Driving Question:
What is the purpose of the blue metal piece on the ropes tied to this ship? (Hint-rodents)
So many authentic projects. How do ships, trains, planes spread disease? How can we stop this? Why is this important? Is this a bigger problem today than it was in the past? Why or why not?
Products: reports, pamphlets, posters, models…
Academic skills: Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies…
As the United States celebrates its 248th birthday, I think it might be a great time to look at where we are as a country, and what is going on in the world. No, I don’t intend to get into this in this blog. Everyone has their own views, insights, and feelings about our country/world today. But, I think we all can agree that right now, and always, the world could use a little kindness.
It is so important to teach children (and young adults) the importance of doing something for others. Nothing makes me feel better than helping others. (This is one of the major reasons I write my blog, maybe I can help an educator or a parent in some small way.)
So, in America, as we celebrate our birthday in a few days, what is one small gesture we can do to make a difference for someone else? Have your students/campers/children make Happy Birthday America cards for folks in a retirement home. Have them call someone who might not get many calls to wish them a Happy Fourth. Make cupcakes or cookies for someone. Invite someone to a picnic, family gathering, fireworks viewing…
If you are not in America, what holiday is coming up in your country that you can include others. Teach children that every kind gesture counts!
We recently returned from our first trip to Philadelphia. YES, we ran up the Rocky Steps! OK, my husband did, but someone had to photograph him… What an amazing, beautiful, historical city.
As it was almost summer, the city was crawling with kids on end-of-year field trips.
The kids were all having fun, and hopefully learning too. But, I recalled a point that my principal and I made in One School’s Journey – Further Down the Path by Eleanor K. Smith and Margaret Pastor…shameless self-promotion of our book here. Peggy and I felt that you would get more bang for the buck if your field trip started a unit instead of ending it.
Field trips are often waved as the carrot at the end of an academic unit. Do a good job, and we can go to Philadelphia at the end of this unit. But for authentic learning, how about starting in Philadelphia. Have that authentic experience at the beginning. Then let the kids decide what they want to follow up on. The context is authentic. The experience is authentic. The learning will be authentic.
And the photo below is of my Rocky Steps experience – taken by my husband from the top!
I saw this unusual contrail, which made me think about a possible blog, with the driving question, “What caused this unusual pattern that looks like train tracks in the sky?” (Although after a few minutes, it looked like a picket fence, and then tire treads!)
However, this made me think that a better/additional authentic project could be to develop a creative writing project about train tracks in the sky!
This reminded me that with all authentic projects, there can easily be a creative writing piece incorporated. Studying clouds, ask the question, “How could we incorporate a creative writing piece into this project?”
You may end up with a compilation of short stories, a group effort, sci-fi, fantasy…. That’s the cool thing about authentic learning – you can touch on so many academic areas, and allow initiative and creativity to flow.
My husband and I honeymooned in Hawaii over 40 years ago. We have had the privilege in the last decade, of returning to the Hawaiian islands and visiting many of the Caribbean islands.
When we returned to Hawaii after four decades, there was an addition to the islands – chickens! Everywhere. Tens of thousands. At sunrise all you heard was the cock-a-doodle-do of the roosters. We saw and heard the same on many of the Caribbean islands.
Authentic Question Number One: Why? (Hint – Hurricanes)
Hurricanes caused many farm animals to get out of farmyards. The larger animals were rounded up after the storms passed. But not all of the chickens. So now the islands are full of chickens.
Authentic Question Number Two: Why are the chickens thriving? (Hint – natural predators or lack there of) Are the chickens good or bad for the islands? Is there an ecological impact? Economic? So many authentic directions to go with this.
In another vein, pythons were somehow released into the Florida Everglades. This has been a disaster. Natural predators? Ecological Impact? Economic Impact? What is being done about the pythons?
To end on a lighter note, every time my husband and I ate chicken on these trips, we looked at each other with raised eyebrows…
Back in February, I spent some time in Louisiana and Mississippi. I knew Louisiana, with its French history, celebrated Mardi Gras, and I thought this was the only place in the US that did. I was very surprised to find out there were also Mardi Gras celebrations in Mississippi. I assumed this was because Mississippi was next to Louisiana.
