Teacher of Teachers: EC 1st Grade Teacher Jill Battle to Train Other Christian School Teachers
Eastern Christian is a founding member of Christian Schools International (CSI). CSI is holding a symposium in Washington D.C. from February 13-15 that ES Elementary School First Grade Teacher, Mrs. Battle, will be attending as the elementary lead teacher. Participants in the symposium will be learning the theory behind bridging the gap of Biblical literacy through lecture and learning labs. Mrs. Battle will be sharing strategies that work for the students in her first grade class to help symposium participants have a clear idea of practical uses of those strategies.
To prepare for the symposium, Mrs. Battle designed and video recorded a Bible lesson about Baby Moses using research-based accommodations for a diverse group of learners. Mrs. Battle shared more strategies than would typically be used in an average single lesson to help show other teachers from Christian schools around North America some ideas they can use in their classroom to accommodate their unique classrooms.
Mrs. Battle used the strategies of teacher read aloud, echo reading (repeating what was read aloud), choral reading (large group reading), and the use of visual aids (photos, videos, props, etc.). To make scripture more accessible to first grade students, some students found specific verses in the Bible while others had the print out of the verses they were learning for the day. Students were able to choose how they interacted with the text, either through the Bible or using the printout. Students also were given choice in how they retold and interacted with the lesson content either through artistic means by drawing the story components, or kinesthetic means by acting out a retelling of the story.
Mrs. Battle is passionate about making the Bible accessible to all children and demonstrated multiple avenues of differentiation to help elementary teachers try to bridge the literacy gap between children and scripture. Our school is proud to send Mrs. Battle to the CSI Bible Symposium as a representative of Eastern Christian to share her excellent teaching skills and love of students, learning, and the Bible.
