Hesperian Health Guides
Chapter 3: Teaching Children at School
Children want to learn. They want to know more about things that are real to them. Family, friends, and teachers are all important sources of new knowledge for children.
It is important to keep alive their desire to learn, so that children can continue to ask questions, discover, and learn more for themselves.
If you relate your teaching to children’s interests and needs, they will learn more easily. New information added to what they already know helps children to understand your lesson better. As a result, they will want to learn more because the information is both interesting and worthwhile.
Teaching about teeth and gums is important. You must do it well if you want children to pay attention, learn, and finally act to take care of their own teeth and gums.
As school children continue to learn, they can share their new ideas and information at home with their families. In this way, the circle of teaching and learning comes back into the family and is complete.
This chapter has two parts. Part 1 gives seven guidelines for assuring that learning takes place. Part 2 suggests ways to have fun while learning — with stories, games, and pictures. In Chapter 4 there are nine questions on teeth and gums with specific activities for learning how to answer them.