I really enjoyed working with the Discovery Education tech
book this week. The 5E format can help
to organize my lessons and lesson planning.
(Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) This format is similar to what I currently
use of Anticipatory set, Lesson, Closure Activity and Reflection. The two E’s that are different is explore and
elaborate. Explore is something that
should be built into a lesson that students can investigate and research. An example is in the Globalization &
Trade lesson where students research current economic growth trends and how
that can influence the standard of living of a region. Students may be interested in what topics we
are covering but when new technologies can be used to bring the content to
life, students are more engaged. The Web
2.0 presentation tools such as Prezi, Animoto and Voicethread can be used to
explain or reflect on new learning. Students
also like to work together and these tools make it easy to work and collaborate
at school or at home.
The elaborate piece of the 5E format should focus on
real-world issues that students can address and possibly solve. I usually include a reality-based activity in
most lessons or units. For example, in
the credit card and loan unit I have a Charge-it trip activity that students
use a credit card for an expensive trip.
Students need to research actual costs and work within a budget. Students usually remark that the activity is
fun and also they really get to see how expensive things cost. The Charge-it trip is an example of an
extension or elaboration of the basic content in the credit unit. Sometimes I may skip these types of
activities if I am short on time. After
reading about the 5E format, I see now how important all the pieces are for
students to really grasp and understand the course content. Students need to learn new material but also
internalize what they learn. The
explore, explain and elaborate activities move students in that direction just
as much as the main content facts and figures.
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