Textbooks and lectures can only take your students so far. To really learn and develop their skills, they need to put that information to real, tangible use. They need to get hands-on experience with the concepts they’ve learned – to see, with their own eyes, exactly how it works and what it does.
So for your next lesson, instead of just assigning reading material or writing notes on the blackboard, why not try project-based learning instead? This can give students actual experience with the principles and lessons you’re teaching, and it can help those lessons stand out in their minds for many years to come.
Not sure where to begin with this unique type of instruction? Here are four project-based learning ideas to get you started:
- A “snowball” fight – Just because the weather has gotten warm doesn’t mean your students can’t still have a rousing snowball fight on the playground. Let them create their own “snow” by mixing varying ratios of corn starch and shaving cream, and then have a boys vs. girls snowball fight at recess! You can even incorporate food dye to make the snowballs colorful.
- Scavenger hunts – Covering a science lesson? Instead of listing various flora and fauna, why not send your kids on a fun scavenger hunt instead? Give them a list of trees, flowers and bugs to find, head outside, and have them check off each one they see. You can even have a prize ready for whoever finds the most.
- Build models – For your next math lesson, let students use playdough to visualize how each piece of an equation comes together. You can even have the kids create their own moldable dough using this recipe.
- Act it out – Next time you’re covering a history lesson (like the signing of the Declaration of Independence, for example), let your students act out the entire scene as a group. Assign each student a part, put together some costumes, and play the scene out from start to finish.
These project-based learning ideas can help your lessons come alive for students. Give them a try this week, and see what a difference it can make. Need more ideas? Check out our blog. Want to expand your students’ minds even further? Consider using our curriculum.
