Welcome to our Ad-Free Education Blog for Tutors, Teachers and Parents

Weekly posts on educational topics, how-to-teach tips, parenting advice, kids health and more. Subscribe to the newsletter (on the left or below on mobile) for education blog updates by School is Easy Tutoring.

What is the theory of multiple intelligences and why is it important when teaching?

Susan Cumberland Published: October 20, 2017 Last Updated Date: June 26, 2024

In the past, we’ve written about the different types of learning styles. That is one theory which posits we should be teaching based on how our students like to learn, or how they learn best.

But there is another theory that, while sounding similar, is not. It brings about another opinion on how we should view our human ‘smart-ness.’ It says we should be viewing many forms of aptitude as ‘intelligent’ and thus, teach by recognizing a person’s core strengths. We’ll unpack that in a bit. [Read more…]

Benefits and methods of interdisciplinary learning for kids

Susan Cumberland Published: October 6, 2017 Last Updated Date: December 16, 2024

Whether you are a parent, a tutor, or a classroom teacher, you have most likely wondered at some point or another how to give your kids a fun, exciting project that furthers their learning at the same time. A theory floating around in the education world known as ‘interdisciplinary learning’ can be a great way to engage your kids in a meaningful way. Keep reading to decode this educational buzzword and see what it actually looks like in reality.

What is interdisciplinary learning?

Myra Strober explains this term by thinking about a meal: if you have peas on a plate, this can be likened to a discipline of learning. If you add carrots onto the plate, you now have two disciplines, which can be labeled ‘multidisciplinary.’ But ‘interdisciplinary’ in this analogy would be if you then mixed the peas and carrots together to make a salad. Rather than being isolated, these two ‘disciplines’ have been integrated together to make something new. Through this lens, we can view interdisciplinary learning as an approach that integrates multiple disciplines to solve a problem.

Why is interdisciplinary learning important?

Real-world problems are interdisciplinary

Think about any big problem in the world. Chances are, the entire problem is not ‘I need to solve this specific type of math equation.’ Rather, a problem could potentially be related to poverty, sustainability, or transporting goods to a remote community (perhaps even all three). These types of problems require many different disciplines to come together in order to form a solution.

Interdisciplinary learning gets kids to focus on learning life skills

Interdisciplinary learning focuses learning on life skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. This leads to what Carleton College calls “significant learning.” It can be very valuable, since the skills acquired are found in various subjects or streams of study, and are designed to get students to apply what they’ve learned in new contexts.

How to approach an interdisciplinary learning project

Know your students and pick a topic, or set of topics, that intrigue them.
Choose a big question to get your kids thinking critically, and with the view to solving a problem. They should have to bring in skills and knowledge from various subjects and experiences to solve this problem.
Have your kids develop essential questions – what do they wonder about this topic? How can THEY form their own project to be able to understand this problem better? (Check out prodigy game for plenty of examples on this)
Design your project. According to the Galileo Network, students must know 3 things: why are we doing this? What should I know before we begin to tackle this problem? What is the one big thing I should know at the end of this? Everything in between is open for innovation and creativity, but these three main points should be planned for before the project starts.

The internet is full of great ideas for interdisciplinary projects, so definitely check out Google or Pinterest for inspiration. Here is an example from High Tech High to get you going, and another from Amy Singh (which is great to view if you are working with an individual learner). Enjoy exploring different problems with your kids and see where their creativity takes them!

Interdisciplinary projects are versatile enough to apply in almost any teaching setting

Whether you are looking for an interdisciplinary project to do with your kids over the holidays, searching for a way to engage your tutoring group, or trying to plan a unit for your class at school, using an interdisciplinary approach is highly beneficial. Since they are designed to be based on real-life problems, they can fit in with any age group, given the project matches their current contexts.

Benefits of extracurricular activities for students

Susan Cumberland Published: September 29, 2017 Last Updated Date: June 26, 2024

There are seemingly endless options for after-school activities that your children can get involved in, from soccer to swimming to piano lessons. But what do your children really get out of these activities? Here are some reasons why your kids should participate in extracurricular activities, beyond the standard ‘it looks good on a resume.’

