Project Based Learning: Brainstorming

Each year, our class engages in project based learning.  In our classroom, this means that students choose a project which is important to them and we work together to learn, share and accomplish our project goals.  We work with our friends in Mrs. Caldwell's Kindergarten class, so that we have a big team to tackle our projects. 

We held a big brainstorming session with the Kindergartens a couple of weeks ago.  We thought of  projects we'd like to do, then we narrowed down our ideas by voting.  The two most popular ideas when we voted were helping farmers and helping cats.  Students thought that farmers deserved something special since they work so hard to grow food and look after animals, so I will be helping them develop their project idea.  Some previous projects focused on animals, so students also thought it would be a good idea to help cats.  We've decided that we need to find some more information about helping cats, so Mrs. Caldwell is working on a trip for her class to the vet clinic and we are in charge of doing some research.

I am really looking forward to helping the Grade 1s and Kindergartens with their projects this year.  Our previous projects have led to some amazing adventures and my students have learned SO MUCH while working on their projects!  As a teacher, it's a great way to bring together different subject areas and give students the chance to learn about something they are interested in.   I hope you (parents, community members, blog followers, fellow educators and fellow students) will support us on our learning journey this year!