Wow! The demo slams were great! We’ve been on our Passionate Kids Project journey for over two months. Discovering our passions, researching, connecting to society, writing, creating, and now presenting have been part of the process. The concept behind the demo slam is that students “practice” their 10 minute presentation for the Student-Led EdCamp which is the culminating public display of learning.
Students created lesson plans for their demo slam on a planner (here). The requirements were to welcome and introduce themselves, present and answer their essential question, share their authentic piece, conduct a hands-on activity, and close out the session. As educators, we know the value of having solid, well-thought out plans. As student presenters, I wanted them to go through the same process. Students collaborated with their peers when they developed their plans, then met with me for a one-on-one session. Some of the plans were approved quickly, while others needed some refinement. Here’s a peek at some of their lesson plans.
Students created lesson plans for their demo slam on a planner (here). The requirements were to welcome and introduce themselves, present and answer their essential question, share their authentic piece, conduct a hands-on activity, and close out the session. As educators, we know the value of having solid, well-thought out plans. As student presenters, I wanted them to go through the same process. Students collaborated with their peers when they developed their plans, then met with me for a one-on-one session. Some of the plans were approved quickly, while others needed some refinement. Here’s a peek at some of their lesson plans.
We set aside a whole week for demo slams. I also offered the Friday before as a bonus session. Three very brave students volunteered to demo their lessons early. The rest of the class signed up for sessions the next week. (Click here for the template.) Because we were testing, we fit our demo slam sessions in as time permitted.
The structure of the demo slams was that three students would be presenting at the same time. The rest of the class were participants. Presenters set up their stations with project boards, computers, art supplies, reflection sheets, swag, and more. Because each student had control of their session, we got to be surprised each time. As presenters were setting up their lessons, the class and I would wait outside. Once presenters were ready, the class would come back in and choose which session to attend. We had a 10 minute timer to start the sessions. Oooh, we also had students taking pictures and filming on our GoPro. (We’re working on setting up a YouTube channel.) During the sessions, presenters engaged their audience both inside the classroom and out. Some of the demos involved Adobe Spark videos, creating art, playing the piano, soccer drills, scavenger hunts, a Kahoot, Quilzet Live, and even how to show a pig.
The structure of the demo slams was that three students would be presenting at the same time. The rest of the class were participants. Presenters set up their stations with project boards, computers, art supplies, reflection sheets, swag, and more. Because each student had control of their session, we got to be surprised each time. As presenters were setting up their lessons, the class and I would wait outside. Once presenters were ready, the class would come back in and choose which session to attend. We had a 10 minute timer to start the sessions. Oooh, we also had students taking pictures and filming on our GoPro. (We’re working on setting up a YouTube channel.) During the sessions, presenters engaged their audience both inside the classroom and out. Some of the demos involved Adobe Spark videos, creating art, playing the piano, soccer drills, scavenger hunts, a Kahoot, Quilzet Live, and even how to show a pig.
Many students created reflection sheets for students to share what they learned as part of their closing. Because the sessions were timed, students tried to close their lesson with the participants clapping as the timer went off. (So fun!) After each session, participants filled out a scoring rubric (here) and provided narrative comments. As a class, we debriefed the rubrics and comments. Because the demo slams were in preparation for EdCamp, the comments and feedback will help students adjust their lessons to be even better! This process took a lot of bravery! Shout out to the @SixthGradeSuns for being awesome! Here’s a look at at some reflection sheets and rubrics.
After all the demo slams were presented, we ended the week with a reflection in our digital journals. Here are a couple of student reflections.
As the student above said, demo slam week was so much fun! Honestly, it could have been our public display. But, we still need to share with our parents and the other GATE classes on campus. Next week . . . Student-Led EdCamp.
#MuchLove
Marilyn
- Demo slam week was pretty cool and fun. I liked the presentations of many students. They were all very scholarly and some were great but others needed a little more work. For my presentation, I need to have more confidence in myself and talk louder. I also need to practice more since I didn’t have note cards. I was also very nervous and I need to make sure to answer my essential question more thoroughly. This experience has shown me my strengths and weaknesses and how I can improve and become better at what I love to do. I can tell I was not the only nervous one though many people were. For my presentation I have decided that I will have the kids do a little drawing and than have put stickers of animals on the paper. The drawing they will be doing is about their perfect earth. -SD
- The day before the demo slam I was very nervous. I felt that I wasn’t prepared but yet really was. I had everything ready and was practicing how long every little thing was going to be. For example, if I had something too long then I had to start from the beginning and find a way to make it shorter. On the day of the demo slam I was still very nervous but I still got very good scores. The way that I had set up my presentation was by starting of by introducing myself. Then I said my EQ and answer it. So I answer my essential question with the 4 different benefits and then explained. Once I was done explaining I took the group of kids outside and was explaining at the same time. We came inside and I had told them to to write in their reflection sheet. -ZM
As the student above said, demo slam week was so much fun! Honestly, it could have been our public display. But, we still need to share with our parents and the other GATE classes on campus. Next week . . . Student-Led EdCamp.
#MuchLove
Marilyn
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