Tag: Learning at Home

Authentic Project Ideas – Creative Recycling

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

I love entering photos and crafts into our local county Grange Fair (which sadly won’t be taking place this summer due to Coronavirus).  One of my favorite categories to view is the craft category of turning something old into something useful again.  I have never entered, but it is so cool to see what people do.  Old jean shorts turned into purses, t-shirts turned into quilts, glass bottles turned into lamp bases, fronts of old greeting cards turned into new cards…

I saw this at a local restaurant and it reminded me of that category.  Simply taking old horseshoes and turning them into a menu holder on the wall. I don’t think this would be a ribbon winning entry – not overly creative – but it is certainly a really cool authentic way to recycle.

So, authentic project idea – turn something old into something useful again.  Write directions for what you are creating.  Include any needed math.  Maybe somehow turn this into a community service project – creating something to cheer someone up…lots of ways this project could go.  I would love to hear what your learners come up with!

Authentic Experiences – Mixing Batter

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

When you mix ingredients together for cookies or a cake, why does the batter lighten in color while you mix it?  Does this always happen when you mix ingredients together?  Why or why not? Is it important that this happens when you mix ingredients for cookies/cakes?  Will it bake better because this happens?  What happens if you don’t mix the batter enough?

What happens when you substitute ingredients?  Are there some ingredients that can be substituted and it won’t matter?  Which ingredients are very important and must be used for the recipe to work? What if you add more flour?  Less?  More sugar?  Less?  More baking soda? Less?  What is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?  Can you add too many chocolate chips? (Is there such a thing as too many chocolate chips?)

And don’t forget to talk about all of the measurements being used.

Lots of authentic questions.  Lots of authentic eating opportunities!

Authentically Teaching All Subjects

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

I had an idea to refine my blog by adding more topics to my menu, breaking down my ideas into reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. As I started to look at my entries, I realized that if I did this I would be moving away from exactly what I am trying to promote – teaching authentically.

If you are teaching authentically, then you are not teaching in isolation. If you are authentically teaching math, it should involve research/reading. If you are authentically teaching reading, it should involve social studies, science, and math. Writing should be authentically incorporated into every subject, it should not be an exercise unto itself.

So I am going to leave all of my ideas for authentic projects under one topic. It really shouldn’t make it more difficult to find an idea, as the whole point of my blog is to give you lots of ideas to think about and see if one resonates for you and your students. Need to teach area – design a dream house, measure for carpet, plan a new park, figure out how many chocolate chip cookies can fit on a cookie sheet… (And send me the recipe please – still looking for a great chocolate chip cookie recipe!)

Authentic Project Ideas – Solar Energy

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

How does Solar Energy work?  I thought I understood how it worked, but when it was explained to me by someone involved in the industry, I was totally surprised to learn that I did not understand it at all.

A great authentic project would be to not only learn about how solar energy works, but to think about ways to improve it.  Even the youngest learners can understand the basics of solar energy. Learners can also draw diagrams or make authentic models of how solar energy works. Or maybe even propose other alternative ways to create energy.

And remember that if this project turns into a discussion and plan of how to conserve energy, and that leads to planning a way to track energy consumption – that is authentic learning!

Authentic Project Ideas – Lemonade Stand That Makes a Difference

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills, Uncategorized

Summer is finally here, and kids are out of school and home for the summer. (Officially that is – most have been home for months.)  This is the time that summer lemonade and baked good stands start to appear. 

With so many people struggling to make ends meet due to the Coronavirus and the economic impact of the shutdowns, it would be a great authentic project to turn these summer stands into fundraisers for local food banks. 

An authentic project such as a lemonade stand with home-made cookies includes reading recipes, using math to make the lemonade and cookies, writing signs, more math to sell the lemonade and cookies…the authentic experiences are endless.

And it is never too early for kids to learn how good it feels to help those in need, and that every little bit helps.  It may not seem like much to donate a few dollars to a food bank, but it means the world to the family that gets food due to that donation. 

