I am a 4th-year teacher at Mauston High School in Mauston Wisconsin. Mauston would be considered an impoverished district.
However, we do not allow that title to hold us back from creating amazing opportunities for our students to engage in their learning and find success in the process.
One way which we do this is through unique course offerings such as my Superheroes and Science Fiction class. Students here are able to engage in literature through one of today's most popular mediums.
My Project
In our Science Fiction and Superheroes Class, we work with students who are predominantly reluctant learners. Many of these students are more "hands-on" learners. However, through the use of these lego projects, I can focus on many facets of learning.
First, after both reading and viewing the science fiction materials, the opportunity to create what they saw or imagined from the content is an exciting opportunity.
Second, the activity requires the students focus on the directions of building their projects. The project introduces them to the concepts of patience and critical reading. For anyone who has ever put together a lego project, without either of these---the end product fails to meet hopes and expectations.
Lastly, this project is fantastic for team building skills. The project requires different students to assume different roles. First, the team writes up a proposal as to how long they need to assemble the project. Students must finish the project within a day before or after proposal date. Upon completion, students write a reflective piece on what was successful, or where things went wrong. In the building phase, students rotate from a manager, worker, quality control. Each day, they must rotate positions so all students occupy all roles.
Ideally, I would like to start with a few of these Lego sets for this year, but expand over the next year or so. I have bought two on my own, but at almost $200 a set, or even trying to find second legos, it has been personally cost prohibitive.
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