Hello Parents of Room 2202, here's what happening in our classroom.
We are going to be incorporating project-based learning into our current unit on exercise. Project Based Learning is a new way of doing projects in, and outside of a classroom. It is a great way for our students to become familiar with the real world and practice the skills they will need to succeed with today’s technology and practices. Project Based Learning serves as the centerpiece of the curriculum while incorporating countless other subjects, such as math, science, art, reading and the list goes on and on. Your children will be learning to work collaboratively to answer their own questions and reach their goals. They will learn to manage themselves and the time they use to be efficient and create a quality project. Project Based Learning helps students to explore all corners of the globe and incorporate many different cultures into these projects through the use of technology. Project Based Learning may seem new and a little strange to our students at first but once they see how they are answering their own questions and achieving their goals through research it will be a piece of cake!
We are going to be incorporating project-based learning into our current unit on exercise. Project Based Learning is a new way of doing projects in, and outside of a classroom. It is a great way for our students to become familiar with the real world and practice the skills they will need to succeed with today’s technology and practices. Project Based Learning serves as the centerpiece of the curriculum while incorporating countless other subjects, such as math, science, art, reading and the list goes on and on. Your children will be learning to work collaboratively to answer their own questions and reach their goals. They will learn to manage themselves and the time they use to be efficient and create a quality project. Project Based Learning helps students to explore all corners of the globe and incorporate many different cultures into these projects through the use of technology. Project Based Learning may seem new and a little strange to our students at first but once they see how they are answering their own questions and achieving their goals through research it will be a piece of cake!
Throughout the last few months, our class has been learning many different things about physical activity. We started off our unit by asking our students one question: What is exercise? Students discussed in their groups and then shared with the class different activities that they partake in. Many students said that they play football, basketball, swimming and running for exercise. Our goal for this unit is for our students to discover the benefits of exercising through research. As well as develop knowledge about different or new ways that they might achieve these benefits.
The students started off their endeavor by using the Internet and databases to research the different physical, emotional and social benefits of physical activity. They then worked in groups to present a multimedia production of their choice. Students had the freedom to present this information in the form of blogs, podcasts, Power points, posters, written essays, webcam, videos, or pictures. This lesson incorporated creativity, collaboration and resourcefulness, which are all major aspects of project-based learning.
Next the students researched different physical activities that may have been unfamiliar to them up to this point. Students researched different activities involving meditation, cardio, core-strengthening and aerobics. The students used this information as a base when they created their own weekly work-out log. Students were challenged further to conduct interviews with the gym teacher, the health teacher and family physicians to talk about what activities might be best for them as fifth grade students. As they created their logs, they were asked to describe in detail how they will benefit from each activity.
As we continue with our unit on exercise, students will be communicating with fifth-grade pen pals via email and webcam in Australia. They will learn and discuss how physical activity compares to their peers living across the globe. Students will share what they have learned with their pen pals and learn to play the popular Australian sport of Cricket. Students will have the opportunity to research about the history, view videos on how to play this game and eventually play.
The lessons that we have completed thus far have prepared our students for our final project. Students will create their own workout video to share with their families, pen pals, and students in their school. They will be using the information they have learned in their research to create an informative and fun video. Students will be using all aspects of project-based learning by creating their own outfits, writing the script, filming and acting. This project will incorporate math, science, language arts and physical education. After the final project is completed, parents and family members will be invited to our exercise fair which will display all of the projects that were completed throughout the unit.
We hope that this will be a learning experience not only for our students, but for everyone involved.
No comments:
Post a Comment