One of the biggest problems that we can find in classrooms is noise , especially when it becomes an added difficulty for the teacher with respect to his need to explain himself properly and make himself heard . Solving this problem is vital so that the course can prosper according to what is stipulated by each teacher and by each center, so the didactic techniques that can be used in this sense are always welcome.
That is why in this article we want to talk to you about the so-called “silent creatures” , also known as “pompoms of silence” or “ quiet or silent critters ”, their name in English. These silent creatures, which are generally felt pompoms , are a technique that originated in the Anglo-Saxon world about 5 or 6 years ago and that stands out for how simple and useful it is in its application.
Materials you will need
- Folios, scissors and glue.
- A clear plastic or glass jar with a lid to keep silent creatures. It will be your home.
- Wool or felt pompoms of different colors and sizes, mostly large. If you think that this could cause discrepancies in the group, make all the creatures the same size.
- Adhesive eyes of different colors and shapes to add to the creatures.
- Eva rubber bases that we will cut into a heart shape to make the base or the feet of the creatures.
- A story that will be the beginning of the activity and that must appear on the front of the jar. Well, use ours!
Approach to the activity
Silent creatures are very strange and special beings that have super powers, and the main one is that they have such incredibly good hearing that it allows them to pick up the slightest rumor wherever they are. They are lonely beings too, but not for fun, because they really enjoy the company of students …
This paragraph is just an idea of how we can plan and carry out the activity in the classroom . By introducing and associating a story with the silent creatures, we will make students feel more interested in them, showing themselves more receptive and more responsible when it comes to being silent during a class. We can go further in our game and tell them that since silent creatures are bothered by any rumor, they need to make friends who know how to keep silent, placing a silent creature on the table of those who manage to comply with this standard of behavior.
We can also pose it in a different way, for example, placing the silent creatures on the table of those that the teacher believes are not meeting the requirement to remain silent , and it will be the silent creature in charge of checking it with its excellent hearing.
We, for our part, prefer the first way of approaching the game-activity, as it has a much more tender and friendly tone than the second, and it can help the little ones to collaborate and comply in a more conscious and sensitive way .
Whatever we choose, the silent creatures will have to be put on or taken off according to what we have proposed . That is, if we put the creature silent so that it makes friends who do not damage their ears, we will have to remove it from the table if the boy or girl stops complying and returns to the noise talking or laughing when it does not correspond. Logically, actions such as coughing or the like do not fall under this method. It is also recommended that the action of removing the silent creature can be reversible , in order to give students confidence and offer them options and incentives to improve.
Using methods like this one of the silent creatures will help children to concentrate and learn that it is very important to respect others (the teacher, classmates …), because sometimes we can hinder and annoy others without realizing it or without meaning to. . The fact of being attracted to the strange creatures of our activity will make them want to take care of them avoiding the noise that bothers them so much, and it will also generate in them a feeling of generosity and affection that will make them behave wonderfully without hardly realizing it. A technique, in short, that is worth trying …
I am going to put them into practice very good activities !!!!