How Project Choices Help Kids Share Their Learning Effectively

Now that I am retired, I volunteer at my old school. I have noticed that teaching has definitely become more complicated as classes require more differentiated teaching due to the many different needs in the classroom.

It is becoming more and more obvious that not all children are able to demonstrate their knowledge effectively through written reports and essays. They find tests difficult and often are unable to answer questions correctly. They write minimally, and therefore, it is not a clear indicator or evaluation of their understanding.

When I was still teaching, I often did projects with my students. I found that by providing at least one project per year, many of my students were able to share their knowledge through other means. They were thrilled to present to parents and students during our celebration days, and they surprised older students and teachers in the intermediate grades with how much they knew. They were proud of their projects, and they found that having a variety of choices for presenting allowed them to choose something they could be successful with.

Project Based Instruction

Sharing learning with projects works well for most children. Providing multiple ways to present information and knowledge through projects allows all students to share in a way that works best for them. Some kids require more hands on methods of sharing ideas and expertise, as written or oral assignments don't work well for them.

I created a few different projects for my classes. Students had a choice of ways to present their information. Sometimes there were several options, and other times there were only a couple of options, but the specifics were flexible to allow for creativity in the presentations. The hands on and collaborative nature of these projects worked well for the students, and they were very engaged in their learning. See some of the different presentations in the pictures below. The students were very excited to share what they had learned with others, and they presented with confidence.

The key to making these projects work is the home/school connection. Some of these projects involve family research. The heritage project and the flat family project require the child to know something about their family's history or background. You can find out more about my heritage projects here.

The bulk of the research and teaching is done at school, but the specifics for the project presentations is done at home.

(Note: I have had times where some of my students were unable to get home support. In these cases, I had my educational assistant or the librarian help them out. If I had some spare time while others were engaged in an activity, I would also provide extra support.)

If you are interested in trying out some social studies projects, check out these ones. They include criteria and simple marking sheets to make it clear what is required. I highly recommend giving them a try.