This is a sponsored post written by The Curriculum Corner. All opinions are my own.
I first learned about Tract about a year ago. I spent time exploring and thinking about how it could be used in the classroom. I felt like it was a good tool, but I had not had the opportunity to use it in a classroom.
When I learned I would be teaching 6th grade this year, I was sure it would be a good fit for my students.
My teaching partner and I had about 30 minutes at the end of the day that was open to do what we wanted the first weeks of school. We knew these weeks would pass quickly and we would then need to have most of our 51 students engaged in activities while we worked with our RTI groups.
Tract seemed to be perfect with this!
I started with my group of kids first since I had already played around with Tract.
I gave them the first day to just play and explore – the big hit were any of the videos that included dance tutorials for them to follow along with.
The next day we were a little more focused and we practiced looking up specific topics.
I then introduced my students to a path on endangered species. This path only had one quick video and then an explanation of the project ideas. I wanted my students to have the opportunity to work through a project while I could move around the room and assist as needed so this path was perfect.
I created a graphic organizer they could use and they got to work researching. This past week they spent time creating posters and recording videos.
It’s been fun watching them all come together. They each chose their own animal but they were allowed to have others helped as they created their videos or completed other tasks.
I’m excited to see where Tract takes us next!
Take a look at Tract-a-thon!
And now for the exciting part, teachers! This semester, Tract—the online platform where kids teach kids—is teaming up with changemakers like Malala Yousafzai, Carissa Cabrera, Art by Joudy, Always Alyssa, The Galactic Gal, Will Levis, and Jahkori Hall, to inspire kids to work on projects that solve real-world problems.
I’m currently reading up on Tract-a-thon which runs through the fall.
The goal is to encourage students to solve real-world problems that deserve real-world recognition.
Tract-a-thon will be a virtual event where students can share their creations with people from all around the world.
Tract is providing teachers with 5 different project guides to help you get started. If you haven’t seen a project guide from Tract, they are great! They will give you tips and ideas for getting started – they make the getting started part a little easier and almost eliminate your planning time! You will find these five new resources here: Project Guides.
Not only do these guides highlight standards covered, they share key vocabulary terms and discussion questions.
Also, there is a list of project ideas to help your students get started. Plus, you will find links to background information to help your students begin researching.
The best part is that all of this is free!
You can create your account at teach.tract.app using the access code CURRICULUMCORNER.
Once you have created your account, it is easy to send your students a link so they can set up their student accounts. I simply sent mine on Canvas. Within ten minutes, we were all ready to go!
To help students get ready for Tract-a-thon, you might end each week with peer reviews and class awards. This can be your build up for the big ceremony you can stream live on December 9th at 12:00 pm Eastern. It will be restreamed hourly beginning at 2:00pm so don’t worry if the time doesn’t work for you!
I hope your students love Tract as much as mine have!