Lessons Worth Sharing. Canada Education—Teaching Tip of the Month. March 2013 • Sue Jackson Once you have a classroom environment which promotes curiosity, fascination, and mindfulness, students begin to raise questions and seek answers through the inquiry process.
Because the framing of a good question is the driving force in any inquiry, let's explore: What makes a good question for inquiry-based projects? Any question that matters to students is a good question. If students are genuinely interested in the answer and learning about the topic, then the question is worthy of investigation. 'Quick Find' questions are information gathering questions, closed in nature but important to the understanding of a topic (e.g., What kinds of clothing did the Incas wear? During inquiry-based projects, students should be drawn into thinking critically and creatively about big ideas and key concepts. According to Wesch, "... Actively Learn. Writing an Effective Thesis Statement. How To Cite Social Media: MLA & APA Formats. Talking About Theme… A Teacher’s Post. Getting kids to understand theme can be tough.
Really tough. It’s one of those ideas that seems to be just outside of their reach, but you can see them trying to grasp the concept. This year, I decided to try something a little different when my freshmen class read Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Not only am I trying to help the students grasp the idea of theme, but I’m also trying to instill in them the task of finding textual evidence that supports their ideas. So, I decided to start with topics. I picked out several topics that are prevalent in the novel, things like maturity, leadership, good vs. evil, and a couple more.
Once the groups were done (I gave them about 20-25 minutes), we began discussing the different quotations and how each related to the topic it was placed under. During our next class, I assigned each group one topic and asked them to come up with a thematic statement based on the topic and the textual support. Some of the themes they came up with were: Google Forms: how to create a quiz or a test that... Hand Over the Reins: Student-Driven Projects. I’ve been a fan of project/problem-based learning (PBL) for years.
Sometimes such an approach may seem laborious and drawn out, but one of my recent classroom adventures proved PBL can be amazingly engaging and effective without being overwhelming. Am I a PBL expert? Absolutely not. Do I strive to implement PBL (or elements thereof) in my classroom to the best of my ability whenever possible? Absolutely!
What is PBL? According to the Buck Institute for Education (BIE), “In Project Based Learning (PBL), students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. What Are Key Elements of PBL? The BIE indicates that effective PBL: Want to learn more? Below are my top recommendations for inspiring articles, blog posts, videos, and free resources on PBL. Our District Challenge Project Ninja: Google Chromebook Challenge Upon hearing this, my eyes lit up like fireworks . . . and my wheels began turning. TED TALKS, FREE WORKSHEET TO USE WITH ANY TED TALK, PUBLIC SPEAKING, GRADES 6-12. TED Talks offer a variety of educational opportunities for our students, from serving as virtual guest lectures on specialized topics to showcasing dynamic models of public speaking.
This worksheet was designed to give students a concrete task to guide their viewing of ANY TED Talk. You could show a TED Talk in class and have students complete the worksheet. You could use this as a homework assignment, where students watch an assigned video at home and complete the worksheet. Or you could take your whole class to the computer lab, have students plug in their earbuds, and complete the worksheet on any TED Talk of their choosing. Visit www.ted.com (or search TED Talks on Youtube) to bring a world of experts into your classroom. Want more dynamic lesson materials designed to engage teen eyes and brains? The Middle School Mouth: Textmapping. The Curly Classroom: Notebook Nitty Gritty.
Notebook Nitty Gritty Interactive notebooks in our English classrooms were born--like so many of our hair-brained ideas--out of a conversation that Suzanne and I had during our conference period.
I had been in a science room as part of some testing schedule mayhem and was seething with envy over the beautiful interactive notebook that I rifled through while living in that teacher's room ALL DAY. Suzanne had been envious for a while too, and she helped me to really just take that first step and make it happen. April Fool's Day and State Testing... - The Applicious Teacher.
April Fool's Day and State Testing... - The Applicious Teacher.