Ark: Week 12

This past week was a great learning experience for me and the 5th graders while working on the Role Model project. After battling with these students for some time with how to use a ruler to make a 1 inch and 2 inch grid I realized it was time for a change up. I had the students walk into the art room and when they all took their seats I informed them that I was a 1st grader and that they had to teach me how to make a 2 inch grid on the big piece of paper. I spoke to the students as if they were teachers (using Ms. and Mr.) and did exactly what they told me to do.  The students realized how hard it was to explain to me the directions--and through this activity all the students completely understood what to do. There was a lot of positive energy and laughter in the classroom. The students felt special because they were directing the class and felt important because they had to be very articulate with their instructions or we would all mess up. After this activity the students had zero problems with their grid and transferring shapes onto the bigger grid (I couldn't believe it!!!!!!!) It was a great learning experience for everyone in the classroom (especially for me--I will definitely repeat this activity in future teaching endeavors).