It's For Me?!

I have to say this semester has been a study in unusual activities. Thank YOU Sydney Bontrager! One of the more unusual activities we did was a trade fair.

The trade fair took place during our class time and what we did was very one brought in items they didn't want or thought other people would like. The items were laid out on the table and the students were able to walk around and look at all the items. Once that was accomplished the trading began.

The trading started off kind of slow but as it went on it began to pick up speed. People were trading this for that and that for this. It was so interesting to see what some of the hot ticket items were. Art was a big deal for this class. There were paintings and statues; they all went very quickly.

At the end of the trade fair I had traded a scarf for some books (I was so excited). I ended up with Tuck Everlasting and another book (which I can't recall the title of right now). But even better than the books, was the learning that took place. I got to learn about the other people in the class and about what they valued.

This is something I would love to do in my own classroom.



To see more blogs like this one check these out:
Miss Kunnen
Mrs. Richardson

Living in the Past

A couple of weeks ago, we did a project. This project was something I never would have thought of, something that branched across all branches of academics, something so creative only Sydney Bontrager could have come up with it; it was the Decades Project.The project was such a great learning experience and it was something I would love to do with my own students.

By doing this project, I learned about the 1920's. Even though I learned more about my decade than I thought possible, I learned more about authentic learning and assessment. I was able to see how a project of this magnitude would benefit my students. By doing a project like this the students would be in control of their own learning. They would be able to choose what to include in their presentation, what to put on their poster, and how they want to approach the topic.

The very depth of the learning was amazing and it was more fun than I expected it to be. We were able to dress up and work to collect the votes of other students. I also loved how much I learned about the decades that were not my own. I was able to learn about all the other decades done within the section. I learned about the 40's, the 50's, the 80's and the 90's.

The project was such a great learning experience I can't wait to use it in my own classroom.



To see other blogs about this subject, check out:
Ms. Simmermeyers Classroom