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When I started writing on Steemit, I started writing on different strategies and methods on how to make a class fun. However, as time went by, I have stopped, not because I did not like doing so, but my bag of tricks seem to have emptied. That same feeling of running out of ideas, is the same feeling I have had when I was lesson planning.
Lesson planning takes time, for me at least. Ever since I started training teachers, there have been times where I am required to teach for 6 hours. I have learnt that no matter how funny (or lame) one can be, it is very difficult to hold an audience's attention for more than 2 hours. As such, it takes time to come up with ideas to get the message across and keep them entertained at the same time. If I am lucky, I will get different groups of students and the ideas can be recycled. However, most of the time, I have the same group of students throughout the years. As such, I have to constantly come up with new ideas.
The similarities between a Steemian and a teacher's struggle in lesson planning lies in the coming up with new posts or lessons. There are times where I would stare at the screen wondering what I should do. However, time is precious. and over the years I have discovered a few methods that has helped me lesson plan or write on Steemit. I will also provide examples to support some of the points.
The comparison
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Some may call it an energizer, but the comparison works by helping the student compare and associate a difficult concept with something that they know. I once explained the concept of experimental research with dating. Comparatively, if I were to have read from the textbook, the students would probably stare at me, confused. Drawing comparison has helped me make the lessons more interesting, no matter how the content may be like.
In the context of writing on Steemit, I have done the same by associating teaching and learning with several common concepts. I have compared failure to broccoli and education to games. This has helped me write from different perspectives and write on topics which would otherwise be quite boring.
However, there is a possibility that certain ideas and concepts can be difficult to compare with common everyday items.
The gap
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With that in mind, I would often leave a gap in the post and prompt the readers to fill it. The gap in this case could be getting the readers to guess the ending of a story. This engages the reader and helps the reader be a part of the post.
The same goes for lesson planning, most of my students are not keen to hear me talking or lecturing for a few hours. As such, I would provide activities where the students will be able to apply what was learnt to complete a problem. This can also be done by giving each group a missing piece of a puzzle. To complete the task, they would have to interact with other group of students to complete the task provided.
Gap activities are great because it promotes engagement with the students. The same applies for Steemit posts, engage your readers, get them to participate in your post. This is normally easier said than done, but it is a sustainable way of writing on Steemit if you plan to be on Steemit for a long time.
The stories
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However, if all else fails, talk about something personal, tell a story of a funny incident. I have not written about this on Steemit yet, but I knew a friend who was sent to teach in a rural area. Due to the bad cell reception, he had to climb trees to call his girlfriend. One time, on the tree in the middle of the night, his phone dropped, and hit an elephant. Their eyes met and the elephant charged him. He ran all the way back to the hostel.
The use of such stories in a lesson will help engage the students. At times it is akin to a boring dish of plain pasta, add sauce and the dish changes. The stories in a lesson are the sauce to the pasta. The same applies to Steemit, I do like writing about factual how-tos and tips. However, there are times I write stories just because I want to illustrate how awesome teaching is.
I have also talked about stories that are of my family and stories of my teaching experience. I do hope that this post have been informative, do let me know in the comments below if this was helpful, or if there was anything that I may have left off.
Happy Steeming!
