Classroom Discussion and the Stone Age

Let me start by saying how happy I was with the discussions which occurred in all of my classes today. I wanted to try some new discussion formats and I was very impressed with what happened today. The topics that we discussed were: Stone Age Culture, Importance of Fire, Hunting-Gathering versus Farming, and the Domestication of Plants and Animals.

In periods 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 there were discussion leaders who were in charge of keeping the class on task and facilitating the discussion. This worked well! Most students demonstrated their understanding of these key concepts and any weaknesses became evident. This gave me the opportunity to reteach; I was able to spend some more time talking about the domestication of plants which seemed to be the topic most students were confused about today. If there are any more questions, feel free to comment here and I will try my best to answer them.

I tried a different approach in period 8. Basically, I divided the class into four groups and each group was to on focus on one of the above-mentioned topics. I gave groups 15 minutes to meet and come up with a 2 minute presentation about their topic. This worked well too.

Heads Up: I am thinking we will be ready for a 'test' sometime next week! Don't worry too much, more details will follow in the coming days.