dc.description.abstract | On the inside of a public charter school in the Midwest, the students’ colorful artwork
is proudly displayed throughout the building. The artwork is a visual representation to
show what they learned. You can see drawings of teachers, students’ families, and a fruit
basket from different points of view. The artwork is the final presentation of projects they
have produced. When my class first visited the charter school and saw colorful pictures of
presidents with poems under them, the principal explained that the kids were interested
in learning about money. They discovered each bill had a different president’s face and
they learned about each president. This project led them to write “I Am From” poems from
the point of view of a president. What is interesting about this approach to learning is the
students told their teacher what interested them and the teacher helped guide them to answer
their own questions. As a result, they learned United States history, used poetry and literature
to write about a president, and had fun while doing it. | eng |