Research Time!

Wednesdays observations were TONS more interactive. The students were working on end of the unit projects in the library.

They began the class same as every other day by doing their Daily Geography. I found it strange that when the students sat down, they were somewhat confused and asked if they should sit in their normal seats. I found out that even in the library, students have assigned seats. They seem to work dilengently, so Im not sure why they have assigned seats in the library.

Anyways, the projects they had to work on were about the Great Depression. They had to pick a project from 4 sections: visual, verbal, kinesthetic, and technological. One of the options that I found interesting was instead of making a power point, students could make a webpage. I forget how advanced these students are! Even with the power points, the students know how to do everything!

We walked around and asked the students which projects they choose, if they needed any help, how they were getting their information, etc. I asked several students how they liked doing these types of projects and they said it was better than normal projects. It was nice to see the students so interested. One thing I noticed were the ESL students. When the teacher was talking to them, she had to go into further detail about the projects. What I also noticed was how she changed while speaking to them. Her voice becomes a little higher, she talks slower and more distinctly. I understand that the students may have a hard time with English, and I just wonder if they feel like she is being somewhat condescending. I also noticed that one of the ESL girls was looking up a translation of the keyboard so that she could type. This had never crossed my mind before. I didnt see her print it out, but im sure it was helpful. I never really thought how hard it might be for the ESL students to work on an English keyboard.

The students were also learning how to cite their sources correctly. At KJHS, there is a lot of emphassis on High school preperation. The library provides worksheets on how to cite every type of source. The students utilize the resources around the library. The teacher walks around for awhile to make sure the students are on task and to see what projects they have chosen.
I noticed while walking around that a lot of students were working hard, while others were more concerned with the appearance of their power points or webpages than the information they needed to put on it. I would suggest that they get all the information onto the page then go back and add the effects. There were several students in second hour who seemed to have some difficulties setting up the webpage or powerpoint, but for the most part, all the students worked well. The projects are due Monday, so hopefully I will be able to see most of the students present.