Snowflake Assembly Line Simulation


     Sometimes you just gotta break up the monotony and do a project that requires the kids to think outside of the box. We are currently studying the Industrial Revolution in my classroom and my students as always find stuff like this boring. So to make things more exciting and possibly include some kinesthetic activity we conducted a snowflake assembly simulation.

    My students had an entire class. Where they learned about what life is like inside the factories. Students also form teams and became their own assembly line, creating snowflakes. We ended the class and a very in-depth discussion about worker, safety, strikes, production, labor, and overall communication during this time. This also fed into my discussion I will have tomorrow about immigration, urbanization, and population trends.

    And before you come at me, just so you know, my students have been prepping to do little short activities like this the whole semester. You could not just go in with a class and give them this kind of activity and expect results like this. It takes time to establish routine and norms. Today was a very successful day and I left work on a positive note. I feel like having short burst of projects sprinkled in. Your curriculum really helps kids becoming engaged. Social studies is filled with so much reading and analysis that sometimes they just need a chance to be creative.   

    The blue one in the picture is my example that I did for the class before we began. The snowflakes wasn't the important part of this project. The significance of doing the short activity allowed the kids to have a discussion where they Italian and their personal experiences with the activity. My classes formed two teams where each child had one test that they had to specialize in. This also allowed a chance for me to use higher vocabulary with my kids. We talked about the importance of being a skilled versus a non-skilled laborer. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life with four Children

 so...          Let's begin. I want to start out by saying that life isn't easy with four kids and a full time job! I honestly don't know how people do this successfully. As a foster parent, I'm still learning about all the invisible baggage that my kids brought with them.      There are nights when I don't get sleep, because they are afraid someone is coming to get them. My 16 year old fears the dark, loud nosies, and being left behind. I suggest all foster parents invest in personal flashlights. It seems to help when the they have their own. We have night lights every where, but that doesn't always help.      Develop and create a laundry routine.  I will only wash two loads of laundry each day.  There are around 6-7 people at my house on any given day, and we are NOT washing clothes all the time.  My children each have their own baskets. They are responsible for placing items in their closets.    ...
Read more

Counting

      Counting on something is just another way to set yourself up. Each year I do this and you would think that I learned from the previous year's mistake, but NO I didn't. So here we are again sitting down here at the pout house thinking about how we are going to rebound from my expectations. Money can be made again and future planning will be taking place.           I will have to count my losses fully take responsibility for the fact that our egg production just cannot keep up with the demand. I will have to pay back a few people because I cannot fill their orders. Egg production drops during the winter months.  I know the ladies I work with will just want to barter for something else. Maybe once we get ducks that can be a trade off. I do not know a lot about ducks and will have to do some extensive research. We do have a small pond on the premises and that will fill some of the needs.          Any pointers o...
Read more

The Teacher's Lie by Brid Cummings

     A book review at its finest. I think every book is worthy of a review, so here goes nothing. I think the overall story is worth your time, however, I feel like the person who read it aloud on audible did the book dirty. Her accent and weird pausing in the middle of sentences really threw me off as a reader. I actually went back and purchased a paper copy. The author kept me guessing throughout each chapter, but the book was slow moving. I would put it down often to just take a break.      I would give this book a 3 out of a 5 due to the pacing and sequencing of events in the plot. Do not listen to it on  Audible, because it's terrible and dry.  
Read more