ALEX Learning Activity

Knowing students learn most effectively when relevant and authentic learning opportunities such as field trips are provided, this activity challenges students to research introductory information as assigned to produce a virtual museum. Students will work collaboratively to produce such and will present to their peers in order for all students to “travel” to each other’s museums. This activity allows students to take ownership of their learning by determining the significant details of their assigned topic.  

This resource was created as a part of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

Students will conduct a short research project in order to be introduced to a topic for further study in class. 

Students will produce clear and concise writing samples on their virtual museums to present to classmates for them to “travel” to the museum. 

Students will gather relevant information based upon their assigned topics and synthesize information from a variety of sources. 

The students will create a Virtual Museum using the template provided.  Teachers will divide students into teams of four to six "curators" to create a virtual museum on the topic the teacher wants to introduce (historical period, literary period, biographical information, etc.). Students will present the completed museums to the class in order to share their researched findings.  

Suggested topics to be included for museum rooms:

A.) Photographic/Descriptive Timeline of Key Events

B.) Relevant court cases

C.) Biographies and photos of major historical figures or authors

D.) Advertisements

E.) Works of Art, music, or written expression

This activity is most effective for students and teachers considering that all students do not have the same access to actual field trips.  This is a way to allow students to conduct research while also providing relevant experiences.  

Students will be assessed based upon the final product of a virtual museum. The teacher should ensure sufficient information is provided from research. Students will be required to present their virtual museum to their classmates requiring students to be certain their writing meets the conventions of standard English. 

Teachers will need to determine the topics on which students should focus. After doing so, teachers should try to give students an example of sites to visit in order to ensure they are researching quality information.