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[naturegirl321]

I'm trying to figure out what type of oral presentation I can have my students do, they're 10 years old. Ideally I'd like them to do one thing a week. So far I've thought of

dramas based on reading
interviews
presentations based on research
description
instructions

And now my brain is fried, anyone have suggestions please?

[arioch36]

Why a different style each week. Sounds like a small class of decent students? I think it would be good for them to try the same style twice. Reinforcement and all. The second time they have more confidence, can put more oomph! into their presentation. I try to get my students to add a litle drama to everything they say, get them out of that monotone habit. Where are you teaching now?

[naturegirl321]

IB PYP for fifth graders in primary, English, Maths, Science, Social Studies, Dance, Art.

[Jetgirly]

I think of the knowledge/skills first and the assessment second, so I can't really help you. My only suggestion would be to begin with the curriculum and work from there, rather than beginning with the final assessment and then teaching to it. Surely, there must be quite a few non-communicative goals in all of your subjects (especially if "English" means Language Arts rather than ESL) so any presentations the students do would be assessed based not on their English skills, but rather their knowledge and skills in the subject area... For example, if long division is one of the learning outcomes in Math, you can assess their knowledge of long division by having them lead the class through a problem on the board and explaining it step-by-step. Of course, you would have to consider their knowledge of English seperate from their knowledge of Math when assessing their presentation. In Alberta, Canada, a fifth-grade Social Studies learning outcome is "examine, critically, the ways of life of Aboriginal peoples in Canada by exploring and reflecting upon [...] what the stories of First Nations, M�tis and Inuit peoples tell us about their beliefs regarding the relationship between people and the land?" If you wanted to use oral presentation to assess their understanding of these beliefs, you could have the kids draw a picture of a scene from an Aboriginal legend and then explain to the class how that part of the story shows a connection between the people and the land. Again, obviously, you would have to assess Social Studies and ESL knowledge seperately. I strongly advise you to start with the curriculum.

Understanding by Design (Backwards Planning)

[naturegirl321]

[Jetgirly]

I thought the IB PYP program was a curriculum. When I taught IB Diploma level courses to students in Canada, we certainly had a curriculum (courtesy the IBO) that needed to be followed. Is the PYP program seriously that different from the Diploma program? I looked on the IBO website and it says, "The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is designed for students aged 3 to 12. It focuses on the total growth of the developing child, touching hearts as well as minds and encompassing social, physical, emotional and cultural needs in addition to academic development. The PYP draws on research and best practice from a range of national systems with a wealth of knowledge and experience from international schools to create a relevant, engaging, challenging and significant educational framework for all children. Curriculum documents are published in English, French and Spanish but schools may offer the programme in other languages under certain conditions." It then goes on to show the curriculum framework, which is based on six global themes... I am very confused!

[naturegirl321]

[Jetgirly]

The IB website says that "Primary Years Programme identifies a body of significant knowledge for all students in all cultures, in six principal subject areas: language; social studies; mathematics, science and technology; the arts; personal, social and physical education." Are they stretching the truth about the degree of detail in their curriculum documents? That would really suck. I've got a full-time contract in the public school system back home starting in September, so I am currently reviewing the relevant curricula, and of course we're never told what books to use or what activities/assessment strategies to use in class... but we do have many, many documents outlining what our students must know and be able to do in order to progress to the next grade. It's our responsibility to make sure that our teaching puts the students in a position to achieve the learning goals. That's why we start with what we want the students to know and work back from there, rather than starting with what we want to do (like oral presentations) and then teaching them something that fits with oral presentations (except in ESL and Language Arts, where "speaking" is one of the essential skills that must be learned/taught).

[naturegirl321]