Big Huge Labs

While attending the Presidential Timeline Institute at the Nixon Library last week, I learned about several websites that can help students create fun and interesting projects to display what they know. One of these was Big Huge Labs. There are tons of games and activities, but the three that I found most useful for a high school class were the Motivator, Magazine and Movie Poster apps.

The Motivator allows students to add pictures and text to create a motivational poster. It is an easy way to assess student learning, as are all of these apps. I also plan to use it as an anticipatory set for a unit or maybe a daily warm up. Here is an example that I created.

The Magazine allows students to create a magazine cover with headlines, date and price. Here is one I created to give you an idea of how to use it.

The Movie Poster is very similar, only one is promoting a movie about a particular topic. It takes some critical thinking to decide the title, leading actors, producers, etc.

I plan on trying these in my classroom this year. I think the students will have fun with it! They can be used in any of the social sciences and even for current events. I love programs that are adaptable to a wide range of topics and subjects.

Current Events Are a Must

One of the requirements for my economic class (and when I taught government) is current events on either a weekly or biweekly basis. I think it is important for students to know what is happening in the world and to provide their own commentary on events. I ask them to provide a brief summary of an article they find and then to provide comments or thoughts on the topic.

This act of commenting on events makes them more worldly, but also allows them to express their opinions about topics. I always make sure to leave a space where they can ask questions and try to clarify when possible. Since these students are seniors and many will be 18 by the November elections, it is important to expose them to the issues and get them to think about them. I tell them that it is okay to hold viewpoints, but they need to be able to back it up with why they think that, not just "my parents think that."

Students often make strong connections to what we have studied in class, taking an abstract concept and making it concrete through real world examples. This is when I know they have truly learned something. When they start throwing out terms like supply, demand, opportunity cost, scarcity, etc. in a current event write up, I get a little smile on my face knowing that I have reached them! Critical thinking is such an important skill today and I think having students do current events builds that skill!

A Real Life Lesson in Economics

I recently surveyed my 12th grade economics students and asked them what was the most important thing that they learned from my class. Close to 90% referenced budgeting and the cost of living on their own. In order to teach them this, I have them complete an Independent Living Project.

The first task is to look up a career on salary.com and find out the starting salary. They then find a paycheck calculator and figure out how much they get per month after taxes. They then have to find a place to live, a mode of transportation, plan a weeks worth of groceries and plan for monthly expenses such as toiletries, pets, clothing, gas, utilities, entertainment, insurance and miscellaneous. Savings is part of their required budget as well, in the form of vacation, regular savings and retirement. I ask them to think about what type of furniture they would like and how they would decorate their place. They take all of this research and create a monthly budget based on their salaries. The reflection piece is always the most valuable. 

I have had countless students thank me for assigning this project. While time consuming (I devote an entire week to the computer lab), it is a wake up call for most in how much it costs, what their parents have done for them and how important further education or training is to getting a good career.