Social Studies Presentations

I have been feeling those "ah ha" moments when teaching this semester when the students do a great job on something, but the feelings I had when they were presenting their social studies projects was indescribable.  We had been working so hard on these presentations for around 5 weeks, from beginning to end and the end result was amazing.

The students first started off with research in the computer lab a few times throughout the first two weeks. The entire project was completed at school so they did not have to worry about finishing things at home. After research, the students started organizing their research that they had onto a power point presentation to help in their presentations.

One other requirement was that the group had to complete a diorama of their Native American group they were researching. There were requirements throughout this diorama, which the students LOVED doing. They were given three days to complete the diorama, and they were allowed to bring things in from home. However, I made sure that I had a sign up place on the board for them to write what they needed if they did not think that they could bring items from home.

A second visual was required as well throughout their presentations, which could be as simple as a headband that was worn, or as involved as dressing up as your Native American.

Overall, these presentations almost made me cry. They were so involved in their learning and really put forth the best effort that they could. While we had some group work issues, I believe the students learned an immense amount about themselves as independent learners and as group members. The following pictures show their dioramas and their hard work.