Complete the Required Studies related to projects and the project approach. Note especially the project examples within The Project Approach (Chard, 2013) website and the video entitled, Five Year Olds Pilot Their Own Project Based Learning (Edutopia, 2007). You may also find it beneficial to explore the links in Recommended Studies as these resources provide additional examples of projects and project work.
Over the next several weeks you will develop a plan for implementing a social studies project. Keep in mind that this is an initial plan that will help you prepare as the project unfolds. It is impossible to plan everything ahead of time because the project will develop based on the children's interests, abilities, and ideas, yet it is important to be prepared for a variety of possible outcomes. Once you have completed your project plan, you will create three lessons that can be implemented during the project with an individual child, small group of children, or your entire class.
While there are many possibilities for project topics, it is important to keep in mind the curriculum goals, standards to be targeted, and developmental level of the children when selecting a topic. Project topics may be selected based on children's interests, an event or experience, or a required unit of instruction, assuming that there are opportunities for children to explore, research, and investigate their interests within the unit. As you choose a topic of focus, consider the following:
The topic permits children to think, question, and solve problems as they investigate
The topic allows you to meet the required objective/standards of your social studies curriculum
The topic is real, relevant to children's experiences, and is age appropriate
The topic begins with phenomena that children can observe directly
Resources and materials related to the topic are readily available (i.e.: people to talk with, places to visit, books to read, and artifacts to examine)
A wide variety of skills can be applied to the topic
The topic can be explored in various ways over an extended period of time
Children can represent what they have learned through this project in various ways
For this week's written assignment, address the following in a 2-3 page paper:
Describe the children and the setting in which the project will take place.
What topic did you select for your project? Identify which of the 10 Thematic Strands this topic will address.
Why did you choose this topic? How is this topic relevant to children's experiences and interests?
What opportunities are there for children to directly observe or experience?
What can you assume that children already know about this topic?
What research will you have to do to become more familiar with the topic?