Pictured: Seaford Middle School sixth grader Vincent Maresca chose to do a PowerPoint presentation for his natural disasters presentation on tsunamis.
Photos courtesy of the Seaford School District
For a science unit on natural disasters, sixth graders at Seaford Middle School got to choose their presentation method. There were posters, slideshows and even live science experiments.
Teacher Danielle Alveari said that project-based learning gets students more immersed in the content. Each student was assigned a natural disaster to research, including earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. They first went to the library to do research, using books and digital resources. In addition to learning the details of each natural disaster, students had to find historical examples. Several students also interviewed family members who lived through natural disaster events.
Stefan Vlad dropped a Mentos in a soda bottle to demonstrate a volcanic eruption.
Ms. Alveari left it up to the students on how they wanted to present their findings. They could go traditional or high tech. PowerPoint presentations included photos and videos, and one sixth grader who researched volcanoes brought the class outside for a Mentos in a soda bottle demonstration. Other students pretended they were news reporters and simulated live coverage of a natural disaster.
“When they have the choice over it, they’re more engaged and can play to their strengths,” Ms. Alveari said. “They can take the information and present it in any way, shape or form.”
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