Recently I've been thinking about foreign language projects, especially Chinese. All foreign language students should practice speaking the language whenever possible. So it is good to find projects where students need to practice speaking. Students learning Chinese also have to practice writing Chinese characters where the order of each stroke is very important. This can be done using a screencasting application or an app like Explain Everything. The example below is done using Microsoft Office Mix. Here are some projects I came up with for Chinese, but they can easily be adapted to any language.
MIcrosoft PowerPoint Game
Microsoft Office Mix
Chatterpix App on iPad
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When I first heard about authentic learning, I thought "Seriously? What kind of authentic projects can a kindergartener do?" But after more careful thought, students kindergarten through fifth grade have all created authentic projects in computer class. Here are some examples:
The thing that is striking to me about these projects is how seriously the students take them. I still remember listening to the First graders debate over what word they were going to choose for their ABC book. One girl excitedly said "I know, C is for Candy. They all love candy!". The younger students love it when the older students make them things. They get so animated when they recognize the voice of one of the older students. This week, the VAIS visiting team came to evaluate our school for our 10 year accreditation. One of the people who visited was Ann Hamilton-Dixon from St. Catherine's School. She was nothing short of amazing and we were lucky to have her visit. As we talked about different projects, she would share her experiences which helped expand my thinking. At St. Catherine's School they decided to flip the teaching. They had the "younger" students teach the "older" students how to use Cublets which are snap electronics kits. What a brilliant concept. It's easy to see how proud the younger kids would be at this accomplishment. I quickly sent out an email to the lower school teachers and they all loved the idea. Now we just have to figure out what to do and find the time to do it. Spending time with Ann also made me realize the importance and getting out and meeting other teachers to share ideas.
In third grade we don't just learn about fonts, we make our own and then use them in a project. It's a great time to do this project because they have mastered printing, are learning cursive, and are learning about using different fonts when working on the computer.
Experiential learning is not a new concept. John Dewey talked about its benefits in 1938. As teachers, we have all seen the tangible benefits. In this project, not only do the students remember what the word "font" is, but they also learn:
This one fun activity gives students a much broader understanding of a simple concept. And because it was done through experience and not lecture, they will remember it for a lifetime. They might not know how to add the font to Microsoft Office, but they will remember it can be done. Here is a link to Font Design lesson plan. Here's an example of the finished project from 2013-14 (by Charlotte): |
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