Menus in the Classroom (and not the ones you order food from)

This week has been an interesting experiment. Shelby Acevedo did these "menus" in her classroom and it worked so well, that I decided to try it as well. I was looking for a fun project for World War II that could incorporate much of the new technology. In years past, I have done the typical poster project, an ABC's of World War 2, even had students create PhotoStories. While I got some interesting projects, each student only became knowledgeable on their own topic. So this year....menus. What are menus? Menus are a series of assignments that the students can choose to do. There is a list of several 2 point options, 5 point options, and 8 point options. Students could choose which activities they wanted to do as long as their options added up to 10 points.
The students have been working on these for a week doing everything from presentations on proganda during World War II on Google Apps, creating study flashcards on StudyStack, reading Night by Elie Wiesel to complete a book study on Ning, using BrainPop to study major events, or using the Wii to simulate the landing on the beaches of Normandy for D-Day.
By being able to give students all these options, we are able to reach so many more students. Not only the auditory or visual learners but also the tactile-kinesthetic. Students are able to have a sense of empowerment in their learning and choose what most interested them, while still reviewing the necessary material to pass the exam. Differentiation of the material becomes easy as students are able to choose what best supports their needs. Students today are bombarded with changing technology everyday and we must as educators find a way to tap into that knowledge, draw them into the classroom and have every student engaged, teaching them both the content (in this case, US History) but also the 21st century skills to succeed in the future. While technology may not always be the answer, it should be a tool in our toolbox that is readily available if needed.