Teacher(s) Name: Mr. Davis
School: MS – Wilder
Grade Level(s): Grade 7
Content Area(s): English
Lesson Summary
Have you ever imagined what life would be like if you only could see and feel the sun once every seven years? How would you feel if you were alienated and ostracized because you are the only child on planet Venus who has memory of the sun. These are questions generated after reading Ray Bradbury’s All Summer in A Day. Students were asked to create an invention/concept that would assist the protagonist with their aforementioned conflicts. They created wonderful concept inventions by using the library makerspace which included Little Bits!
TIPC Ratings
Research & Information Fluency
Rating:Developing – Explanation: Students learned about conflicts in a story and other elements of fiction during teacher directed instruction. The students applied this knowledge when reading the story. The use of an invention log assisted students to analyze the literary elements of the story and brainstorm ideas for their invention. This category was not a main focus of the lesson.
Communication & Collaboration
Rating: Approaching – Explanation: Throughout the project, students were allowed opportunities to communicate and collaborate in a variety of ways. Initially, students worked in groups to identify the protagonist and conflicts and then proceeded to share that information with the teacher via an assignment in Schoology (learning platform). Students chose their groups in which to work to create their invention and had to apply their skills of respect and cooperation to decide on an idea and to solve problems during the creative process. To further communicate their ideas and how the invention created connected to their knowledge of literary elements in the story, students used an iPad to record themselves and reflect on the creative process.
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Rating: Ideal – Explanation: The critical thinking that students showed during the Henrico 21 project was to create an invention based off the protagonists conflict. Students identified Person versus Society as well as Person versus Nature. Based on what conflict they chose to focus on, they collaborated and created an invention that would remedy the conflict and ultimately lead to the protagonist having a happier life. Students had to tap into their prior knowledge and infer what invention could fix the main character’s conflict based on the different character traits that they identified. As a result they created an invention that would change the result of the story. Ultimately this shows a high level of critical thinking and problem solving skills as they not only analyzed their knowledge of the protagonist, but they also had to work through having a limited time constraint in which to build their invention and problem solve when materials did not produce their desired results.
Creativity & Innovation
Rating: Ideal – Explanation: My students showed creativity by creating something from their own imagination.While they used the makerspace materials and Little Bits to complete the physical invention, they had to pull from their own creativity to make something that had never been created before, as well as give it a name and a purpose. This definitely shows their ability to innovate.The original story ends with the protagonists conflict still being quite prevalent. Students had to show empathy with the main character, which helped them come up with an invention that would assist in the elimination of the conflict. Students also reflected on their creative process through the use of video to explain their invention to a wider audience.
Student Artifact
Lesson Materials
