema. This method is good at performance lessons: the guys will be able to compare the performances and understand the vision of the work by different people.
- Learning letters, numbers in elementary school. There are a lot of instructional videos on these topics.
- Preparation for the State Academic Examination and the Unified State Examination in all subjects. Short video courses will help to briefly convey to the children the necessary information for each exam task.