Brian Crosby's latest post on his "Learning is Messy" blog shares seasonal lesson plans that use experiential learning. He describes a lesson that closed a unit on the New Americas by having the students research the real first Thanksgiving: what was eaten, who was there, why they were gathered, etc. After their research, students volunteered to bring dishes for a simulated feast. Crosby encouraged students to bring some of the food that they eat at their families' traditional feasts. A Vietnamese student brought duck, for instance.
Crosby documented the entire event with photography and had students reflect on the experience. Though he doesn't label this lesson as such, Crosby is using experiential learning--learning through the experience of multisensory events. In this case, the experience is a combination of historical reenactment and multicultural sharing. The abstract historical data is made concrete in a festive atmosphere and is augmented by the appreciation of the students' particular versions of Thanksgiving, no matter their backgrounds.
I was recently thinking about doing something similar, though the focus would not be on holidays or seasons. In my seventh grade Literature class, we are reading a mystery novel called Skellig. In the opening scene, a boy peers into a spooky garage and sees for the first time the creature we find out later is Skellig. The suspense of the novel centers on the mysterious origins and nature of the creature the boy finds. In order to catch the student's attention early in our reading, I was thinking that I could recreate the scene and have another teacher play the creature. Our school is ancient and spooky, so there are plenty of creepy rooms that would freak them out. They could experience the fear and amazement that the boy lives in the opening scene, much as Crosby's students experienced Thanksgiving.
Interesting idea! You could take pictures and create a digital story too.
ReplyDeleteGlad this blog inspired some of your own creativity.