Can you imagine a children’s faces when they walk into a classroom that is prepared for a unit on pirates! They would be so excited about the lesson that they will be a part of. I love the idea of having the books spread out over the room (fiction and nonfiction) that are waiting to be read. How wonderful to incorporate many different types of resources in the classroom.
What great opportunities this article presents! I love the way we are given resources to use in a classroom. One of my greatest concerns has been allowing children to “search” on the internet for websites and worrying about what they may find. I love the “delicious” website to allow for bookmarking that can be utilized by students. This can allow so much more time to be given to instructional time in a classroom by having a prepared list of websites for students to go to for information.
It is also a great plan to teach students to explore websites by asking them to look for relevant information by answering questions or filling out charts. The charts will allow teachers to assess a student’s progress in the instructional unit given as well as to measure computer skills and see what an individual student may need to work on. It is wonderful to be able to teach children how to assess a website to find its validity.
I also like the collaboration that will go on in and out of the classroom by using blogs. Students will research and post comments to each other’s work. They will be allowed the opportunity to let the days teachings sink into their minds and then be able to comment upon them. They may research their questions further on their own or be able to comment on the blog and see what fellow classmates say. I know this has been a very useful tool for me. I often leave the classroom and think of something I wish I had asked or something I should have said. I can post on the class blog and read others interpretations and often gain an even greater understanding of the lesson taught. I also agree that giving students the opportunity to publish their work and make it accessible to other students, parents and other family members makes them more conscientious of the work they are producing.
While these workshops would be a lot of work to create, the educational value would be well worth the effort. I am very excited to explore the pirate workshop and learn how to create these for my students.
Peggy,
I am excited as well to see how the pirate unit is going to work. Also, what a wonderful tool we will have for many different types of units within our classrooms once we understand how to develop them.
Oh, Peggy! I love how the first thing you think of is what the children will think/look like when they come in the “pirate” classroom. This is just one of the many reasons that you will be such an excellent teacher!! You always think about the students first – which is definitely how it should be, but not how it always is. I completely agree that the use of artifacts in the stations around the room is one of the most exciting elements of the pirate unit! It’s sort of like Dr. Oldendorf was saying regarding the suitcase geography. I feel like I need to collect things everywhere I go from now on. And not just travel souvenirs but weird things and unique things that may not have anything to do with anything, but I might need them some day!