A+sample+lesson+for+digital+natives

If the students in today's classrooms are considered digital natives, then it only makes sense to assume that the lessons that they will be learning in school must also adapt to become more digital. In this way. the lessons will better fit the students, and will also be more suitable for today's world.

For example, a classic English class may have consisted of a reading period, class discussion on a particular novel, or notes on a whiteboard explaining the steps to writing a standard essay. In an English class suited for digital natives, these classic components can still be utilized, but there is also so much more freedom to add other engaging, digital aspects to the classroom. The following is a sample English lesson on any particular act in Shakespeare's "Macbeth" that would be appropriate for students who are seen as digital natives.

Assuming that the students have already read the assigned act for this day's class at home the previous night, this English class containing digital natives could begin with a video on the projector, showing a film's adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth", but only of this particular act. By doing this, the students will enter the class, become settled and quiet enough to watch the film, but will still be engaged by the movie going on at the front of the class. It will get them in the appropriate mode of thinking, after listening to and seeing Shakespeare's difficult dialogue come to life.

Following the video, the students could be placed into groups by the teacher, with an assigned task at hand. A handout with questions on the act could be discussed and completed within these groups. (Yes, even digital natives must exercise their reading and writing skills). Once the handouts have been completed, a class discussion could ensue, led by the teacher, on the various events within this particular act. There are many hidden meanings and implications within Shakespeare's works, all of which would not be displayed by the film, or by discussion between just the students. This new information could be recorded on a SmartBoard, and the teacher could give volunteering students the chance to use the SmartBoard in front of the class, utilizing a new technology.

The class could close with some silent reading of the following act in the play, giving students the opportunity to ask questions about the difficult text, if needed. If the teacher feels it is appropriate, the students may be allowed to listen to their own personal music on their iPods. if it helps them to concentrate on the task at hand, rather than becoming distracted by other students or exterior noises. At no point should cell phones be visible for text messaging or any other purpose, however. These would simply be distractions from the assigned task.

Once class is over, the students will still be able to go home and visit the class website, where they can pose questions or opinions about the act that they are presently reading, or check up on assignments that are due soon, or upcoming tests. This class website can be in the form of a wiki, or even as a group in a social networking site, such as Facebook.