Friday, August 30, 2013

All the Pieces Fit

Happy New (School) Year! We are off to a great start and I am thrilled to be back for another year to co-teach in an area I absolutely love. We started our school year with our typical All About Me Unit, only this time I wanted to add a new spin.  Every year we are expected to keep records of inventories our students take, which include interest, multiple intelligences, as well as expression style inventories. I make sure to explain the purpose of these inventories and their role in learning in our classroom. However, I felt that over the years we normally complete them, discuss the results, and then store them away (usually to collect dust). This year I would like to use this information as a reference point for my students as I prepare them to individualize their learning.  As an activity, I had my students to either complete a puzzle piece or their own puzzle to show how all the pieces fit for them. Here is what the puzzle pieces included:

For 2nd and 3rd Grades:
1. Preferred Multiple Intelligence(s)
2. Interests
3. Goals for the class

For  the large puzzle piece template, click here.

For 4th-6th Grades: 
1. Preferred Multiple Intelligence(s)
2. Preferred Expression Style(s)
3. Interests
4. Goals for the class
5. Career Goal(s)

For the individual puzzle template, click here.

I think these will make a great display and later serve as a reminder for the remainder of the school year. To view other creative puzzle pieces, click here.


5 comments:

  1. My name is Carla Young and I am currently a Secondary Education Major at the University of South Alabama. I am part of the Micro-computing Systems In Education class and have recently been introduced to blogging through our class blog, http://edm310.blogspot.com/. When I read your most recent post, I thought the puzzle piece activity you came up with was very creative and fun, but still an effective tool to use in the classroom. I'm still new to blogging, but I am interested to see updates on what's new with you and your classroom. I will be posting a summary of what I have read on your blog (all credit given of course) on my blog at http://youngcarlaedm310.blogspot.com/ on September 15th.

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    1. Hi Carla,

      Thanks for stopping by! I hope your school year is off to a great start, as well. To see more examples of how we use blogging feel free to visit my classroom blog at: http://reachrocketeers.blogspot.com/ There I document any special projects as well as encourage our students to blog. I have found that blogging is a great communication tool that allows me to be a reflective practitioner as well as a medium to communicate and share learning for my students. Please let me know if you have any questions, and I will be glad to answer them.

      Have a great one,

      Elle

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  2. Hi Elvira,
    My name is Briann Smith and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I’m majoring in Elementary education and I’m currently taking the EDM 310 class with Dr. Strange. I also have a blog, http://smithbriannedm310.blogspot.com/, that I post to for my class. When I read your post on the puzzles and puzzle pieces, I thought it was a great idea to use in the classroom. I agree with you, most inventory records about students are completed then put away. The puzzle pieces are fun for the students to make and they also provide the required inventory information. I will definetly use this idea for my students when I become a teacher. I really enjoyed reading your blog and I look forward to reading your future posts!

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  3. Hello Elvira!
    My name is Calah Reynolds and I am in a class called EDM310 at The University of South Alabama. EDM310 is a class that teaches how to incorporate technology into the classroom. If you would like to check my blog out, here is the link!
    I really like your puzzle piece activity, that is such a great idea! I think it's great that they get to write out their own goals and, for the older ones, their career ideas. I had a great time reading your blog!

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    1. Hello Calah!

      I apologize for the delay in posting and replying to your comments. For some reason, I missed the notification in my inbox! I thank you for stopping by and hope to update this blog over the Winter Break. Please let me know if you have any questions.

      Happy Holidays,

      Elle

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