TEACHER'S CORNER: SHAW FINDS SPICE, DAZZLE IN TEACHING

Shaw finds spice, dazzle in teaching

Spice and dazzle are what attracted Leah Shaw to teaching.

The fourth-grade teacher said she became a teacher because students are able to teach while they are being taught, and they know how to make it fun.

"They can always find some way to impress, dazzle and entertain me each day," she said. "There is never a dull moment."

Shaw has taught at St. Paul Lutheran School for two years, and she said her goal each day is to make learning fun as well as educational. To do this, she uses games and incentives to study for tests, teach special skills or even to encourage good manners.

"I like to make learning fun for the students," said Shaw. "When I want to review facts for a test, I will play a game that the students will enjoy, and at the same time they will be learning. It keeps the spice in the classroom and at the same time is educational."

Shaw also incorporates graphing and computerized testing into her reading program. Students read certain books and take computerized tests on them, she said. The test results are recorded on a bar graph by the students, which teaches them how to chart their own progress on a graph. "The students benefit by reading and also learn graphing skills!" she said. "It is a big deal to get to use the marker and color in their bar on the graph."

To teach good manners, Shaw has a chart with 100 empty squares on it. Each time a student performs a good deed, they sign their name in a square, and when the class fills all of the squares, they receive a reward.

"This is an incentive to treat each other nicely and with respect," Shaw said. "They learn to help each other out."

Shaw enjoys reading, water skiing and gardening in her free time, but she also manages to get some extracurricular teaching in as a cheerleading coach for the seventh and eighth grades. She said she enjoys seeing children's eyes light up when they learn something new or they are proud of themselves.

"It not only makes them feel good," she said, "but me also!"