To launch the entry event and generate excitement about the project, we invited Mr. Bill Dodd of Nash Farms to kick off the Civil War investigation. He did a phenomenal job demonstrating for students what an informative museum exhibit entails and giving students an overview of the war. He even agreed to serve as an ongoing resource for students as they dive in to their projects, which we appreciated. One of our students, Matthew, took him up on his offer and e-mailed him with a clarifying question about the Davis and Lincoln presidencies. Way to be proactive, Matthew!
Over the summer, Julie and I began preparing the first PBL investigation for our 5th grade students. First, we identified all of the social studies standards that we are charged with teaching, paced out the curriculum for the year, and determined what we would need to teach first. We decided the Civil War would be a logical place to start. From there, we researched all of the curriculums, simulations, resources, and PBL projects we could find. It was overwhelming, but once we were able to weed through the resources and select the ones we felt were a great fit for our kids, the rest was "easy".
Fortunately, we were not lacking resources about the Civil War or the Common Core ELA standards. We selected quality resources from the Civil War Trust due to the abundance of writing opportunities that examine primary sources, invited a local historian to kick off the entry event, registered for a field trip to observe a Civil War reenactment, scheduled a Skype lesson with the Virginia Historical Society on "The Civil War Soldier", collaborated with university professors on a "villain or hero" activity, created menus, and organized a student exhibition day for our students to present what they learned at the Nash Farms Civil War museum on September 25, 2014. We plugged all of the activities that we loved that aligned with our standards and addressed the driving question: How did the Civil War change our country? We analyzed each lesson to determine which activities would be used as formative assessment check points, decided what we would do to clarify misconceptions, presented to our grade level for review and invited local ELA and social studies directors to serve as "Critical Friends" for this investigation. We knew that we need to create experiences for our kids that would engage them in 21st century competencies and apply skills from other content areas, but what we wanted most is for them develop a thorough understanding of their nation's history. Ultimately, we want them to apply what they understand about historical events to make meaning of current events in the world. It's not going to be pretty, neat, or always go the way we have planned, but we are confident that it will be worth it. Check in often to follow our journey... |
AuthorThe three amigos! All three of us are new to 5th grade, but we are prepared for the challenge of developing authentic learning experiences for these special learners! Archives
March 2015
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