Reflection

I had an interesting experience this past week. I saw a video on a classmates blog on a constructivist social studies lesson. I have been looking for a way to spice up social studies for my fourth graders. The video showed kids taking notes on a social studies chapter (in groups I believe), then making posters based on their main idea. I had the kids get into groups and pick a main idea from the chapter we are studying. They started to take notes. Time is a big factor especially because we have other projects going on in our class to about the state of Missouri. I did not factor into the time the notetaking would consume so I had to assign the remainder for homework. Then I realized another project I wanted/needed (in my mind) to get done before the end of the semster. So the poster part is on hold. However, what I started to think about is how I need to outline my exact expectations for the poster and even for the notetaking. My mentor pointed out to me that I also need to check their notes to make sure they contain the correct information to support the main idea. There are so many things to think about when teaching and not to mention when trying to conduct a constructivist type project. Time is important because I am trying to teach them how to finish projects quickly and efficently while demonstrating their best work. I'll record how these projects turn out.