"Show me"

A couple of months ago, the grade 3 students made pioneer journals.  We painted white paper with coffee and let it dry.  Then, I set the edges of the papers on fire (AT HOME) to give it a old look.  Finally we glued the pages over boring looking notebooks.

To get started on the pioneer journals, we talked about dates.  Should we be using dates from today?  If not, from when?  We did some research together and discussed what made sense.

Based on the specific curriculum expectations, I made up a SMART Board presentation with all of the main information to know about pioneers.  It has loads of pictures and little prompts to get the students discussing about the life of pioneers, instead of just giving them all of the information.  Once a discussion was over, I would think of a question for them to answer.  They had to answer it from the perspective of a pioneer.  Here's where my problem began...

I know that writing in French can be a struggle, and I think that sometimes it prevents students from fully expressing themselves and explaining their reasoning with as much depth as they would like.  After a couple of journal entries, I realized that they knew a lot more about pioneers than what they were writing.  The oral discussions were much deeper and detailed.  So, by using some of the discussions, I can assess the students in Social Studies.  But, then came another concern...  Do I need proof of their progress in Social Studies to show parents?  Some parents might want to see why their child got the mark they got.

So, I started telling the kids, "Show me," when it was time to do their journal entries.  They started drawing very detailed pictures, maps, diagrams, all labeled to show me that they full understood the content.  Where does it say that they have to write everything down?  Or write tests and quizzes?  Some students drew detailed maps of the location the pioneers selected to settle down based on where the water was and then drew the various reasons why they (as pioneers) chose to live by the water (i.e. commerce, traveling in canoes, fishing, etc, etc, etc.).

Last year, I found it very hard to differentiate between a student's knowledge of the Social Studies content and their ability to write in French.  Some students struggled so much with writing that it looked like they didn't understand what they were doing in Social Studies.  It took me until now to figure out how to allow them to really show what they know without holding them back with the writing piece.  It took me all this time to think of the simple solution of ART!  Not just to make a log cabin, but for everything!  Of course, the ones who want to write are more than welcome to, and the ones who choose to draw still have to label in French, and ensure that their information is clear and understandable.  By keeping this project open, it is allowing those students who may not get good grades in writing to still get the mark they really deserve in Social Studies.

Now, I know that I am not revolutionizing education, but I really wanted to write about this, since I am SO pleased to see how successful the students are in Social Studies, despite the fear and anxiety I feel about this subject.