Project Based Learning
Who We Are
As part of our unit of inquiry, Who We Are, kindergarteners created their own community. Our goal was for students to understand that in all successful communities people respect each other and have shared responsibilities. They derived their own meaning of "successful" from exposure to many pictures ranging from community gardens and beach clean-ups to graffiti and trash lining the streets. From this they compiled a list of necessary elements to their community. Students then took on roles that they were intersted in and wanted to be responsible for within the community. These "experts" designed and created their buildings, necessary vehicles, and role-played to viewers of the exhibition about their importance in the community. Click below to see a more in depth description of how and why I created this project.
/equity-diversity--design-principles.html
/equity-diversity--design-principles.html
Where We Are In Place and Time
Another unit of inquiry we study in kindergarten is "Where We Are In Place And Time". We wanted students to understand that things change over time. We moved away from the traditional unit of teaching all about life during the pilgrims, and wanted to teach the concept of change over time based on student interest. Some examples that students wanted to explore were change of computers, cameras, fashion, dolls, firetrucks, etc. Through this project students explored pictures of an object or concept that they were interested in 10 year intervals. (Counting by 10s is a math concept that we had been working on.) Students then had the freedom to present their information in a way that made sense to them. Some made books, some made posters, and some made more traditional time lines. By chosing a project based on student interest the level of engagement was drastically increased and students took much more ownership in their final product. Click the link below to read more on how this lesson was designed with differentiation in mind.
/discovery-card.html
/discovery-card.html
How We Express Ourselves
Students explore the importance of our 5 senses and how it relates to self-expression. We will interpret different genres of art and music using our 5 senses to derive personal meaning and feelings. Students will then be put into situations where they loose ability of one of their senses. Throughout the unit we will be focusing on developing empathy and tolerance for people in the world around us that do not have these senses. Using students’ reflections of their experiences we will create an iMovie to show to the school on the IB attitudes of Empathy and Tolerance.
**Throughout the 6 weeks there will be a “reflection corner” set up. This will be access to a classroom video camera where students can self reflect on the following experiences and activities when they feel they feel inclined. This footage will be used for the final product.
Click the link below to read step by step activities for this 6 week unit.
/projects-for-deeper-learning.html
**Throughout the 6 weeks there will be a “reflection corner” set up. This will be access to a classroom video camera where students can self reflect on the following experiences and activities when they feel they feel inclined. This footage will be used for the final product.
Click the link below to read step by step activities for this 6 week unit.
/projects-for-deeper-learning.html