Teacher Process
Phase one is the actual history lesson with website included to provide students with the resources for the information needed to complete their packets, including maps.
Phase two is the creation of a travel itinerary, expense and equipment needed list. A template would be provided, depending on each classes needs.
Phase three is a creative writing assignment with a choice of two mysterious topics: 1. The Temple of the High Priest. 130 plus skeletons were found in the temple, 119 of them were women, write your theory about the skeletons. 2. Write about your theory of the disappearance of Machu Picchu, what happened to everyone?
The three phase assignments was done with two purposes in mind. One purpose is to give all types of learners an opportunity to excel. The second purpose is to hopefully provide an element of fun to what could be another boring history lesson. This was designed to take place over a one week time period, in a perfect world. Phase one and two can be done independently, in pairs or in small groups, which gives the instructor freedom based on what works well for each particular class. I chose independent work because staying on task is a hard transition for 4th and 5th grade students. This would provide an opportunity to work independently with some social interaction allowed.