An Entry Event
2/9/2019
According to the Buck Institute for Education, the leading resource for PBL, projects should be launched with entry events. Regarding entry events, BIE says: "Rather than simply announce a project, we can generate interest by creating a special event that takes our class out of their routine, and lets them know something special is about to happen. Entry events should engage and intrigue, and provoke students to want to know more. We avoid pre-teaching important content, because we have not yet created that need to know. [...] After the entry event, the students should have a need to know more. The entry event should provoke student questions. The goal is to grab the hearts and minds of your students." In my experience in the classroom, entry events certainly generate interest, engagement, and motivation for the upcoming project and study - a definite "need to know more." They also do provoke lots of student questions, and one of my goals as a teacher is to help my students learn to ask good questions - and continue asking them. (Read more about the importance of this in my blog post about the power of a question.) The entry event is often one of my favorite parts of a project, and that is certainly the case with our Iditarod project, which has definitely grabbed the hearts of our little mushers. To launch the Iditarod project, students received a special delivery - of sled dogs. They were asked to take on the task of adopting, loving, caring for, and training the dogs for the Iditarod. (All but one of our students eagerly agreed, and he was easily persuaded when I plopped a cute, fluffy puppy in front of him.) As soon as students had their puppies, they began asking questions. They had questions about the puppies, the project, and the Iditarod... all of which are now guiding our study as well as helping our kindergartners remain curious and continue questioning the world around them. This particular project had a bit of a double entry event. Because taking care of dogs is such a big task, I called in an expert. Laura Atwood, from Anchorage Animal Care and Control, came in to teach our little ones how to care for their dogs. They have been busy ever since, making sure their dogs have everything they need to stay healthy and happy. The entry events did their job perfectly. Students are now authentically and genuinely engaged in our Iditarod project, asking questions, wanting to know more, and eagerly working to answer their questions (and care for and love on their dogs) each day. Comments are closed.
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Saania AliMs. Ali graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelors of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. She specializes in Early Childhood Education, ESL, and Special Education. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, and painting! Archives
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