One of my favorite things to do as a teacher is to try a new assignment or lesson out. I love the thrill of putting it together. I love seeing how the final product turns out as it wildly exceeds my expectations. I love how I can bring new excitement to the lesson so that the students can match my excitement.
This week, I am trying a new assignment. We are doing magazines. Now, these aren't just any magazines, they are going to be turned into finished products online with youblisher.com. Also, the students are creating what the information in their magazine will be. My instructions were simple. It is to be about the Civil War. They are to create 4 essential questions that their magazine will be answering with the 20 articles their group writes. they have an Editor in Chief, and then divided up the other responsibilities. The excitement of watching them try something new reminds me of the power of education.
Last week I also tried something new. I had the students create songs, using real songs, about Manifest Destiny. We then taped them and put them on YouTube. The amount of effort that the students put into this when they heard it was going to be on YouTube was incredible.
For the record, I uploaded it on my account, without their names, and they didn't have to appear in the videos to protect anyone that wanted to remain annonymous in this adventure. Although most posted the link on their facebook pages and have been actively checking on how many views they have.
What do you think about new assignments? Worth the work and frustration? What is the best new idea you have had?
No comments:
Post a Comment