Life in Mrs. Glackin's 3rd Grade: Problem and Solution

The 3rd graders read a story called Beatrice's Goat a few weeks ago. We started off by looking at children's bedrooms around the world and the different problems that could cause all of these children to be in those bedrooms. Some were rich, some were poor, and some even slept in dirt. As we read the story of Beatrice, we discussed how her goat affected a lot of change and made it possible for her to go to school in a poverty stricken society.

My goal was to have the students take this lesson and be able to apply it to real world situations. I gave them the task of researching news stories on Timeforkids.com. Once they had picked a news story, they had to dissect the article for the problem/solution and causes/effects that were hidden in it. Once the problem was clearly noted, the kids were also challenged to come up some creative solutions to those problems and then create a news report video documenting what they learned. This was a long process, but it showed me just how deep they can think. It also made me proud to watch them pick out real world problems and start to analyze them as little adults. Every part of this process was student driven and created. I merely gave them the physical tools they needed to accomplish the task. Here are the results!