Unit 6: Inquiry Based Learning lesson plan

The lesson plan I found has students studying Christopher Columbus. Students will research via the internet and a variety of different books to prove whether or not Columbus Day should be celebrated. I would use this lesson plan in my classroom to teach my students the importance of finding things out for themselves instead of going along with the general public in an opinion. (For example, not celebrating Columbus Day anymore because of the argument that Columbus was a thieving murderer; versus celebrating the day and viewing Columbus as the man who discovered America 500 years ago)

Some essential questions from this lesson plan include: What kind of questions are students asking? Are they able to defend their position they have taken? How are they able to apply this to the real world?
Lesson Plan Link:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/01-1/lesson0028.shtml

Chicago Public Schools Used SAFARI Montage System to Deliver Live Presidential Inauguration

http://www.eschoolnews.com/media/eschoolnews/BestPractices0409.pdf

I thought this was cool that students in Chicago were able, through technology, to share in the historic event of the inauguration with their entire school district. Without SAFARI Montage technology, students would have missed out on the first district-wide student assembly, as well.
Being able to use technology and have it at our fingertips provides us with many more opportunities to learn and participate in activities with others. The article states,
"In addition to viewing the live broadcast via SVS, CPS students also conducted interviews, viewed an inauguration video created by students for the students, observed reactions surrounding the events of the inauguration, presented art,choir and band performances that not only showcased their artistic abilities, but also provided historical context for the event."
Students integrated several learning methods through this activity. I would view it as a best practices method because of the diversity in learning style it gives for different students.

Thoughts on a "Crash Course in Learning Theory"

The bullet I found the most intriguing was the one that suggested using conversational language. The sub-title stated, "Conversational writing kicks formal writing's ass." This is so true because readers are absorbed in the material as their brain interacts with what they are reading. As the article said, it is almost like a conversation between the readers' minds and what they are reading. The brain must "hold up it's end of the conversation."
I have experienced this several times as I sat in class during a lecture. My mind would hear something that I perhaps didn't agree with, and I would begin setting up an argument for why I thought differently. Even if I never had a chance to argue my own case in the classroom, I was thinking deeper and processing the information in a way I could remember. Or, perhaps I failed to fully understand a concept that was being taught, so I began thinking through it in order to ask the best question possible so I could understand it to the best of my ability.

Technology Standards

The lesson plan I found correlates with the NETS "Communication and Collaboration" standard. This lesson plan will help students communicate with each other in the classroom about how they feel about their town. They are observing, discussing, and analyzing different aspects of their town, writing about them, and then sharing them with other students via the internet.

http://www.mcn.org/ed/cur/liv/Units/Creative.htm