The link http://www.mrsoshouse.com/pbl/pblin.html has a wealth of information about PBLs from why they are important to how to incorporate rubrics in the learning. It is important for teachers to use rubrics appropriately so students understand what they did correctly and what they need to remember in the future. Without feedback, students will have no idea how to improve and expand what they know and what they are doing. There is also a link to create a PBL checklist/rubric for different content areas and grade levels. The link that the resource page included is http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/index.shtml.
There are also a lot of different project ideas on the Mrs O's house link that can be adapted to meet the needs to students throughout the classroom at different grade levels. Many of the ideas have links to additional information that students can use to complete their research.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Resource Link
While researching Problem Based Learning, I came across an interesting website for information that students could use to research particular questions. The website is http://www.webexhibits.org/. This site had a lot of information about a few topics, but included lesson plans and ideas for student work and student projects. For example, there is an exhibit on color and pigments that goes into detail about how each color is made/seen, the history of the color, the history for how color was used, and how to use color in a variety of art techniques. Creating an exhibit would be an interesting PBL activity that would give students the opportunity to use technology to research and create a meaningful website and project.
What Could go Wrong with PBL?
After watching the video about PBL in the discussion, I was interested in learning more about PBL and thinking of ways to incorporate into my small groups or even as a whole class activity when I am co-teaching or providing push-in special education support. While thinking about how great the activity could be, I never really considered what could go wrong throughout the process. This link to another teacher's article gave me ideas on what to consider and look out for when planning a project. For example, it mentions reviewing the district calendar for holidays and when school would be closed and the project would be on hold. I would have to consider as well special events like field trips, any assessments, and special activities at my school site before starting to plan. I never even thought about reviewing the calendar until reviewing this site.
The article about another teacher's "failures" can be located at:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-failure-planning-successful-pbl-katie-spear
The article about another teacher's "failures" can be located at:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-failure-planning-successful-pbl-katie-spear
Starting out with Project Based Learning
I wanted to research more about Project Based Learning and how to start a lesson. I found a website that had a good overview on what PBL is, how to search for information, and additional resources. This site also reminded me of WebQuests, which is something I learned about and designed at the beginning of my Master's program that I completely forgot about until the reminder.
This site gave a general overview on how to start planning PBL, as well as some basic examples. The website is http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=100&entryid=267. After the reminder of WebQuests, I started searching for some Science ones at the 5th grade level, and Scholastic had a bunch of examples. I found those at http://teacher.scholastic.com/webquest/science.htm. Some of the links, like the one for Amber, are no longer available. I can see how students could use WebQuests to get excited and familiar with research before moving into a long-term project.
This site gave a general overview on how to start planning PBL, as well as some basic examples. The website is http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=100&entryid=267. After the reminder of WebQuests, I started searching for some Science ones at the 5th grade level, and Scholastic had a bunch of examples. I found those at http://teacher.scholastic.com/webquest/science.htm. Some of the links, like the one for Amber, are no longer available. I can see how students could use WebQuests to get excited and familiar with research before moving into a long-term project.
Example of Project Based Learning
For Problem Based Learning strategies, I did a google search for strategies to use with 5th grade students, as I spend a lot of time in our general education 5th grade class due to my caseload. I came across this Schoolyard Habitat activity that I thought was interesting and a good example of PBL. This website includes the question/prompt, as well as student examples of work around the prompt for the lesson. Every document needed is also shared on this page, including standards being addressed and why PBL is a good strategy to use in the classroom. There's even information on modifying it for a higher grade level.
After reviewing the lesson and information, I can see how the students could get excited about completing a project and setting goals for completion. It seems much more interesting then reading and answering questions from a text book.
Link for PBL example:
http://pblu.org/projects/schoolyard-habitat-project
After reviewing the lesson and information, I can see how the students could get excited about completing a project and setting goals for completion. It seems much more interesting then reading and answering questions from a text book.
Link for PBL example:
http://pblu.org/projects/schoolyard-habitat-project
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Visualizing - Making a Brain Movie
Visualizing has always been a fun activity to work on reading comprehension in the classroom. I always try to pick read alouds and books that have detailed and interesting language that will help students visualize and make a movie about what we are reading.
The article at http://www.edutopia.org/blog/brain-movies-visualize-reading-comprehension-donna-wilson describes this strategy as a way that "can help students make sense of complex nonfiction subject matter and "see" the characters, setting, and action in stories." I have found that students enjoy visualizing when they get to draw what I am reading. During whole group activities, when we're first discussing visualizing I provide the students with a worksheet where they can draw what they picture in their mind every few pages. They are doing their own after we have done examples in class. Students pair their images with a list of words that made them see the "movie" that they have created in their mind. This is a strategy that I use often in small groups reading and in different content areas.
Image retrieved from http://www.smekenseducation.com/visualizing-while-reading-with-mind-movies.html
The article at http://www.edutopia.org/blog/brain-movies-visualize-reading-comprehension-donna-wilson describes this strategy as a way that "can help students make sense of complex nonfiction subject matter and "see" the characters, setting, and action in stories." I have found that students enjoy visualizing when they get to draw what I am reading. During whole group activities, when we're first discussing visualizing I provide the students with a worksheet where they can draw what they picture in their mind every few pages. They are doing their own after we have done examples in class. Students pair their images with a list of words that made them see the "movie" that they have created in their mind. This is a strategy that I use often in small groups reading and in different content areas.
Making Connections
I have found that when students make connections while reading they tend to comprehend and remember the information. With this strategy, students make personal connections to the text via text-to-text connections (relating the new text to previously read information), text-to-self connections (connection to text based on a personal experience) and text-to-world (relating the text to something happening in the world).
The website http://www.readingresource.net/strategiesforreadingcomprehension.html has different examples of how to focus on making connections while reading. One example provided focuses on using story vocabulary to lead to connections based on those vocabulary words. The students can either write their connections or draw pictures to show their understanding of the topic. The use of pictures has been effective for my students who are English Learners as they are more willing to participate when the English demands are lower.
Image Retrieved from http://teacherificfun.blogspot.com/2012/11/anchor-charts.html
I have used a chart similar to the one above in my classroom for students to reference during a discussion. I use similar sentence starters/frames throughout discussions for students to reference during the discussion. I have also used independent sheets similar to this one during independent reading and small group reading. These sheets provide students with the opportunity to draw their connection as well as write their connections.
Image retrieved from: http://teacherificfun.blogspot.com/2012/11/anchor-charts.html
The website http://www.readingresource.net/strategiesforreadingcomprehension.html has different examples of how to focus on making connections while reading. One example provided focuses on using story vocabulary to lead to connections based on those vocabulary words. The students can either write their connections or draw pictures to show their understanding of the topic. The use of pictures has been effective for my students who are English Learners as they are more willing to participate when the English demands are lower.
I have used a chart similar to the one above in my classroom for students to reference during a discussion. I use similar sentence starters/frames throughout discussions for students to reference during the discussion. I have also used independent sheets similar to this one during independent reading and small group reading. These sheets provide students with the opportunity to draw their connection as well as write their connections.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)