OurWanderingAdventures : Learning Away From Home...Part 3

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Learning Away From Home...Part 3

Hello friends, we are still learning while away and in Mexico and I wanted to share with you another lesson that can be taught while on vacation. Today's lesson focuses on reading, researching, spelling and vocabulary along with map work and history. During my lesson planning time, or as this was a last minute trip, during my flight, I came up with research questions that the kids needed to answer through looking up in different sources. They used maps, books, magazines, the computer and even spoke to local people.

The idea was to spend more time exploring and learning and not just saddled to a desk. The research was to be done for just a couple hours a day, IF that. What better way to learn than by touching, feeling, hearing, seeing and DOING!!

I like to do the research in books part before we leave or after we get back, this allows us more space for other books while we are on the road! In the questions that I ask (about 15-20 a day), I use big words that they may need to look up, to understand what I am asking. I also like them to learn about the history of the places we are learning about and have them make a timeline using index cards to make flashcards for each important year. Once all of it is done, they put them in order to make a timeline of history!

While on location, this is the perfect place to interview people, observe and report, photograph and most of all LEARN! One thing I absolutely love about Mexico, is how social the streets are, everyone is sitting in their gardens and talking to all that walk by. People stop and chat or shout and wave if they are in a hurry, if they are driving by, they honk! These moments are the perfect time to stop and chat with locals, oftentimes many locals open up their homes as restaurants, candy shops or the like. Learning from locals is the best way to learn.

When going on personal interviews, I always give the kids at least 2 questions each to ask people but then they have to come up with at least 2 of their own. They can ask 4 different people or just 1 person. I have them write all the questions down and keep them in their pocket whenever we go out, this keeps the questions always on hand.