Words

On my second day, I walked around the school and spent some time observing classes. I sat in on an interesting lesson in one of te first grade classes. For homework the students had to find words that they knew and bring them to class the next day. Most of the words that the children knew were brand names like Disney and Coca-Cola. Some of the children brought in cereal boxes, and this showed how much they identified cartoon characters with food products, e.g. Fred Flintstone and Fruity Pebbles. The lesson was a very interesting way to show children how much they know about words. I could see it being useful for encouraging children who have reading difficulties. Although, it is scary how effective marketing can be to children. Here's an article about the increase in demands on first graders.

BBC