Runaway Lessons

Sometimes lessons have a way of getting away from me and taking on a life of their own.  I like to think I have pretty good ideas.  What I sometimes don't always account for is the termination of a lesson.  In some cases, I think I could conceivably take an idea--like perimeter for example--and run with its tangential themes all year long.  I find sometimes there's just so much to learn about a single topic that I'd like to explore all its nooks and crannies.

Such was the case with perimeter.  It began small and innocently and my class has now taken to using satellite images to create maps.  And they're quite good!  I hate stifling good learning (as if there was any other kind of learning) and therefore have a hard time transitioning to new concepts.  It helpful, though, when one concept leads naturally to a new one, but I don't always build really great transitions.  This seems to embody concepts of the emergent curriculum, though I have much to learn of this idea.

We blended concepts from PowerPoint (essentially a building tool) with mapmaking concepts.  By taking screen captures of our school grounds, we let that be the background for our map.  We then simply used shapes, lines, and text fall upon that framework till the map (or more technically: diagram) of the school was complete.

Shapes, lines, and text with satellite image

Once the various shapes, lines, and text were in place, they simply removed the background satellite image.  The result was a map.

School map

I believe my students have a much deeper understanding of perimeter (and area) and what that looks like in real life.

Maps