Reading Response-Chapter 5

Before starting a project with your students, or any project really, it's important to know what you need in order for that project to be successful. It is important to know what resources you have already, what resources are available at your school or in your learning community, and what resources are available in your own living community. It is common to go to recycling centers or to find items on sites like Craig's List and find materials needed for the project. It is always important to stay within your budget, teachers are underpaid as it is, no need to spend more money than necessary. Obviously certain aspects that take place during and after the project need to be considered as well, such as assignment due dates, when the project will be finished, and an assessment for the students once the project is over and done with.

Time management is important in any project. A calendar of due dates is both helpful for the students and the teacher, as they know what has been completed, turned in, and what is yet to be done in the project. For projects that are longer, it might be a smart idea to chunk big tasks into smaller and easier to manage tasks. On the calendar it might be a good idea to color code it. For example, mark bigger task due dates in red and smaller task due dates in blue. That way no one gets behind in what needs to be done. Staying organized and on task is a key issue of a project. Some students are better at organizing than others, so it might be a good idea to have at least one of those good organizers in each group, so that way everything will always be accounted for.

Technology can make life so much simpler for everyone involved, when used in the right way. It might be a good idea to put the class due date calendar on Google Calendar, that way it can be accessed when students are at home, and that way the parents know what's going on as well. A blog is another way to keep students and parents up to date on when tasks are due, and parents and students will be able to comment on posts with questions or feedback on certain project aspects.

Our project was something that took great thought because history is not something that is often associated with projects. So, we thought long and hard about what we could teach, how we could teach it, what materials would be needed, and what types of lessons we would teach during the project. We communicate effectively via the blog and e-mail each other if we have questions for one another, which makes our blog more efficient as it is not overrun with personal posts, instead they all have to do with our topic.