By Melanie Patterson
North Jefferson News
FULTONDALE —
One day last week, the students were the teachers in one north Jefferson classroom.
Thursday was Innovation Day for Julie Ramsay’s fifth-grade students at Fultondale Elementary School.
Each student chose a topic to research, then he or she prepared a project to present to the rest of the class.
Subjects ranged from history — in the form of World War I, World War II and American Girls dolls — to art, animals, sound waves, how cars work and more.
“So many things interest the students that are not in the curriculum,” Ramsay said. “On a day like this, everyone can be successful.”
Like most classrooms, hers displays wide ranges of learning abilities and diversity.
But she said the beauty of a project like Innovation Day is that students can learn in their own learning style. They choose whether to use technology like an iPad or a computer, or they can check out a book at the library and build a model by hand.
“They’re highly motivated because they’re in charge of teaching,” she said.
