Anyone ever done a grade level learning fair using Social Studies themes? Fellow teachers want to try this instead of a science fair this year. Our class's topic would be the Civil War.
On the Civil War page on my website:...See MoreI was once in charge of a Social Studies Fair. Our theme was the American Revolution and I tried to incorporate a multisensory experience for the children using food, music, etc. Children dressed up in costumes representing the Minute Men, British soldiers, famous Americans and foreigners who helped us.
On the Civil War page on my website: [link removed]
I would suggest first looking a the Civil War for Kids site which was done by an elementary school class to get some ideas from. I also have links to sites for music, poems, maps, timelines, etc.
We've had a hard time with that because many of the kids don't want to come as a) they're required to stay in their classes for the entire hour to present their projects and answer questions and b) it's baseball season, so many of them have baseball practice and don't want to miss it. We tried making it mandatory but parents became angry. Some parents end up pulling their kids out of their classes where they're presenting to wander around the building with them, and many of the parents end up staying in the rooms talking with their friends rather than visiting all the classrooms. The following day we essentially devote to the classrooms visiting each other. We don't have time for every class to visit every other class, but we've set up a schedule where each class sees at least one country per continent.
It's a lot of work, and many teachers find it exhausting. Our librarian has spent a lot of time buying books that support each country so that we have the materials in the building. The kids do end up learning about their own country, especially in the upper grades where they have to do extensive research reports, but they don't come away with a lot from visiting the other classes. We do get a lot of neat projects from this.
Not exactly on your topic, but I hope some of it helps.
Jenn
On 2/07/09, Jerry wrote: > I was once in charge of a Social Studies Fair. Our theme > was the American Revolution and I tried to incorporate a > multisensory experience for the children using food, music, > etc. Children dressed up in costumes representing the > Minute Men, British soldiers, famous Americans and > foreigners who helped us. > > On the Civil War page on my website: > [link removed].
On the Civil War page on my website:...See More