Gaming: Eli's Exhibition

As part of the Primary Years Program in the International Baccalaureate Program, 5th grade works on a year-long project that culminates with a presentation at the end of the school year. The 5th grade lost several kids this year when a bunch of the Indian families left due to a contract ending, so it is just down to these four boys.

Radin, Eli, Charlie, and Nic

Lijee and Radin chose to research gaming and children, citing the positives vs the negatives. This topic is not surprising. The majority of Eli's writing since he started school has revolved around gaming. His kindergarten teacher spent so much energy to no avail, trying to persuade him to chose other writing topics.

The students first practiced presenting with their classmates, the 2nd/3rd grades, and the 6th grade. The grand finale was presenting to the parents and a few administrators. You could feel the anxiety in the air and visibly see their stress.

They all gave a slide show presentation and speech.

Throughout their research, they followed a line of inquiry, which is a fancy way of  saying addressing a set of questions through reading and research. It begins with a vague idea of which subject and topic you may be interested, and ending up as a clear and focused research question which guides the rest of your inquiry and shapes your final essay.

I was impressed that my boy used note cards and talked to us, instead of just reading from a paper.

Lijee and Radin talked about the history of gaming, how they have evolved, how they are appropriate, and how video games effect people.

The conclusion: video games can be good and bad. Use appropriate discernment regarding age levels, limit playing time, build communication with your gaming teammates, sharpen your multi-tasking skills, and enjoy your gaming experience. 

An art component was added. 

"This represents addiction and how people will do anything to play. The controller represents video games, the mound represents challenges to get to play video games, and the people on are trying to get to play video games pushing people to get there first. Leaving everything else out of the way."

There was a collective sigh of relief amongst the boys once the presentations were finished.

We are proud of Eli's project and the hard work and perseverance he put into it.

 

[June 3]