Extracurricular activities can foster an open mind

Extracurriculars will give your children a chance to explore environments they may not encounter in school or at home. This may expose them to new ideas, interests, and opportunities, which is a great way to encourage their curiosity. Goodsschools.com specifically suggests volunteering and community service opportunities for students to “broaden their perspective of the world.”

The benefits of extracurricular activities include building relationships and connections for their future

After-school activities provide an opportunity for children and teens to spend time in a non-academic environment with people in their age group. This will allow them to build positive relationships in a fun and safe space with others who share a common interest. Some extracurricular activities for teens may even open the door later on to an employment opportunity, if they form positive connections and relationships with the organization.

Kids can strengthen interpersonal and work skills outside their familiar ‘zones’

Extracurricular activities for children not only allow them to experience new and fun things, they also help them build important life skills. For example, the relationships they build during these activities will teach them how to work with new people and how to work in a team. Eduflow also mentions time management, self-esteem, and organization as skills fostered in extracurricular activities that will be beneficial to kids in school and later in life in the workforce.

Outside-school activities teach kids to stay committed

Another important part of extracurricular activities for children and teens is the ability to keep a long-term commitment. If your 12-year-old is on a field hockey or rugby team, they will quickly learn that the rest of the team is depending on them to be there for practices and games throughout the season. As More 4 Kids says, “They commit themselves to that activity for a period of time. If they don’t hold up to their end of the deal, no doubt they’ll hear about it from their peers and perhaps even teachers.” An activity that requires this type of commitment will provide kids with a great learning experience to be responsible for the activities they have signed up for.

Need ideas for extracurricular activities? Here is a list to start you off!

If you need something new and exciting for your children to participate in, try looking into programs at your local recreation centre. You may be able to find an introductory program to a unique sport or activity you never would have encountered otherwise. Here are some ideas of activities to get you started:

Rock climbing
Rhythmic gymnastics
Robotics club
Irish dancing (or other cultural dancing)
Cello lessons
Water polo
Volunteering at a local animal shelter

Extracurricular activities are a great way to bring balance to your child’s academic life and teach them many important skills during their formative years. Just make sure to not overdo it; one or two extracurriculars is plenty!

Teaching kids how to start a newspaper (9): photojournalism

Susan Cumberland Published: September 15, 2017 Last Updated Date: June 26, 2024

See our other articles on this series below:

In follow up to our series on teaching kids how to start a newspaper, this lesson will focus on photojournalism.

While we are now entering into the more creative aspects of the news media industry, we can’t forget that these are not just ‘fun’ topics (but they are, so enjoy them!). Creative parts of media publication and broadcasting still affect the consumption of news by the masses, and how we perceive the importance of certain news topics. Our exposure to imagery, or lack thereof, can shape our world perception.

For example, this article explains how strong imagery of a drowned boy escaping Syria began to change political policies around the world (despite that issue occurring for several months, if not years earlier). But when Boko Haram massacres 2000 people, we know little of it, and thus the world is not as outraged. Why is that?

And, society abounds with examples of celebrity photos and their influence on our buying decisions. Think: Sophie the Giraffe, an over-priced teething toy that got popular because celebrities started using it, and were seen with it.

And so, do our young students of today understand the way media imagery can influence their bias? We talked about bias on past resources in this series, which we encourage you to read up on (see links above). Today, we will learn how to teach kids about photojournalism, so they can understand the process that creates influence.

Learning outcomes of teaching photojournalism to students can be:

Understanding the basics of good photography: composition, lighting, framing, cropping and so on.
The difference between other types of photography and photojournalism.
Knowing how to reveal emotion and induce empathy through photographic moments.
Recognizing sensationalism, why it is used, and how to avoid it.
Knowing the limits of photography, due to access, legalities and moral boundaries (such as taking public photos without consent, even if it’s legal).
How photos and photo essays tell stories in themselves.
How photos attract readership, and their ripple effects (see commentary and links above).
How photojournalists turn photography into careers. Also, who are they?
The technical tools used in photojournalism, and how to use them (types of cameras, lenses, software, etc. – this can also delve into a history lesson of photography technologies).
Copyright laws and photography usage.
The rights of photojournalists to take pictures, and how it affects democracy.
Citizen photojournalism.

