Best Practices: Sample Teaching Strategies

Group Games | Teaching Interviewing Skills | Resources

Other Best Practices

Group Games

Teaching artists can help their students feel comfortable exploring cultural identity and taking creative risks by using activities that allow students to interact with each other in a way that builds trust — prior to beginning an art project. In addition to fostering a safe, playful environment, group games allow students to interact in a non-threatening manner and encourage them to enjoy creating and working together. George Zavala has found "The Big Wind Blows" to be a favorite with his students.

The Big Wind Blows

Description: The Big Wind Blows is a popular game that students that allows the teaching artist to comfortably introduce notions of cultural differences and commonalities. Everyone sits in a circle, except one person who doesn't have a chair — that person is the Big Wind. The Big Wind's job is to blow someone out of his or her seat so that the Big Wind can take his or her place. Similar to musical chairs, the object is to have a seat and to avoid becoming the Big Wind. The Big Wind stands in the middle of the circle and says, " The Big Wind blows for everyone who...." and all those who share that trait must get up and run to find another seat. The object of the Big Wind's fury can be tailored to the theme of the workshop.

For a cultural traditions project, use a culture marker as the object. For example, "The Big Wind blows for everyone who celebrates Chinese New Year," and everyone who celebrates this holiday gets up and runs to find another seat. Students then call out other cultural markers, and the game continues. You may want to begin with something more generic, such as, "The Big Wind blows for everyone who is wearing sneakers," and then move toward more cultural markers. Since this is an active game, it is important to establish rules for the game in the beginning: No running, shoving, or running, and no markers that might be inappropriate or embarrassing to the players.

Benefits:

  • Helps students listen and follow instructions
  • Helps students learn how they differ and what they share with their classmates
  • Helps students begin to th about differences in a safe and enjoyable way
  • Helps students begin to think about things they share with other groups.

Teaching Interviewing Skills to Students
Adapted from Shari Davis and Benny Ferdman. Nourishing the Heart. New York: City Lore, 1993. Available from the Culture Catalog

  • Ask students if they have ever conducted an interview, seen an interview, or been interviewed.
  • Discuss what makes a good interview. Get their ideas first , then discuss important aspects of an interview, such as being a good listener and asking questions in a way that gets people to talk about subjects that interest you.
  • Help students grasp two types of questions basic to an interview:

    • - "Closed" questions which end in a "yes" or "no" response or a very brief response of one or two words. These questions help you gather basic information.

    - "Open" questions which give the interviewee a chance to talk at length about the topic

    These questions often begin with the phrases: "tell me about," "what was it like," "in what ways," "describe," "why," or "how."

  • Encourage students to limit "closed" questions and focus on "open" questions to get more detailed responses.
  • Encourage students to ask "follow-up questions" that probe deeper into a topic and show the person being interviewed that you are interested in what he or she is saying.
  • Practice avoiding "leading" questions which encourage the person you are interviewing to answer in a way that agrees with what you think rather than what he or she thinks.
  • Practice giving the person being interviewed time to pause, think, and reflect.
  • Encourage students research the topic and the person being interviewed before the interview, so that they can ask knowledgeable questions.
  • Finally, encourage students to take their time, relax and enjoy the interview. It’s the best way to put the person they are interviewing at ease.

Resources*:

Cynthia Stokes Brown. Like It Was: A Complete Guide to Writing Oral History. New York: Teachers and Writers Collaborative, 1988.

Shari Davis and Benny Ferdman. Nourishing the Heart: A Guide to Intergenerational Arts Projects in the Schools. New York: City Lore, Inc., 1993.

Susan Perlstein and Jeff Bliss. Generating Community: Intergenerational Partnerships Through the Expressive Arts. New York: Elders Share the Arts, 1994.

Paula Rogovin. Classroom Interviews: A World of Learning. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998.

Elizabeth Radin Simons. Student Worlds, Student Words: Teaching Writing Through Folklore. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1990.

*Note: All of these titles can be ordered through the Culture Catalog.