Today the CMS Grade 8 students participated in an Expert Project Fair on the Era of Expansion in the U.S. It was an event that allowed each student to share what they had learned with an audience of Grade 5 students as well as other faculty. After 12 years of project based teaching, this is familiar terrain for me as a facilitator, yet every time such a culminating event comes around I am energized. Why? I am energized because the majority of my students develop a deep sense of pride and excitement from such experiences. The reward is not in the grade, although by that point we have looked at the rubric often, but rather by a sense of accomplishment and the unique feeling of being the most knowledgeable person in the room about their topic. Although I try to offer praise where due, it is not needed, as those that worked hard to be prepared know that they had their shining moment.
Here are some Grade 8 student metacognitive reflections on their experience with the project.
What helped me get ideas? (Student 1)
While I was writing my thesis paragraph, I got most of my ideas by researching various reliable websites and using books from the library that were related to my topic and essential question. Also, my partner helped me get ideas because we shared our opinions on the topic, which aided me in analyzing the theme deeply and thoroughly. When preparing the poster and model, my main source of ideas came from having conversations with my partner and by brainstorming possible ways to do the presentation and interactive features. The internet was much more useful than I thought it would be because it was very easy to find websites with information specific to my essential question and project. I found a book in the library on the exact topic that I was doing. Since the book had over 100 pages, it gave me a lot of background information that helped me present to the 5th Graders.
What helped me get ideas? (Student 2)
I have never used anything that is not a website for any researching project. I have always found it easier to simply use a website that I search on Google, but this time I discovered that sometimes print sources can be better. I went to the library and checked out a book which helped me tons. My whole thesis paragraph was based only on that book. I changed my mind of how I thought about research and now I will be using books regularly.
The pictures below are a sample of what the event looked like. Due to privacy restrictions, I am unable to publicly post some student photos. I will try my best to highlight those not on here in our end of the year slide show.
Here are some Grade 8 student metacognitive reflections on their experience with the project.
What helped me get ideas? (Student 1)
While I was writing my thesis paragraph, I got most of my ideas by researching various reliable websites and using books from the library that were related to my topic and essential question. Also, my partner helped me get ideas because we shared our opinions on the topic, which aided me in analyzing the theme deeply and thoroughly. When preparing the poster and model, my main source of ideas came from having conversations with my partner and by brainstorming possible ways to do the presentation and interactive features. The internet was much more useful than I thought it would be because it was very easy to find websites with information specific to my essential question and project. I found a book in the library on the exact topic that I was doing. Since the book had over 100 pages, it gave me a lot of background information that helped me present to the 5th Graders.
What helped me get ideas? (Student 2)
I have never used anything that is not a website for any researching project. I have always found it easier to simply use a website that I search on Google, but this time I discovered that sometimes print sources can be better. I went to the library and checked out a book which helped me tons. My whole thesis paragraph was based only on that book. I changed my mind of how I thought about research and now I will be using books regularly.
The pictures below are a sample of what the event looked like. Due to privacy restrictions, I am unable to publicly post some student photos. I will try my best to highlight those not on here in our end of the year slide show.
RSS Feed
