Context As winter break approached, our district math unit had us exploring decimal relationships (including addition and subtraction of decimals). Our PYP unit was Sharing the Planet, and our central idea for the unit was "Power depends on available resources." I've been wanting to do some LARP (Live Action Role Playing) all year, but haven't been able to write anything amazing. My Dream Vacation project was a short, pulled-together activity that addressed the decimal practice, the unit theme, and a smidgen of LARP (I sort of love using that as its own noun).
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We tried something new in class today!
We've been studying the formation of deltas, canyons, and sedimentary rock in science class, through a variety of models, demonstrations, and sketches. We've also been reviewing math skills, especially with number sense and order of operations. I wanted something that would be a creative way for students to really consider the information and synthesize it. Memes turned out to be a fun vehicle. First, I collected some blank memes. I shared them through Google Classroom, making a copy for each individual student. (In my current school, elementary students don't do open Google searches, so I had blank memes ready for use in advance on a shared Slide.) I also included a meme I made about an academic topic we wouldn't be working with today, to share as an example without stepping on their possible ideas: Our current IB-PYP unit is How We Organize Ourselves, and the central idea is "Humans organize to meet needs." Since the school year began, we've been examining organizational structures like our class library layout, conventions in fiction, routines in our day, conversation protocols, mathematical processes (including order of operations), and more.
I also wanted students to get into a coding mindset, as seen in our Choose Your Own Adventure tour of the U.S. regions. This time, I invited them to create flow charts around some topic of real world organization. As the user/viewer follows the chart with a question, there will be a different path (or result) that depends on his/her response to that question. Creating these requires a thorough understanding of the topic, a good sense of abstract thinking skills, and patience to create a layout that's easy to read. Student topics ranged from organizing craft supplies to organizing routines before school. One student, who participates in our morning announcements team, gave tips on how to be a broadcast anchor. Here are some of the drafts: My class has been using a great thinking routine called Which One Doesn't Belong (check out the #WODB hashtag on Twitter for lots of examples), which asks students to practice logical thinking, and to communicate using mathematical language.
You can project the four choices and have students signal a number from 1 to 4 to show which one they think doesn't belong, and then call on a student to give reasoning. You can also ask students to move to four corners of the room, share their reasoning for choosing that option with other people in that corner, and then share out to the whole group. You can also use it as a written check / ticket out the door activity to get a measure of individual thinking. I decided to extend this activity by taking it into our maker space this past week so students could build their own options. (So much fun, right?) When we did this project, I wanted my students to study U.S. regions (a 5th grade state standard), use research and writing skills, use technology in a new way to add to their project toolkits, and to apply creative and logical thinking skills.
I showed my students the goals and an example of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure slideshow I made about Canada. Then we discussed what we thought a good project would include. Some of their ideas:
Students worked in pairs, trios, or individuals, according to their preferences, and they also chose the region to focus on for the project. Some had background knowledge about specific places, and others were researching everything. The slides started with a choice about which state or city to visit, and each choice led to another choice, or a dead end, with regional highlights as part of the virtual tour: |
Jamie Wright
I've had the privilege of working with hundreds of students and families in IA, CT, NC, MO, TX, and Canada. I love being a teacher-librarian! Categories
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