Bloggers:
I hope you all are ready for the upcoming finals. I do not know about you, but I definitely have a lot to do. All in all, I think I will be able to manage though. As you probably know, this is our last official blog post of the semester. I will try to continue to blog. With that said, feel free to read and comment on my blogs.
Quite frankly, I was unfamiliar to the "backwards" teaching philosophy. Even though this is pretty new to me, I am willing to try out anything. This approach first focuses on planning with the final assessment and working backwards to create the rest of the lesson. If you remember, my partner and I are working on a research unit plan for a sixth grade class. My partner received a little more information from his cooperative teacher. As of now, we are thinking about creating a research project dealing with the United States presidents.
Because we are focusing on the final assessment first, the overall assessment of the entire project, I believe, is to have the children present their information to the entire class. After researching their president, each student will make a poster or some other form of visual aid to present to the class. The children will then act as their president and speak from his point of view. I believe the children will really enjoy acting as if they were the president. I also believe many of the children will get pretty creative with their project.
My partner and I are going to work on the project more tomorrow. Hopefully we get a lot done. Have a great rest of the weekend and see you soon.
Tony, it's nice that you have some guidance with your unit plan. Having students present their final research projects sounds like a great idea. What kind of formative assessments will you have? You could include activities, such as source credibility checks or a half-way content update.
ReplyDeleteI'm also overwhelmed, but we can do it (if only because we have to).
Thanks for the comment Amy! I worked with my partner a little bit earlier today. As expected, he gave me a little more information on what his cooperating teacher wants. What we are thinking: after the children research and create a visual aid about their president, we will have some form of a museum setting with each president (child) having his or her own spot in the classroom. Another classroom of children would then come into our classroom and tour the museum. If someone stops at the president's station, he or she will have to summarize and explain the president in about one minute.
ReplyDeleteDear Tony,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun, wonderful, interactive idea to assess your students! I absolutely love the idea of having students present to younger grades. This will not only make them more accountable in the quality of their presentations but build their self-confidence and motivation as they have the opportunity to be the teachers. I love it! And what a fun way to learn about the presidents.
My only concern is that the students will only learn about the president that they are acting like. Will there be an opportunity for them to present to one another? Perhaps, they can have a rehearsal day where they practice their presentations in front of their classmates the day before the younger students come? Just a suggestion.
In conclusion, you and Ashley are well on your way to a successful unit plan!
Courtney B.