Fieldwork, For real this time!

So back to what I actually created the last post about:
My partner and I took turns teaching these lessons. 
Due to time constraint and butterflies and jitters, we didn't completely implement the lesson as planned but I believe it still went very well. We incorporated using the computer into our cooperative learning segment which the students were thrilled about. I only wish we had more time to do so! They were to create an advertisement urging their family members and friends back in The Nederlands to migrate to the Americas to New Netherland (complete contradiction of the last post hunh?) The students highlighted things such as the fur trade Henry Hudson and his crew had going on with the Native Americans, or the unlimited access to land (which really wasn't theirs), or the proximity to water which helps them import and export goods. They really took off and made the advertisement their own. It was amazing to watch them become so creative in such a short span of time and they were thrilled to present their work as if they were upcoming teachers themselves. It is amazing how technology is incorporated into our classrooms. When I was in their grades we were making advertisements using poster boards and markers. They were able to use an interactive website we provided for them and create a digital masterpiece in 15 minutes. What is more empowering than that?

I highlighted the cooperating learning lesson because it was most enjoyable for me! In direct instruction lesson we taught the students terms and information they had to learn and had them fill in the blanks. What fun? This was not a creative lesson.

In the inquiry lesson we gave students pictures and had them use the scientific method to analyze the pictures. This encouraged a little creativity and collaboration because they had to present their findings as well. They were to form a hypothesis and then compare it to the actual background information we provided to them. They were then to present their findings. Surprisingly one group analyzed a picture to the T!

Here is an exampled of some of the pictures we used in the lesson: