Literary Terms wiki- We wanted students to be able to apply their knowledge of literary terms in a different way instead of rewriting definitions and examples so we used this wiki project. Students drew a term from a cup and focused on finding examples from multiple genres as well as preparing an explanation for their classmates. Students posted their explanations and examples on the wiki and presented this information in class. Some of them even made quizzes to accompany their presentations. Using the comments area at the bottom, we were able to make notes while the students worked rather than only at the end and students were able to comment on peers' pages. Often, they were more harsh on each other than we were. http://6thgradetms.pbworks.com/
Civil Rights Movement wiki- Students selected a novel from a choice of several related to slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and/or other events of importance for African Americans. In class, our focus was the Civil Rights Movement, and we held several discussion seminars related this the people and events of this time. The first year we used this unit, we had students select a topic of interest from the list we gave them. This year, we allowed students to choose a topic of interest from their novel or something else related to slavery or the Civil Rights Movements, and students focused their research by writing an investigative question. Each student was given a wiki page to add information. This information was also presented in class. http://6thgradetms.pbworks.com/ (Last year's wiki and directions)
Another teacher and class read Sojouner Truth: Ain't I a Woman and researched topics related to the Civil War and slavery. Students selected a topic, gathered research related to it, and posted their information to the wiki. Again, the benefits of using a wiki were peers were able to comment other pages and provide feedback as well as we were able to monitor students' progress throughout the assignment. http://6thgradetms.pbworks.com/Civil-War-and-Slavery
Poetry wiki- Rather than having students complete an original poetry booklet on paper, students created an electronic poetry booklet, which they shared via the wiki. They were able to analyze each others' poems and critique the format throughout the process. (Note: This wiki was not completed by a gifted class.)
Journey Through Time wiki- What began as a "how can we integrate some history into our class" discussion, evolved into this large research-based project. Students were grouped and assigned a decade from the 1950s- 1990s. There were many parts to this project, but the overall goal was to teach students how to conduct research. We discussed choosing reliable resources, taking notes on index cards, and creating citations. Each group was given a wiki page to use for posting information and to communicate with each other. http://6thgradetms.wikispaces.com/
http://6thgradetms.pbworks.com/
Civil Rights Movement wiki- Students selected a novel from a choice of several related to slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and/or other events of importance for African Americans. In class, our focus was the Civil Rights Movement, and we held several discussion seminars related this the people and events of this time. The first year we used this unit, we had students select a topic of interest from the list we gave them. This year, we allowed students to choose a topic of interest from their novel or something else related to slavery or the Civil Rights Movements, and students focused their research by writing an investigative question. Each student was given a wiki page to add information. This information was also presented in class.
http://6thgradetms.pbworks.com/ (Last year's wiki and directions)
http://6thgradetms.wikispaces.com/ (This year's wiki and project information)
Another teacher and class read Sojouner Truth: Ain't I a Woman and researched topics related to the Civil War and slavery. Students selected a topic, gathered research related to it, and posted their information to the wiki. Again, the benefits of using a wiki were peers were able to comment other pages and provide feedback as well as we were able to monitor students' progress throughout the assignment.
http://6thgradetms.pbworks.com/Civil-War-and-Slavery
Poetry wiki- Rather than having students complete an original poetry booklet on paper, students created an electronic poetry booklet, which they shared via the wiki. They were able to analyze each others' poems and critique the format throughout the process. (Note: This wiki was not completed by a gifted class.)
http://6thgradetms.pbworks.com/Poetry-Projects
Journey Through Time wiki- What began as a "how can we integrate some history into our class" discussion, evolved into this large research-based project. Students were grouped and assigned a decade from the 1950s- 1990s. There were many parts to this project, but the overall goal was to teach students how to conduct research. We discussed choosing reliable resources, taking notes on index cards, and creating citations. Each group was given a wiki page to use for posting information and to communicate with each other.
http://6thgradetms.wikispaces.com/