Tag: Authentic Teaching

Authentic Project Ideas – Satellite Dishes

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Uncategorized

On a recent drive through the country, we found this satellite dish.  It is hard to tell from the picture how huge it is, I believe the area of the dish is several football fields!

So, what are these dishes used for?  Why are they called “satellite dishes?” How are they constructed?  Are they always round?  What are some jobs associated with satellite dishes? 

Read about satellite dishes.  Write about their uses.  Calculate their different sizes (area, perimeter, radius, circumference…)  Build a model.  Write a sci-fi story. (ET Phone Home!)

So many authentic projects…

Authentic Teaching – Horses to Football

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Teaching, Blog, Uncategorized

Working on a recent blog about project ideas for horses, I was thinking that really this blog could be about any animal.  Which got me thinking that any of my blogs could be about something similar…or not similar.  That is what authentic teaching and learning is all about.

The point of authentic learning is to present an idea, and see where your learners take you.  You are still in the driver’s seat, but you are allowing your learners to navigate how you get there.  As long as you get there, that is the point.

So, if your goal is to learn about animal habitats, and you suggest an authentic project about horses, and your learner(s) are more interested in dogs, or cats, or snakes (yuck), then that is fine.  And if your learners are only interested in football…and they want to read about football and write about football…the history of football, create a timeline about the sport, design a football stadium.  Start pulling in all of your goals into football. 

So, we started with horses and now we are on football.  Back to animal habitats…how many stadiums are home to wild animals? What kinds of animals?  How did they get there? Has a wild animal ever interrupted a game?  What happened?  That is authentic teaching and learning.

Authentic Project Ideas – Horses

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Uncategorized

Kids love horses!  The authentic projects that could be done about horses are endless. Actually, the authentic projects that can be done on any topic are endless…

The history of horses.  Where did horses originally come from?  How have horses been used in the past?  How are horses used today?  What are the different kinds of horses?  What is the difference between a horse and a pony? Are zebras a type of horse? Do you find different kinds of horses in different places?  What are the most valuable horses?

Create a book about horses.  Create a chart about the different kinds of horses.  Diorama, slide show, poster, photo journal… 

For older learners this could go the route of learning about agencies that help horses being mistreated.  Perhaps setting up a fundraiser to support their cause.

Giddy Up! 

Authentic Project Ideas – Plants and Seasons

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Uncategorized

Good-bye gorgeous summer plants. Hello fall pumpkins. In most parts of the world the season is starting to change.  Actually, that is a great authentic project right there…is the season changing from summer to fall all over the world? In which parts of the world is the season changing from summer to fall? Do the seasons change in all parts of the world?  What season is it changing to?  Why? What causes seasons to change? Are we closer/farther away from the sun? (Most children will answer yes to this question…great authentic follow-up here.)

In many parts of the world we will lose our beautiful summer plants soon.  What will they be replaced with?  What grows well when the weather cools? What should be planted now?  What kinds of decorative plants?  Crops?  Where?  So many authentic ways to go with this… Enjoy what’s left of the summer (or winter)!

Authentic Teaching – Cooking

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Teaching, Blog, Uncategorized

There is really no easier way to authentically teach math at the elementary level than through cooking.  Think about all of the math you use when baking and cooking.  Measurement, fractions, time…

The mantra of authentic learning is, “make it real, make it count.”  Well it doesn’t get any more real than cooking!

Have fun, enjoy, and watch the learning take place!  (And my total admiration to those that teach those higher-level math classes where cooking doesn’t cut it!)

Authentic Project Ideas – Designing a Better Car

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Uncategorized
Photo by Christie Anderson

Kids love cars!  One of the authentic projects I was involved with was having the kids design a better car.  This can be done on almost any grade level. 

Young children can be creative and use their imaginations (an ice cream maker in the car, hot tub, wide screen television).  Kids can write about their dream car, draw a picture and label the parts, cut and paste pictures found on the web, build models…

Older students can research current cars and add the features that they would like to see in a future car. Hybrids, electric cars, hydrogen cars… Lots of authentic ways this project could go.

Authentic Project Ideas – Butterflies

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Uncategorized

How many types of butterflies are there?  Where do different butterflies live?  Are there butterflies that prefer cool climates to warm climates?  Are there butterflies in cool climates?  Do all countries/continents have butterflies?

Do research about butterflies (Reading). Write a book about butterflies (Writing). Design a sanctuary for butterflies (Science/Math).  Build it (More Math). Photograph butterflies (The Arts).

One photo, unlimited authentic questions, unlimited authentic project ideas…

Authentic Project Ideas – Covered Bridges

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Uncategorized

We just did a drive through a neighboring county looking for covered bridges. There is something very beautiful and intriguing about a covered bridge.

So, what is the history of the covered bridge?  Why were they built “covered?”  Were covered bridges built all over the world or just in some countries?  Are covered bridges still built today?

Design a covered bridge.  Build a model of a covered bridge.  Create a map showing where covered bridges are located in specific areas.  Lots of authentic ways to explore covered bridges.

Authentic Project Ideas – Waves

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Uncategorized

If you look closely in the above picture you can see a lot of surfers waiting to catch waves.  It didn’t look like a great place to catch waves to me, but right after I took the photo, many of them caught a wave. (Of course, I missed that picture!)

So what do surfers know about waves that makes them able to predict where and when a good wave will show up?  What makes waves?  Where are the best waves in the world for surfing?

And if this project turns into a project about where the best beaches are in the world for catching fish, or the best beaches in the world for getting a great tan – that is authentic learning!

Authentic Project Ideas Across Age/Grade Levels

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Authentic Teaching, Blog, Uncategorized

I often see educators asking for project ideas for specific age/grade levels.  I hesitate sometimes to post a link to my blog when folks are asking for middle/high school ideas, as my entire career was spent at the elementary level.  But I think when I stop and look at my project ideas, most can be used for any age level.

I just saw this great idea for growing plants at home during the Coronavirus quarantine.  There were so many things the student growing these was trying to learn about.  She was interested in how plants reacted in direct sun versus shade.  How different plants needed more/less water.  What seeds grew best?  What seeds needed to be transplanted to a bigger container?  What happened when you kept the seedlings warmer versus cooler? So many authentic questions and so many authentic concepts to cover.

She researched/read about plants, kept notes and logs, measurements – so many authentic academic skills…

I love the egg carton idea.  So easy to get and use. I liked the idea so much, I used it on Zoom with my kindergarten-age granddaughter who was also interested in learning about plants.

Oh, the age of the student who gave me this idea, senior in college…just sayin!