First Grade Challenge Based Learning Projects

After attending a presentation on Challenge Based Learning, one of our first grade teachers decided she wanted to "challenge" her students and develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills.

After a brainstorming session, she decided to address the Big Idea of Sustainability with her class. Sustainability is a pretty big word for first graders - but Ms. Sleasman met that challenge. She very strategically taught students the word sustainability using the Morph House methodology. They developed a strong understanding of the word and used it very fluently in their conversations and presentations.

After addressing some essential questions and brainstorming ideas with the students, they decided to take on the Challenge of recycling to reduce paper waste at their school.

They generated ideas on what they could do, who would be the "experts" at their school or in the community to help them, and how to best communicate with each of those experts. They also watched videos about projects at other schools to help them design their own.

Once they had researched their topics and consulted with experts, they

identified possible solutions and chose their group assignments.

After surveying the teachers, one group made recycling bins for teachers that did not have one in their classroom.
They created information charts that identified what could and could not be recycled in school recycling bins. These charts were placed on the recycling bins.
Another group created posters that were placed in appropriate areas around the school.
They created videos about their project and what students and staff can do to reduce paper waster at school and at home.

Read more about this project on Ms. Sleasman's Blog.

Visit the Challenge Based Learning website to learn more.

Comments

Digital Science Fair Projects

At the end of the year, many of our schools hold school wide science fairs. Students plan Science fair project tri-fold display board and implement projects and then present the process and resulting data on tri-fold display boards much like this. One class decided to go green and do away with using display boards. They conducted their experiments and recorded the data but rather than create paper reports they used their iPads. Project Data Graphs The students took pictures and video and created graphs and other visual representations and imported those into the Explain Everything app. During the science fair, students brought their iPads to the school's multipurpose room and presented their projects to attendees right from the iPads. In addition to using digital tools, these students are also developing their listening, speaking, and presentation skills - all vital to college and career readiness.

Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers

Check out these online graphic organizers from Holt: Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers The site has over 30 graphic organizers for a variety of tasks. Each graphic organizer is interactive and can be downloaded onto a computer with Adobe Reader and be filled out right on the computer. There are also Teaching Notes available with tips and lesson ideas for each organizer What we really appreciate is that they also work on the iPads! Using the "Open In" feature in an IOS web browser such as Safari or Chrome, you can import the graphic organizer into the Adobe Reader app and easily fill in the fields. Students can then take a screenshot of the completed graphic organizer to share with their teacher or import into another iPad project.

T. A. G. Strategy

We want our students to reflect on their own work but also to be able to give effective feedback to each other. This is true for writing, conversations, or digital work. It's tough for us as adults and even more difficult for our students - no matter the grade level. As we have started using Seesaw ( https://web.seesaw.me/ ) and its student Comment feature, I've seen lots of "I like ..." and "That's cool" comments. Not very meaningful. I recently came across this simple strategy called T.A.G: Tell, Ask, Give. An easy to remember acronym and a good way to get students started in making effective comments. I've seen several variations but like these descriptors for the acronym: Tell - something you learned or was meaningful ("like" if they are specific about what they like) Ask - a question Give - a compliment or recommendation (depending upon the purpose for the comment) Download a pdf here . Here are some additional ...

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