Quote:
Originally Posted by undercoverbrother
I can see it with a grade 2 class, but this is grade 6. Big difference.
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Not really. Grade 6 is still going to have a lot of kids that may know the material very well and are quite smart but are intimidated by a standard book report. Essay writing etc will come.
It reminds me of the new math thread. Elementary school shouldn't be about just performing algorithms but rather about fundamentals. Even in grade 6. And for literature those fundamentals are primarily reading comprehension. They'll get the fundamentals of grammar and sentence structure at other points in the curriculum. They'll learn how to write a good report. They'll learn how to write poems and stories etc. They may even have to write a traditional report in the same year (my daughter had to on the first book report this year). But different students learn and need to be evaluated in different ways. It may not be your daughters forte to do a project like this but it will be some daughters forte. This gives a chance for that second student who has the same understanding level to perhaps better display that understanding. It exposes the students to different ways to learn and present knowledge.
This isn't a bad thing...you only have to go to a conference or business meeting and watch 98% of presenters. You have to learn how to present information in a variety of ways to get your point across. Doing so can only make the world a better place (speaking as someone who has the misfortune of spending about 25% of my time at conferences).
And these creative projects aren't likely to end. My kids attend a pre-K to grade 12 school in the states. They'll be doing dioramas and other crafty projects for literature studies the entire way through. It's part of keeping the student interested and engaged and that is the most important thing when it comes to learning. It's not the material level. It's not the subject matter. It's engagement.