What an exciting few weeks we’ve had!

We participated with Mr. Bridges’ class in the school-based Heritage Fair. The Heritage Fair gives students an opportunity to explore a topic that relates to Canadian history, culture, or heritage and that is of personal interest to them. We have learned about bannock and the Avro Arrow, Sarratoga Speedway and Tim Horton’s, the SPCA and Niagara Falls. Seven students researched family members and in the process learned about whaling, war brides, homesteading and Lo Han Jai or “Buddha’s Delight”. The slide show below gives a little taste of the event.

Voices of Experience

Here is great advice from Huzzahnians about how to complete a successful project:

• choose a project that fits you, that you care about, and that pulls the reader in  (Daniel W., Kristopher, Michael G. )
• don’t copy and paste info! (Sophie)
• research your topic well (Catie)
• if you are presenting your project on food, bring samples! (Austin)
• choose a topic so you can ask family & friends for information (Michael T.)
• add lots of colour and pictures to make your board visually interesting (Haley)

Sharing Like a Pro

The most challenging aspect for many was doing an oral presentation in front of classmates before we presented publicly in the library. It can be nerve wracking to stand up in front of a group like that! Students received great feed back from each other.

• think of really strong openers and closers and choose one (Sam)
• if you forget what to say, just say what you know (Daniel W.)
• prepare! (Boyd)
• use your model in your presentation (Kris)
• be brave, try to relax, don’t be tense (Dom, Blake)
• point out things on your display board (Chelsea)
• tell stories about the person and link them together (Michael T.)

The experience of this event will help us to create even better projects next time. Many students found that presenting in the library was satisfying (and not as scary!) because it was more like a conversation, and that because they had presented to the whole class and had received feedback they knew how to improve. Where you were in the library and the age of the students who visited also made a difference.

Here’s what the Fair looked like:

(The slide show takes a little time to load–be patient!)

Many thanks to Catie’s mom for sharing her pictures with us, and to all the parents, students, and teachers who visited our projects and asked us about our learning.

***And special thanks to Chelsea for giving me feedback about how to improve this post!

Image credit Happy Canada Day! by Ian Muttoo