Assigning projects for students to complete over a long period of time is so important for learning, yet we can get so caught up in the day to day planning that we forget to think ahead and prepare students for such assignments.
Projects can be a great learning tool and also a great way to inform parents about what is going on in the classroom. Students will be engaged due to the creative nature of the assignment. Even if you don’t communicate directly with parents about the project, their children will certainly tell them about whatever they are working on and maybe even enlist their help.
Today’s exercise moves beyond individual lesson objectives (Day 21) and focuses on unit objectives. We will look at a collection of lessons and string them together under a common goal and assessment that measures mastery of that goal. You will find that assigning a project that requires the use of knowledge from multiple lessons will be one of the most engaging ways to teach new ideas.
Follow the instructions in Day 26 of 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator or use the class project graphic organizer (Exercise 26: Plan and Assign a Project) from the 31 Days Leader’s Guide to plan out your unit goal, project, and rubric.
