A Few Classroom Projects

I am currently working on three projects with three teachers.

Two of them are very similar.

English--One of the English teachers wanted to update a project that ends with a speech on a famous American. Students spend several days in the library learning research skills and finding information about a famous American. The project usually ends with every student giving a speech. Instead of having students sit through speeches, they are going to take their research and create "MySpace" pages for their Americans in a wiki. They will have to give a bio including what the American did that was significant, and why they are still important today. We are going to include some fun categories that will require some creative thinking from students--blurbs, friends, favorites, etc. After creating the wikis, students will then have to read three classmate's wikis and, in first person of their own American, "post" to the other person's "wall." This will require them again to be creative and decide how people from different time periods who never met might have reacted to one another.

Science--somewhat similar to English. Instead of famous Americans, we are having students create "MySpace" pages for parts of the cell. This project is replacing a poster/PowerPoint assignment. They will again have to use real research and information. They will have to be creative in coming up with favorites. Students will have to collect pictures and create a gallery, and will have to link to their online info sources. They will be required to write one blurb about a cell they met that was lacking their part --i.e the nuclues groups has to write about meeting a cell without a nuclues and what that cell was like. Hopefully, they will also be posting to one another's walls.

Social Studies--this teacher came to me wanted to add a blog for a reflective part of a project. Students have to research a country, and then create and deliver an inclass presentation trying to sell that country. In the past, they have been required to also create a worksheet for others to follow along. At the end of the worksheet, the students in their seats had to explain why they wouldn't buy the country. Now, instead of filling out a worksheet, the students will have to blog about why they wouldn't buy the country. They will have one day after the presentation to post. This gives students more time to reflect, and hopefully the chance to actually interact with one another. We are using a wiki discussion board because a) the teacher liked the organization of doing each country with its own page and b) I'm more familiar with wikis, so I was able to give him more info on how they work and function, etc.

I'm very excited. I'll post updates as they go.

Science is next week
English is the following week
Social Studies is sometime after the break.