I think the reason that authentic teaching and learning so resonates with me, is that I was taught this way in elementary school (stone age, chisels on stone – the trip through the south was to celebrate my 65th birthday). At an early age, I was encouraged to never assume, to question, research, and learn.
So, back at the hotel, after a particularly productive day of shopping for Mardi Gras beads in Louisiana, I looked up Mardi Gras. What was supposed to be a quick hit on the topic turned into an evening of reading. (During the stone age, you had to find an encyclopedia, or a library…I am still amazed at what I can access in the palm of my hand.)
One search on my phone led to another. I went off in the direction of the history of the early French explorers in North America – I had forgotten that Louisiana originally included much of the south and mid-west. This explained why they were celebrating Mardi Gras in Mississippi. Then, I went off in the direction of the religious significance of Mardi Gras and how it is celebrated in many different places in the US, and in many other countries, not just France. I started to read about some of these countries and their traditions, but I needed to charge my phone!
Start with a picture of Mardi Gras beads. Turn your students loose. Let them authentically question, authentically research, and authentically learn.
The question repeatedly comes up about how one teacher can possibly manage a class-full of students working on a class-full of different projects. The answer is the teacher can’t and shouldn’t!
Authentic projects should come from a student’s own experiences and interests, but should be based on a common starting point and common curriculum goals.
For example, if you are chartered to teach a curriculum objective about how our economy works, and what can impact it, you will most likely have some students do a project about Taylor Swift, while others might pursue a project about football (and coincidentally, both are intertwined at the time I am writing this). Others might explore interest rates, time of year – there are so many things that impact our economy – that’s the point.
I would somehow manage to make my project about figure skating – that would be hard to show how this sport impacts the economy – but that is part of authentic learning. Maybe at the end I will find out there is limited to no impact. That’s fine, I learned something, didn’t I! (And mentioning figure skating in this blog allowed me to finally post a photo I took of my favorite figure skaters!)
The teacher keeps presenting lessons about how the economy works, based on age-level and curriculum objectives. Then the teacher directs traffic, offers suggestions, and assists with problem-solving. ”Assists” being the key word.
So, the teacher plans the lessons about how our economy works, and then sits back, listens, and drinks coffee. Seriously, the more engaged your students are, the more time you have to listen, really listen, to your students – and drink coffee. By listening, you are getting ideas for future lessons, and by drinking coffee you are super energized and excited about their projects! And they are super excited as well, as they are learning the concept through research that excites and engages them. Engagement soars, learning soars, learning is retained, curriculum goals are met.
I have had this photo on my laptop for two years, and twice I have forgotten about it, and not posted a blog about it during the holiday season. So, please pardon this post in April, or consider it a “Happy Authentic Teaching” post.
This is a wreath that hangs every year at a hotel near where we live. I absolutely love this wreath. To me it represents everything that good teaching should be. Our charter is to teach reading, writing, math, social studies, and science. Throw in some of the creative arts, and some physical education…. But this is leaving out our most important charter. Teaching children how to think. Not what to think, but HOW TO THINK. How to research, record, understand, relay, improve…
And I look at this wreath, this wonderful square wreath, and I smile! A wonderful teacher taught this designer how to think!
So if you haven’t figured it out yet, I am a total geek. The Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk has been a stop on my bucket list for a long time.
Yep, according to Star Trek lore, Captain Kirk will be born in Riverside, Iowa on March 22, 2228. The entire town is devoted to this. Banners, markers, and a museum so bad it is fantastic!
While most students aren’t thinking about a “bucket list,” they can be thinking about places they would like to visit and why? This would be a great authentic geography lesson including research (reading), note taking (writing), math (distance to travel)…and depending on the destination many other subjects could be included, such as science fiction!
In authentic teaching, boldly go where few teachers have gone before!
Sitting at the airport watching planes. So many possible authentic projects with planes. During the holiday season, I heard that the military air routes were opened for commercial traffic to help keep planes on time. I didn’t realize we had different “routes” in the air. Sorta like freeways in the sky!
This would be a neat topic for older students to explore. Actually, two choices; routes in the sky and how to improve air travel. Actually, tons of authentic topics!
For younger students, perhaps creating routes for planes to travel on maps.
Stories about getting stuck at airports – interviewing family members and creating a newspaper article – or writing a fiction story… This authentic project can go in a million different directions.
Start with a photo…and see where you go!
The Educational Journey 