relative methods

to begin with- i know for a fact that visual analysis works best for me so i've decided that it might be a great idea to incorporate it into my future as a teacher-

i've always thought that as a "future educator" the best way to learn or even teach a classroom full of young, extremely distracted children is to do everything hands on. during student teaching, i've seen first hand that children relate to and pay attention more when there is something they can 1. relate to directly 2. be involved in 3. Tangibly hold 4. talk freely about.
I feel like this applies to "adults" as well. my best way of learning something is to see it first hand. i need something in front of me- or relatable to my own life. that being said, i think the best methods for me to focus on are probably visual analysis mixed with interviewing.
visual analysis makes sense because just doing my student teaching is visually helpful to me in fulfilling my future endeavors in the elementary education field. when i student teach or observe i can see the way children react to a certain way the teacher instructs and conducts a lesson.
my main goal is to conduct a successful/fun/challenging environment for my students while at the same time, keeping them involved and intrigued in the topic at hand. i know that seems like something that every teacher should achieve but- easier said than done.
Interviewing plays a role in my future career because just asking the students themselves is a type of "interview" that works 100% best. if you see the kids arent responding well to an activity or reading or whatever is being taught at the time- simply asking them why they didnt like it ? or what could have been done to change their opinions to make it work? could easily help you get where they are coming from.
when the kids in your class are happy and you can actually reach to them and feel like they've grasped whats being taught, would probably be the best feeling for an educator- which is why these methods would work best in any scenario in the classroom. on page 86 in our book- the author expresses that visual analysis is the way into written materials. i took this as, if we can get our students to like something that's a visual/tangible material- then we can add the text that goes with it.

example--- (wish me luck)..
if i'm teaching a section about oceanography and pollution and how it effects everything that grows in the ocean- mammals plants food wildlife (etc) i could introduce fish and their habitats- i could first read a short story that the kids might enjoy to hear. then i can tell them after i read this story- i want them to draw/color a picture of themselves if they were fish in their own habitat- what might be in their habitat? who would live in their habitat (etc.) then relate it to the ongoing struggle pollution has on the ocean.
using their own drawings they could tell me how it would feel if they lived with garbage in their "home" in the ocean.
i don't know if that fully expressed what exactly i was trying to explain- but kids relate and honestly, just enjoy doing something that's not just reading, writing and listening. they want something they can do themselves which is why i want to focus my research on visual analysis and interviewing because not only does it personally work for me when i'm learning in the classroom but it will also be extremely beneficial when, one day, i'm actually teaching in the classroom!