Fourth Grade Biographies and Wax Museum
1.2 Effective and knowledgeable teacher
Candidates make use of a variety of instructional strategies and assessment tools to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments in partnership with classroom teachers and other educators. Candidates can document and communicate the impact of collaborative instruction on student achievement. Description
I created this Livebinder for the fourth grade unit on biographies and famous people. Over the course of a month, students researched a famous person, wrote an informational piece, and created a presentation. They shared their knowledge by performing in costume as their chosen figure. This artifact was designed to provide more resources to students for their research, writing, and presentations. In addition, the Livebinder format worked as a self-paced module to guide students through the project. Analysis Curating online resources for this project meant that students had a wider variety of biographies than books. However, indecisive students took several periods to select a person, which delayed their research. Some students needed more guidance on selecting a person quickly. Other students needed more instruction on picking out key points from text. In the future, I would include a library lesson on notetaking and paraphrasing as part of this project. Before using this again, I need to update the biography resources and add the newest databases the school has purchased. Certain resources focused on specific biographies. I would like to create categories so students can locate the right resource quicker. Reflection Providing multiple means of expression and engagement are UDL principles. This successful project student choice upfront, and it engaged students because they learned from their peers’ presentations. By creating a Livebinder, I increased the multiple means of expression for this project. Students had a wider variety of options of what to learn about, how to do their research, and a variety of ways to share their knowledge. I wish I could design more learning experiences like this one, because this is a project that students look back on and remember for a long time. This unit has occurred for several years, so the school and parents look forward to visiting the wax museum and seeing students’ performances. It makes students feel that their work is worthwhile when younger students and parents come to hear about what they have learned. In the future, I would love to further increase students’ choice by allowing digital presentations in addition to the oral presentations. |
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