Who knew the Great Depression could be so fun

This week was a wrap up of the Great Depression for the 8th graders. Monday they were presenting the projects to the class that they had been working on in the library. First hour was pretty dull. The students presented their power points or webpages. It was nice to see how creative the students were and how much knowledge they have of the technologies. Most students stuck with the power points, but there were a few brave souls who came up with some creative webpages. The content was also very informative. As expected, the students were somewhat nervous to present, but not as much as I thought. It didnt seem like they had much practice presenting power points. All the students read right off the screen and had their backs turned away from the class. After they were done presenting, the students then talked about what other projects they worked on in the other categories.

Second hour was much more entertaining. Instead of presenting the technological projects, they presented their speeches, skits, interviews, or fire-side chats. It was amazing to see how confortable these students were in front of a classroom. One girl did a campagin speech and a skit that was so enthusiastic and interesting; the whole class got a kick out of it. These students feel comfortable with each other and are able to fully express themselves in their classroom. One student interviewed his great grandparents who were alive during the depression. I was amazed at how detailed his questions were. His interview was very intense and was very informative. The students were interested and impressed. One student also did a fire-side chat which he taped at home, then played for the class. It was very realistic. The teacher was also enjoying the presentations. Since the students had so many projects to do, they were given two days to present. Too bad we didnt get to see the rest of them! =( I was happy to see how much the students learned and how well they were able to apply their knowledge. They also had a lot of fun! It was a great way to end the chapter.