I know that there are mixed feelings regarding creating California Missions. I’m going to focus on the positive. I work with a fourth-grade class in my district. The teacher went “old school’, her words, not mine. She had the students create physical models.
Now before anyone is concerned about equity, I assure you all student creations were created equally. How? Students created them in class with teacher-provided materials. She provided the cardboard, basic dimensions, paint, rulers, and scissors, while she hot-glued the walls together. Some students did bring in some extra decorations and happily shared them with others. Check out some of their work
Clearly, these were all student created. In order to get ready for this project, they did their research. The students began by learning about the colonization of California and the role Missions played in changing it. Then each student researched a mission: its history, founder, indigenous people, and its current use. They then produced a slideshow to present to the class. There was a lot of learning that occurred before this culminating activity.
All in all, I was blown away by their work. They did an amazing job and each student was proud of themself.
Nowa Techie 