Take the Time to Make Fun of Yourself!

Students often times have trouble retaining all the content that teachers present in their daily lessons.  Using role plays, simulations, drama etc. really can help with retention.  However, sometimes it's just the crazy things you do as a teacher that students remember the most.  If you can make fun of yourself and let yourself go when telling historical examples, kids will see the humor in your presentation and believe me they will remember it!  For example, I was teaching a unit on the treatment of Native Americans and the Indian Wars after the Civil War and I was emphasizing the importance of the buffalo to Indian culture and lifestyle and I told them a story about my trip to Custer State Park in South Dakota.  I was trying to depict the size and ferocity of these animals to the students and told them that I took a jeep ride off trail right up to a herd of buffalo.  Soon I was engulfed and surrounded by these beasts who were snorting and practically breathing down my back.  I thought they might even tip over the jeep.  Suddenly two of the buffalo dropped to the ground and started wallowing in the mud.  Then a kids hand flew up and he said "What's wallowing?"  And I immediately without thinking dropped to the floor myself and began wallowing on my back as I simultaneously defined and explained that buffalo would roll around on their backs leaving deep depressions in the land that would sometimes fill up with rain water and become waterholes.  The students were smiling and watching me intently as I continued to roll around on the floor.  I suddenly jumped up and said "well that was fun, now I know why buffalo loved to wallow in the mud".   The following year when we got to the same unit on Native Americans, several students said " Mr. Aleckson, when are you going to wallow in the mud like a buffalo".  I laughed and said, we'll see ."   So clearly students had been talking amongst themselves about the lesson and clearly had retained this important content about the buffalo!  So let yourself go and don't be afraid to make fun of yourself!