General Learning Activities for Project Investigations
| Phase 1 | ||||
| 1
Opening Event Share a personal, read a book, share a class experience to begin discussion of project topic with children. |
2
Brainstorm Ideas Children list ideas from life experiences that relate to topic as the teacher writes. Begin a topic web. |
3
Categorize Ideas Revisit with children to form categories of similar ideas. Share project topic with parents. |
4
Label Categories Children debate best name of categories. Children develop Topic Web I. |
5
Share Personal Stories Group Meeting: Share students' personal experiences with the project topic. |
| 6
Illustrate Stories Children draw, write, dictate, or dramatize to represent and share their prior experiences. |
7
Share Stories Children share their representations of stories, noting similarities or differences. |
8
Collect Data Develop surveys to find out what classmates already think they know and understand about the topic. |
9
Represent Findings Children represent their findings using math and science organizers. |
10
Articulate Questions The teacher and the children voice their "wonderings" about the topic. Children dictate questions that they would like to answer about the topic. |
| Phase 2 | ||||
| 11
Group Planning In discussion, children think about what to do, where to go, who to ask to find answers to their questions. |
12
Make Predictions Before doing field work (site visits, experiments, observations, etc.) children predict (draw or dictate) what they might see or collect during field work. |
13 Engage
in Field Work* This may take weeks! |
14
Debrief Children share experiences and compare findings with predictions. |
15
Create Representations Children represent their findings using a variety of means such as drawings, writings, constructions, paintings, and/or math and science organizers. |
| 16
Share Progress on representations is shared with classmates offering suggestions. |
17
Plans for Visiting Expert Children decide interview questions. Teacher charts predictions of the answers. |
18
Expert Visitor Children ask questions and make drawings of answers or any artifacts. |
19
Debrief Children compare experts' answers to their predictions. |
20
Continue Investigation Additional days may be needed to continue to investigate. Additional experts, field-site visits and/or same site may be revisited. |
| Phase 3 | ||||
| 21
Representations Sharing representations continues. Encourage a variety of medium including, dramatic play, music, plays, & invented games. |
22
Articulate What Children Have Learned Group Discussion: What have they learned about the topic. |
23
Brainstorm Second Topic Web Children list ideas of "what they now know" about the topic. Begin to develop Topic Web II. |
24
Label and Categorize Ideas Children form categories of similar findings, understandings, and ideas. Children debate and name the categories. Children complete their Topic Web II. |
25
Plan for Sharing Plan the culminating event and make invitations for the chosen audience. |
| 26
Project Highlights Each child prepares to share the story of the learning achieved by the class by using posters, reports, plays, museum format, explanations, songs, and/or videos, etc. They may choose to work individually, in a small group or prepare a whole class presentation. |
27
Imaginative Activity Children may engage in more expressive activities using their new understanding in poetry, stories, pretend drawings, etc. Progress on their display is shared with classmates. |
28
Display Children contribute to the class display. Work from all the phases is displayed to show the children's growth in understanding. |
29
Culmination Parents, and other students visit to view the displays and hear children share what they have learned about the project. |
30
Evaluation Children, parents and teachers reflect on the project. |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
STUDYING
CONSTRUCTION |
EXPLORING
COMMUNICATION |
© 2001. University
Primary School. Department of
Special Education. University of Illinois.
All rights reserved. Credits.