PERFECT End of Year Project!! The Students Become the Teachers

At the end of the school year, the students hardly want to listen to us, and only seem to want to talk to each other. So let them! In this 8+ class-period project, students get in groups, decide on a game, activity, or concept the lead or teach the rest of the class, formally draw up a (kid friendly) lesson plan and rubric, and then grade themselves and each other on the content of the lesson. Then, they have an optional reflection on their process and what they learned about both their content, and themselves as collaborators and contributors.

The organizational, instructional, and printable pieces come in this google slide deck presentation. I teach 30-minute classes, twice a week, so the planning and reflection takes about 3-4 weeks, and then letting the students deliver their lessons can take as long as you want.

It's fun, it's interactive, and it's a great way to facilitate a lesson and presentation where they learn about the executive functioning that planning a lesson and then delivering, grading and reflecting on it really takes.

There's a mini lesson on the difference between holistic and single point rubrics, and these slides can also be shared with the students so they can do the entire thing electronically.

My students love this project because getting to present something with a group and getting the time and resources to work on it music class gives them freedom to explore things they really want to learn about.

I hope your students love it as much as mine do!