Last year I had the opportunity to create mini-projects in a school, but they weren’t real PBL and they were really guided by the teacher. So I really want to innovate in class and let students be more autonomous and learn in collaboration with others. 

I have worked with a huge diversity of students and what I’ve learnt until now is that all children need a motivation to work, an objective closer to them with which they can have an interest to in order to work at 100% and enjoy and have fun while they learn. 

You will see my results in the photos. 

I have detected that the projects I try to implement are often chosen by the book’s topics or contents and no from the students’ interests. If I try to let them chose the project since the beginning I would like to know how to manage to make an e-twinning project based on the topic they’ve chosen and without forget about the course contents and competences they must achieve. 

What projects have I found that might help me?

I have found some projects which may have arise from children’s interests since nowadays students are willing to use new technologies and invent their own stories. In other words, one of the best motivation for students is being the main actors of their own project. This is the idea I have found in the next project, where through developing reading and writing english skills students can develop their creativity and imagination. 

http://theesltimes.blogspot.com/2016/04/are-you-ready-to-meet-tic.html

Another students’ interest is also the city where they lived and I find out in all the ESL books this topic is very often shown. So  why don’t create an e-twinning project about their own city? This is the idea I have found in the following project:

To conclude with, I have discovered that maybe we as teachers need to guide students in their decision to create an e-twinning project by giving some ideas or try to brainstorm their interests about common topics they can share with other students around the world without forget the curricular key competences they must achieve. 

·        To develop English language skills (reading, listening, writing, speaking)

·        To get involved in group work

·        To understand and value simple literary text and illustration culture

 

One school will focus the biography about the writer and another about the illustrator, so they will find out by a conference what do they have in common. They will use a blog to upload their findings and creations about the authors and then they will share storybird to create the story. First, they will have to do a draft of the story creating a storyboard. Both schools will share and vote the best story to create the book. One class would start the story creating the characters and the first pages of the book and the other school will finish the story.

 

·        Presentation of the biography of the writer and the illustrator

·        Creation of a Winnie story using storybird.