by Maureen Kennedy, Educational Technology Coach Grades 4-6 –
Grade 5 students investigated ancient civilisations for their unit of inquiry, “Where We Are in Place and Time” at the end of September. Over the course of the unit, students looked at the elements that contribute to defining a culture in various aspects, science and technology, governance, values and beliefs, and use of the environment. During Open Minds, the students participated in an archaeological dig, and visited the Ancient Civilisations Museum as part of their experiential learning. In culmination of the unit, students created their own civilisation by incorporating all those elements they had researched in world history.
Students in Jesica Torres’ class created wonderful civilisations and used Google Slides and iMovie to demonstrate and illustrate their imaginary cultures. Jessica wanted the students to share their learning with a wider audience, so she shared the projects with one of the Grade 4 classes and also contacted a former colleague in Canada to see if her students would be interested in critiquing the projects. With relative ease and use of a couple of Google apps, the students at CIS and in Canada had immediate access to these projects. Students were able to look at the videos and fill out a form as a means of sharing their thoughts with Jesica’s students.
What a powerful learning experience for all of the students involved. It gave them an opportunity to showcase their work with a much larger audience than just their teacher or parents. The students were asked to self critique their work, pointing out things they liked and things that can be improved. It was delightful to see that the suggestions were all written in a positive manner.