And possibly more…

See related posts on our blog:

Finding lesson plans to teach photojournalism to kids:

Below are some lesson plans we’ve found to help you teach photojournalism to kids. You can adapt these, and also find ways to incorporate integrated topics or discussions.

Beginner’s Photojournalism

Composition and Photojournalism and Composition for Elementary Students

Photojournalism: A New York Times Learning Network Lesson Plan Unit

Photojournalism Scope & Sequence 18 Week Class

Documentary Photography and Photojournalism: Still Images of a World in Motion (MIT Open Courseware)

Teaching Digital Photography to Students

Photojournalism: Lesson for Kids

Restrictions on Photographing Sports Events (while this is a USA-based article, principles can apply to Canadians too, and in different contexts, not just sports).

Transforming Students into Citizen Journalists

How Photojournalism Connects Kids and Community

A note about using tragic news photography in the classroom

To conclude, we want to let you know that some of the prime examples of photojournalism can be shocking – most especially because they depict the brutality of war victims. Above we mentioned the photo of a drowned Syrian boy that sparked public policy on the refugee crisis. To be frank, parents may not want their children exposed to the world’s perils in the classroom. These are extremely sad situations, and not all kids – regardless of age group – may be ready to see those realities. And so, before you use those types of examples in your classroom, make sure the parents know, and can speak up about it beforehand. Otherwise, use photo examples that won’t require an explanation on why the world is such a terrible place.

6 Healthy school competition ideas

Susan Cumberland Published: September 8, 2017 Last Updated Date: January 14, 2025

Last week we talked about the pros and cons of competition in schools. If you do decide to implement competitive activities in your classroom, try to pick competitions that include everyone, and keep all of your students engaged. These types of activities can be labelled as ‘healthy competitions.’ Here are 6 examples of healthy school competition ideas you can try out in your classroom:

1. Have students compete in teams

When defining “healthy competition,” we need to highlight the importance of encouraging teamwork. Obviously, team-based school competition is very valuable because it engages kids through an exciting learning environment, while encouraging cooperation. Working toward a common goal as a team could help decrease self-consciousness and anxiety, which is often found in competition settings (and one of the ‘cons’ noted in our aforementioned article about competitions in schools).

An example of team-based competition could be dividing your class in half for a game of Social Studies trivia, or into groups of four to create the catchiest rhyme for a Science unit summary.

2. Give all the students a chance to win

When designing a healthy school competition, it is a good idea to make sure everyone has a significant chance of actually winning the game.

For example, you don’t want a kid getting kicked out of a game if they get the very first question wrong, or miss a shot at the beginning of a hockey game. By including everyone throughout the competition, they are more likely to stay engaged (and excited to participate).

3. Introduce rewards, based on effort

Not every competition has to be standardized across the board. Try having kids enter a competition that is personalized for their individual strengths, as suggested by Edquarter.

This could include students picking their favourite subject, or a specific goal they want to work on. Their progress in the competition can be measured according to the amount of effort they have put into their work. You can be creative and tailor this general idea to the needs of your class, as long as the main idea is to encourage kids to try their best.

4. Have students focus on personal academic goals

If you do want to have students participate in an academic competition, Classroom suggests you should “encourage students to beat their own previous individual scores.” This is a great idea, because instead of stressing over competing against another student for the better grade, students will be competing against no one other than themselves. This way, they can only get better and better!

