Project Development
Discovering the United States
As a language and culture assistant I realized that while I was promoting the English language everyday, I was lacking in the presentation of American culture. I created an activity that we've continued to build upon throughout the year. The project was created for fifth grade, but I have used portions in the lower grades as well.
The project has been completed in stages through both individual research and group work. Students present their research to their peers as a form of public speaking and peer-to-peer teaching. They utilize smart board technology supplementing their research with creative visuals including photos, videos, diagrams, drawings, etc. This project has been successful across the curriculum as we tailor each research topic to the current lessons the students are learning in Natural Science, Social Science and Art. Each student chose a state to work with, so in each class the students are presenting 25 of the 50 states. For each research topic, I presented one of the states that was not chosen.
Research topics:
•Location, state flag, state capital, state nickname
•Geography: Climate, weather, land
•Population
•Major City
•One fun fact
It was important that the project remained fun for the students and that they continued to be excited and interested. I wanted the execution to be different than anything they were already doing in class. We kept writing to a minimum, choosing to use computers to type when necessary. The students have loved working on this project. They actively participated, asking questions along the way and they even suggested future research topics they are curious to learn about. Some of the non English-speaking teachers have requested that the students present their research topics to their classes as well. I think that the project has been a huge success, and I look forward to doing it next year with my students!
The project has been completed in stages through both individual research and group work. Students present their research to their peers as a form of public speaking and peer-to-peer teaching. They utilize smart board technology supplementing their research with creative visuals including photos, videos, diagrams, drawings, etc. This project has been successful across the curriculum as we tailor each research topic to the current lessons the students are learning in Natural Science, Social Science and Art. Each student chose a state to work with, so in each class the students are presenting 25 of the 50 states. For each research topic, I presented one of the states that was not chosen.
Research topics:
•Location, state flag, state capital, state nickname
•Geography: Climate, weather, land
•Population
•Major City
•One fun fact
It was important that the project remained fun for the students and that they continued to be excited and interested. I wanted the execution to be different than anything they were already doing in class. We kept writing to a minimum, choosing to use computers to type when necessary. The students have loved working on this project. They actively participated, asking questions along the way and they even suggested future research topics they are curious to learn about. Some of the non English-speaking teachers have requested that the students present their research topics to their classes as well. I think that the project has been a huge success, and I look forward to doing it next year with my students!