All About Scarcity video link
Today in Social Studies, I got my third graders ready to think about the Fur Trade in Michigan between the indigenous people and the French. The provided lesson from our curriculum was not the most exciting one- it would have consisted of me simply reading a chapter from the digital textbook while they sat and listened.
This is what I did instead:
When they walked back in the room from their special, the word/image above was left up on my tv for them to look at and analyze.
We discussed the image, the word, what they thought it might mean, and followed up with the meaning of the word.
I was able to post the digital file of the chapter to our class Seesaw account, so after introducing it, I sent them off with a partner of their choice to read it on their iPads for about 15 minutes with a note taking page we had prepared in advance. While 15 minutes was not enough time for them to read the chapter in its' entirety and the level of the text was a bit higher than some of my readers (which is way they went with a partner), I knew that it would be a more effective use of their time and we would discuss key points and individual thoughts/connections at the end.
We ended by watching a short video about scarcity.
By integrating multimedia (studying a picture, talking, digital reading, and a video) into this lesson, I hope it become more engaging and effective to begin the study of the fur trade for my students. We built background on our current topic of study through numerous styles and will continue to build on it all week long to prepare for the culminating event... Trade Day!
My main concern with students using multimedia is the appropriate use of it and the amount of time it would take. With my younger students, though they are digital natives, they are easily distracted by the flashy, fun, and creative aspects of technology. I worry that they would be more distracted with figuring out how to use all the "cool" features and that would be the focus over the presentation of content. I also struggle with group work down digitally in the elementary classroom- sharing one device to work on versus a tangible paper/poster is much more challenging. Though like with all things we learn at school/in life, some things are hard at first and the more we do them, the better it gets (or we learn from the failures!).
Appropriate use with technology is a huge issue. Students, depending on the age, can be super sneaky while using a computer or other technology. The time a multimedia project would take for younger students is also a concern. Many of them cannot type very fast, or they struggle to figure out new programs on their own. I think using one media for a project would be much easier for lower elementary students.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing a specific example of how you incorporated multimedia into your recent social studies lesson! Multimedia presentations can increase student engagement and also aide in understanding because they are exposed to the content in a variety of ways. As a third-grade teacher, I want to incorporate more technology into my lessons/assignments, but I too struggle with the amount of time such a project would take and how much my students would get out of it (whether they are focused or not).
ReplyDeleteOur concerns are the same - I, too, think that some forms and/or amounts of multimedia can distract students from the purpose when it's supposed to engage students to learn more effectively. Instructional time is valuable and I don't want to spend it showing students how to use a program or monitoring whether or not they're on task with creating their multimedia presentation. I can definitely see students spending more time in the creativity of making their presentation than the content.
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