Project activities in elementary schools have long been no innovation in the global education system, however, in our country, the beginning of the use of this method was laid not so long ago. To date, the relevance of this teaching method is explained and related to the fact that the existing modern education system in Russia, giving students skills and knowledge, does not imply their synthesis and application in practice.
The project activities of primary schoolchildren can be effectively applied, not replacing the existing education system, but organically expanding and complementing it. Project activities in the school involve the construction on the basis of the curriculum of a series of interrelated projects that are related to the implementation of the solution of various practical life problems.
Thus, for each project, the student will need to solve a number of interrelated tasks that are directly related to real being. At the same time, the student is required to be able to coordinate his efforts and the efforts of others. In order to perform specific tasks and do the work, the child will need to obtain the necessary knowledge himself, which will only contribute to their assimilation.
Project activities in primary schools effectively contribute to the diverse development of the child, his upbringing and learning, as well as the development of creative abilities and the ability to adapt to the socio-economic conditions of existence. Pupils are learning cognitive motives, as children see the end results of their activities, which elevate them in their own image of themselves and cause a desire to improve their skills, knowledge and personal qualities.
Project activities in elementary school form the following skills in children:
- determine the ultimate goal of the activity, carry out its planning, correlate the final and intermediate goals with the results of the activity and control them;
- carry out developing mental operations laid down by the composition of the project activity;
- conduct experiments and observations. To build simple objects and models of the surrounding world for consideration.
In order to realize all the tasks of the child’s development included in the activity program, it is necessary to clearly think over the themes of projects. The subject matter provided must have reasonable logical dependence and consistency. The organization of educational cognitive activity of children should be built in such a way that it reflects the logic of scientific activity. Such work prepares children for a deeper study of the sciences. Therefore, the arming of schoolchildren with the method of scientific knowledge is of particular importance. At the same time, do not forget that the activities of students should be independent.
We give a small example to illustrate the understanding of the structure of project activities. The teacher informs the class about the design theme - "The variety of mushrooms", on which it is proposed to make a book for children. Then the students discuss what they would like to make the book, how to design it, what to include in the content. Then each student takes the task - to find and bring information about a certain type of mushroom and come up with the design of the material. The next day, students share the information received and are divided into groups that will engage in the design of the book, writing an introductory article, drawing up the rules of the mushroom picker and thinking out the presentation of the project. After completing group tasks, the results of the work are discussed by the whole class, the teacher evaluates the work of each of the students. On the final day there is a presentation of the project among primary school students, in order to draw the attention of students to the project.
Such work favorably affects the development of children, so project activities in elementary school should be an indispensable part of the learning process.