5. Test out competition based on chance, rather than ability

Math games are a great way to implement this healthy competition idea. For example, grade 3 students learning multiplication can pair up with two dice each. Each round, the two students roll their dice at the same time. Each student multiplies the numbers on their dice together, and whoever has the higher product gets a point. This way, they are still practicing multiplication in a fun game setting without the competition being focused on each student’s speed or math ability. Instead, it is left up to chance. This is a great activity if you have a class of students with a variety of math skills, or if you are a parent looking to play a math game with your child.

Feel free to modify any of these healthy school competition ideas to suit the needs of your classroom or tutoring group. And if you haven’t already checked it out, here’s our last article on the pros and cons of competition in schools.

See related posts on our blog:

How to teach conflict resolution to kids

7 brain games for kids

Should children join a spelling bee contest in Canada? (Part 1: the pros)

Should children join a spelling bee contest in Canada? (Part 2: the cons)

How can we teach social competence to teens?

Is Competition Healthy in Schools? The Pros and Cons

Susan Cumberland Published: August 25, 2017 Last Updated Date: June 26, 2024

When you hear the word “competition,” your thoughts may run to images from your childhood, winning the first-place match in a soccer tournament. Oh the ‘high’ that gave you! Or the race for the highest GPA to become high school valedictorian. And you may also remember the embarrassment of failing at certain competitions. So, is competition at school healthy?

Today, the idea of ‘competition’ in our schools is much different (and the Internet seems to be complaining about it, correlating it with everything that’s wrong with so-called ‘millennials’). When comparing your own competition memories to your child’s current reality, you may glance over a shelf full of ‘participation’ trophies and wonder if the competitive activities from your childhood could still hold a place in your child’s life today.

Is it better to keep competition out of the way at school, so no one gets hurt? Or could competition be the key to unlocking even more of your child’s potential?

Below we’ll cover the pros and cons of encouraging competition in schools:

The Pros of Competition in Schools:

1. Motivation thrives in competitive situations

It’s probably every parent’s dream for their children to be motivated at school all the time. Competition at school can be a great way to motivate kids, by challenging them to put in their maximum effort.

2. Competition in schools leads to valuable skills

When children face competitive activities at school, they not only gain individual skills, like resilience and motivation, but they also build on important interpersonal skills. Competitive activities actually help students learn to let others have their turn, see things from others’ point of view, and build a strong character in spite of failure. These are skills that help prepare students for the workplace later in life. It also helps them succeed socially and academically in school.

3. Healthy competition boosts self-esteem and engagement

Positive, healthy competition at school will help build students up, and engage them as they discover new skills. Some signs of healthy competition include seeking opportunities to repeat the competition, developing new talents, desiring to improve, and experiencing higher self-esteem.

The Cons of Competition in Schools:

1. Stress often comes hand-in-hand with competition

Competition can easily lead to stress and anxiety, especially if it promotes academic competition between individual students. This stress can force students to push back other interests and extracurricular activities, leading to an unbalanced life.

2. Be prepared for disappointment

The emotional impact and confidence of your child can be negatively affected by a less-than-ideal outcome, which is one of the disadvantages of competition in learning process. Unless the objective is to ensure every child emerges victorious in every contest, there will inevitably be moments of disappointment when they don’t win. Undoubtedly, experiencing defeat is a challenging and difficult aspect of competition.

3. Unhealthy competition leads to lower engagement

If a competition does not provide kids with a goal that is attainable for everyone, the activity becomes unbalanced, with some jumping ahead and others ending up left in the dust. This is the kind of competition that will lead to anxiety and a diminished desire to participate in related activities. An unhealthy competition may be one that is focused on winning, says Jessica Velasco of howtolearn.com, instead of honing in on learning a new skill or working as a team. These are the competitions that you may want to think twice about before incorporating into your classroom!

Healthy Competition Is the Way To Go

Regardless of where you stand in your opinion of whether competition is healthy in schools, keep in mind there are many different forms of competition that can take place. Some are definitely more positive than others! Aim for competitive activities that involve setting attainable goals and encouraging teamwork. And of course, above all, keep students engaged and having fun.

Stay tuned for more specific tips on how to implement healthy competition in the classroom!