Making a Play House
“As an occupation it is active or motor; it finds expression through the
physical organs – the eyes, hands, etc. But it also involves continual
observation of materials, and continual planning and reflection, in order that
the practical or executive side may be successfully carried on (133).”
An activity I think would correlate with this idea of Dewey is for students
to build a play house. This activity would run parallel to carpentry. While
a carpenter would build a house, the students would build a miniature house
without worrying about plumbing or electricity. The students would be active
by nailing, sawing, measuring, etc. The students would be observing materials
by choosing the correct tools and the type of wood used. The activity would
require continual planning and reflection because if the students’ initial
plan didn’t work out, then they would have to problem solve or come up
with a new plan. Also, all other subjects could be incorporated into this activity.
"And yet there are plenty of real connections between the experience of
children and business conditions which need to be utilized and
illuminated. The child should study his commercial arithmetic and
geography, not as isolated things by themselves, but in their reference to
his social environment" (p.77-78).
"The basal fact in that room is that it is a workshop, doing actual things
in sewing, spinning, and weaving." (p.89).
"We must conceive of them in their social significance, as types of the
processes by which society keeps itself going, as agencies for brining
home to the child some of the primal necessities of community life, and as
ways in which these needs have been met by the growing insight and
ingenuity of man; in short, as instrumentalities through which the school
itself shall be made a genuine form of active community life, instead of a
place set apart in which to learn lessons" (p.14).
To implement Dewey's ideas, I think that students could work together in groups
to build a house. This can be done in a math class while students are working
on area and perimeter. The students would work in groups to design the shape of
a house and its floor plan, figure the cost of the building materials, and finally
build the home. The students will be responsible for decorating the rooms, choosing
furniture for the home, and finding the total cost. This project will incorporate
Internet investigation of careers involving home construction and decorating,
use of technology to design floor plans, hands on activities to build the home,
problem solving and decision making of a group, finding the best materials for
construction, and getting the best price for those materials. Each student will
then take on roles of drafter, plumber, architect, etc. to see what kind of role
that person has, and how each person is important in the construction of a house.
According to this lesson plan, the students must work together to
compromise in order to come up with an agreement on the floor plan, they
can perform hands on activities, and will see first hand how this project
and information learned is incorporated into every day life. By the end
of this lesson, students hopefully will not be asking "Why am I learning
this?", but they will see the reasons and relevance behind the lesson.
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