Authentic Project Ideas – Wood Board Games

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

Toys and games of the past were made out of wood.  There were so many simple, yet fun games, that were played in the past.  What were some of these games?  When and where were they created?  Who played them?

Create a new authentic board game.  Make the game board.  (Cardboard is fine if you don’t happen to be a wood carver!)  Create your own rules.  Teach the game to your friends.

And if it is a game that can be played over Zoom, if you make one and send it to your friends as well – even better!

Stay Safe!

Managing Authentic Learning

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

In response to one of my posts, several people asked some great questions.  How do you manage students going off in different directions with their authentic projects?  How do you meet your objectives?

Several people responded with great answers.  I am adding my thoughts and paraphrasing what was said. (Thank you to everyone who answered these questions, both on Facebook and on my blog.)

What we found when we had students going off in several directions with authentic projects was that we were able to group them into smaller groups based on their interests.  Some groups were larger, some were small, and some students really wanted to work alone, which was fine.  But I don’t remember a time that we were managing more than a handful of groups, which honestly is not that hard to do when kids are engaged and motivated.

To meet objectives, make authentic project milestones require that your content covers your objectives. For example, if you students are designing and building model cars, and you have an objective to cover motion, friction, and energy, then have a project milestone be to race the cars and insert a discussion of motion, friction, and energy into the follow-up of the race.

Managing authentic projects is work, but it is also a lot of fun, different every day, and never boring.  The kids are engaged, and so are the teachers.  Can’t beat that!

Authentic Project Ideas – Designing a Ferris Wheel

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

This was a small, simple Ferris Wheel that I saw at a carnival last summer.  It actually looked kind of sad to me – it definitely needed a tad more creativity in the design. Perhaps a theme, a little decoration, something…

Which got me thinking about designing a Ferris Wheel.  Students could add creative carriages, etc.  And for older students there is the engineering behind Ferris Wheels.  The history of Ferris Wheels, famous Ferris Wheels…

And always remember that this is just the starting point.  If a student ends up doing research on the clouds seen from the top of the Ferris Wheel – that’s an authentic project!

*We were in London about a decade ago with our children and didn’t ride the London Eye because it was expensive. We are still kicking ourselves!

Authentic Listening

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

There are a lot of really great things being posted right now about Authentic Learning – PBL.  Looking through all of it, I do get a little overwhelmed.  I think it is really important to remember that true Authentic Learning should not be planned out to the nth degree.  You need a prompt or driving question.  You need specific goals and objectives that you want to accomplish.  But, the direction of the project should come from the students.  This is why when we wrote One School’s Journey, Peggy and I did not include lesson plans.  If you are following lesson plans then the project is not authentic.

Teaching authentically means that you need to listen to your kids, REALLY listen and pay attention.  There are so many opportunities to plug in your goals and objectives if you are paying attention to what they are doing or saying.  This is actually the most important part of teaching authentically, because if you plug in what you need to accomplish into what students are doing, they will be motivated to follow through.  And motivated, engaged students remember what they learn. 

Sometimes it is a tad challenging, but rarely was I stuck, and had to do a non-authentic lesson to cover what I wanted/needed to accomplish. 

I have many, many project ideas on my blog.  Looking through any resource, mine or others, the trick is to pick a prompt or driving question that you see has the potential to cover what you want to accomplish. 

Have Fun and Stay Safe!

Authentic Project Ideas – Inventing a New Game

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

One of the best games I ever played was a game that several fifth-graders had invented.  It involved shooting a basket, then running a diamond backwards, jumping rope… I don’t remember all of the things you had to do to score, but it was a blast!  (And I came in last – no surprise.)

Making up rules for a new game is a great authentic project. The project can involve reading (reading about other games and rules to get ideas), writing (recording the rules, and editing after you follow the rules to see if they covered everything), and math (developing a scoring system).

With social distancing and other limits to what kids normally play, it is a great time to invent a new game that can be played and enjoyed with the limitations currently in place.

Stay Safe!