For a different activity this year I decided to try a video project. I have been trying to try different kinds of activities to keep the students involved and interested. I have done videos before but this time I tried something different. I wrote immigration an d urbanization on the board. I had the students get into groups and had them write their own critical thinking questions. As I circulated the room I have to admit I was nervous at first. I didn't know if they would ask the challenging questions I wanted to see. Luckily, I was wrong. The students were asking better questions than I imagined and those questions were leading to more questions. It was great. I then had them create a storyboard about the topic that they would turn into a movie they were star in and direct. They researched online and created creative stories that they then turned into a movie.
Some of the best stuff that they came up with was how they personalized the experiences of the immigrants at the turn of the century. As I walked around listening to the conversations in the loud classroom it struck me how important it is to allows students to work together with loosely created guidelines. This kind of assignment is a fantastic way to see how far students can go. As long as I was there to offer guidance the students learned more than they ever would've with a traditional lecture.
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