The One With a Preview of Our Future!

This week we started a new unit in information writing…colleges and universities! I can honestly say I’ve never seen my students more excited about learning! SO many students are wanting to stay in at recess to research more about their university! How great is that?! I’ve had parents come up to me and say, “I hear ________ is planning on going to the University of Wyoming!” Here’s how we started our researching and built the excitement!

  

This is just a preview since we are only in the research phase:

First we thought aloud about what a college and university is. After a few partner and group shares we were able to create good background knowledge on what college is. Since many of my students haven’t thought that far ahead and many will be the first in their family to go to a university we did a preview of about 45 colleges and universities. 

I wanted everyone in the class to be able to identify and feel truly interested in a few different schools. Here were our categories, each had 4-7 universities. 

 

Colorado Schools - Where we are! Each school represented is being researched in our class!

Iowa Schools - Where Ms. Buikema is from! Each school in this category is being researched and MANY wanted UNI! *proud alum*

Near Colorado – Many students picked schools nearby in Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming.

California – So many of my students take trips to California so it was no surprise that all the schools in this category were picked.

High in Academics – We have a few students researching Yale, Princeton, and MIT!

Related to the Military – This was a category that was quickly scooped up and I had to rush to google and find more schools. I thought about having them choose from the other 20 schools still on the table but I really wanted them to love and be interested in their school.

Football/Basketball Schools – Some big name schools in the country, sports aren’t everything but it’s a first step in getting certain kids interested. Two boys in this category have been in every recess learning more about Duke and Baylor! My evil genius plan worked.

After we received our schools, students also received their new portfolio for this unit. For some reason manila file folders help students feel more like “writers” it also is a better organizational piece for me! Everyone’s folder is kept in a hanging file folder based on their table color. They can pull it outside of writing time independently. Independence + Organization = My Happy Place. 

 

 

The first two days of researching we were all in the computer lab. Before going into the lab I showed an example of a school website and how to navigate. WOW! I have a bone to pick with some school website creators. So many were pretty ridiculous to navigate. BUT the overall objective of learning bits and pieces and getting excited about our schools was still achieved. 

Our last two days of researching students were in the classroom. I printed (in the most tree friendly way) everyone a few pages from their university’s Wikipedia page. I know, I know…Wikipedia. It’s better than it used to be and, to be honest, has more valuable information than some school websites. 

In addition to our printouts students who were researching diligently were able to use the iPads or computers in our class to find information online. As a class I think the interactive maps/campus tours are our favorite! 

Looking Ahead:

A project that I will share another day that coincides with our research is the “Cardboard Challenge.” It’s a STEAM project where students create something out of cardboard and then have a chance to present at a district wide fair. As a class we are participating and choosing one prominent building, statue, or symbol on our college campus to create! Students have started to pick their buildings and do more research on the look and importance of their building.