Project-Based Learning (PbL): 2nd Grade Learns About The Immigration Of The Von Trapp Family by Amy Burns
Far Hills Country Day School
aburns@fhcds.org
fectively F taught
or the past few years, empathy and immi- gration have been ef- to our second
graders at Far Hills Country Day School (FHCDS) through proj- ect-based learning (PbL). PbL is a teaching method that has students “learning by doing,” an idea ini- tially promoted by John Dewey. PbL is where students learn by re- sponding and answering an essential question. In order to answer the essential question, students are given a good amount of time to uti- lize their knowledge they gained from their core curriculum, along with using digital tools and collaborating with subjects across the curriculum, to produce results that are presented in a public forum. I, along with other specialists (art, foreign language, and technology teachers), teach musical concepts and more to enhance the students’ learning experiences as they study empathy and immigration.
Essential Question:
PbL is organized around an essential question, driving ques- tion, or challenge. In this case, the essential question is “What is the experience of an immigrant?” In order to answer this question, the students first had to have accumu- lated skills that would not only as- sist in researching and answering the question, but also strengthen their foundation. These skills include writing, reading, speaking/ presenting, and higher order/critical thinking; in addition, students must apply their knowledge gained from studying social studies. The process for the students to answer the essential question about the experience of an immigrant started with the students creating passports so that they could “travel” to different countries. The students “travel”
to different
countries through the Families Of The World DVD series and it helps them compare/contrast USA to other countries in the pres- ent. This expanded their global aware-
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ness and helped them to become conscious of similarities and differ- ences. The students were also given books to read and discuss with their families at home. This activity is called the “Shoebag Books.” The children took these books, such as Tea with Milk by Allen Say and The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, home each week from January to May. The students and parents read the books together and described the feelings of “walking in the shoes” of people who are in different situations than their own. These books were also shared with their 7th
grade “buddies”. This part of the process helped
the students to understand another perspective and the feeling of empathy. The final portions of the process have involved reading literature about the immigration experience during the time of Ellis Island, Castle Garden and Angel Island and a field trip to Ellis Island or watching a Broadway caliber production of “Gateway to America: The Ellis Island Musical.”
The students gained skills and knowledge from the process that
would now be applied to their final project: a scrapbook and a movie about a character that they create who immigrates to America. The students used “Thinking Maps” to synthesize their learning and to write each section of their character’s story. They also answered the following questions about their character: • Why did I choose to leave the country? • What did I bring? • What was the journey like to America? • What was the experience at Castle Garden/Ellis Island/Angel Island?
• How did I begin a new life in America? The students presented their scrapbooks and movies to their
parents and the school community on a special day that was titled “Coming to America: Empathy and Global Citizenship in Second Grade.”
How Does Music Class Play A Role In This PbL? When the second grade team first approached me about this PbL, I had a difficult time answering the question, “How does music class play a role in a unit about immigration and empa- thy?” However, the second grade teachers have a great ability to think outside the box and encour- aged me to do the same with this project. I immediately thought of composers from another country,
OCTOBER 2014
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