Our favorite history assisgnment so far this year has been the one in which the boys were the teachers. Normally they are fairly good during school time, but some days they push all of my buttons, and then some. I am sure you guys have days like this occasionally. One week, they were complaining about everything, not trying their best, not being respectful during my teaching time, not following directions, etc... It lasted the entire week. We were studying presidents, and I know that can be kind of dry and boring. So I decided to turn the teaching of the history lessons over to the boys. They are 6th and 8th grade. Our history class is usually about an hour long each day. So for one week, I gave them one hour a day to research a certain president. During that week, they had to research the president, make a lesson plan, make at least two activities for their brother to complete, and also give me a list of their web sites. Then the following week, I gave them each 30 minutes a day for the entire week to teach each other about their president. They had each other do the activities that they made, and taught each other all about their president. I listened to their teaching sessions, but kept quiet during this hour. At the end of the week, I prepared a test covering both presidents, with questions gathered from their own web sites - so they had to know both presidents well, in order to pass the test. They were graded on how they did on their tests, with extra weight given to the questions that pertained to their brother's president. Plus they were also graded on the quality of their research, the quality of their teaching, their lesson plan, their activities that they made, their ability to keep their brother's attention, and also how well their brother did on his exam. The boys said this was the hardest assignment they have done, but also the most fun. They learned about their own president, plus their brother's president, and they also gained a respect for what I go through each and every week. They didn't realize what it entails to be a teacher. It was an all around win-win assignment.
Brilliant! They say you learn something best when you teach it! So glad you shared this idea. It sounds like just what we need to shake things up!! Free Printable Download: http://blog.denschool.com/st-patricks-day/
