Lesson Title: The Perfect Pour – Related Rates Lab
Teachers: Jonathan Perry
School: Varina High School
Target Grade/Subject: 11-12/Calculus
Length: 90 minutes

Summary

Related rates are one of those topics in mathematics where the math should come alive but when you read the word problems it doesn’t. In the following lab, students film a cone (martini glass) filling with colored water and then analyze the video using Logger Pro in order to learn about related rates. Students use Logger Pro to create graphs of the rates of change taking place in their videos and they can even graph derivatives of their graphs so you can discuss velocity and acceleration.

Submitted by: Cheryl Sumner
Collaborators: Terran Evans
School: The Academy at Virginia Randolph

Summary

The primary focus on this lesson is to introduce beginning ESL students to the English names of foods and to prepare foods by converting dry and liquid measurements into the American system. An ancillary, but important, outcome of this lesson is the study and understanding of different cultures and their foods.

This lesson was designed to immerse students in a learning experience that promotes collaboration, project-based learning and critical thinking. The students will develop the skills necessary to participate in small and large group learning activities. They will acquire the skills needed for reading recipes in English, to understand and to use the American system of measurements. The lesson will also provide enough English to give students the confidence to order foods in restaurants, to shop for groceries, and to read cookbooks written in English.

Submitted by: Paul Cassimus
Collaborators:Renee Balch, Mike Dunavant, Sam Peterson, Lisa Hand, Anne Dillon.
School: Varina High School

Summary

(INTRO VIDEO) Using their laptops, students will create instructional videos in which they teach the basics of Spanish to others. They must have at least two characters, a student character and a teacher character. A major part of the grade will come from the dialogue and interaction between the characters. The teacher character will teach all the grammar we have learned so far. The student character must act appropriately like a student; asking questions, wanting explanations for difficult concepts, etc. The teacher character will explain each concept and share with the student helpful tips, advice, study strategies, mnemonic devices and others that will help the student learn. Students will act as researchers and teachers to discover the best methods and strategies in learning the basics of Spanish. Google docs will provide a platform for collaborating with upper-level Spanish students to get strategies and methods in learning the basics of Spanish. They will reflect on this information, their notes, and from their own experiences as a Spanish student to create the video, the dialogue and the content. The videos will be forwarded to middle school Spanish teachers to show and make available to their students. Then, my classes and the middle school classes will have a discussion board set up to discuss any tips or advice to learning Spanish. Essentially, my students will take on the role of the upper-level students to pass on their knowledge to the middle school students to bring the scenario of the project full circle.

Submitted by: Kay Faries
School: Pemberton Elementary

Summary

Students begin with brainstorming their favorite animal and its habitat. Students then form collaborative groups (scientific teams) of 3 or 4 and are given a challenge to ‘create’ an animal and get their animal into the Classroom Zoo. ‘Scientific teams’ will design and build a three-dimensional model of an animal adapted to survive in the choice of one of the following environments; forest, desert, grassland, rainforest, marshland, swamp, pond, river, ocean or stream. The appropriate physical and behavioral adaptations have to be included in the design process. The animal must also meet a list of criteria; must stand on its own, have at least one moving part, and have no fewer than two adaptations. After the animal is constructed, the students have to create a scenic background to represent their chosen environment. Once the animals and model habitat are complete the ‘teams’ will prepare a presentation for the zoo board to lobby to have their animal included. Teams must be sure to define what type of habitat would need to be built for their animal to be successful as well as convince the zoo board of why their animal should be included. Students will make their ‘presentation’ to the board (students and key teachers), sharing their animal, its habitat, and its adaptations. Students will have their choice of multimedia tools to create their presentation.

Submitted by: Kimberly Hardiman, Mary Barradale, Megan Bouton, Kimberly Jackson, Blair Wildauer
School: Echo Lake Elementary

Summary

The students will explore various careers and the skills and tools necessary for each career. They will use this information to help set goals for their future career. The students will participate in Community Helper center rotations that will help prepare them for future careers in the 21st century. Throughout the centers, they will research, communicate, collaborate, problem solve, and create innovative products about Community Helpers. The students will create a resume, a “Show Me” product, a graphic organizer, Community Helper puppets, and a Photo Booth movie clip. The clips will be combined to make a classroom iMovie to share with the community. The student may choose to research and display information about the same Community Helper in each center; however, the teacher will encourage the students to pick different careers to learn about as he/she goes through each 20-minute center.

Submitted by: Emily Oliff
School: Glen Allen Elementary

Summary

Students will research, communicate, collaborate, think critically, problem solve, and be innovative through the exploration of living systems unit. Each student will be required to complete five stations throughout the week using a tick-tac-toe check board. Teachers may use their professional discretion to decide if students will benefit from being with peers of similar academic abilities or to mix abilities in hopes that students’ strengths complement one another’s in the classroom. Once students have completed each station, they will mark it off their tic-tac-toe board while attaching their work to the packet or saving it in their personal folder on the computer. Once the activity is marked off, each student will have a chance to complete an enrichment activity that targets their specific learning style and challenges them using a differentiated learning model. This lesson incorporates differentiated learning instruction while incorporating 21st century skills that will benefit each student in the future.

Submitted by: Katie Quarforth
Collaborators: Mara LaFratta and Bonnie Spencer
School: Lakeside Elementary School

Summary

The students will use their knowledge of VS.6a and slavery to further their understanding of the Underground Railroad. They will participate in a simulated journey along this secret route to freedom by pretending they are slaves escaping in the 1850s with the help from abolitionists, like Harriet Tubman. The journey begins in the classroom in the “South.” They must decide as a group what time of day will be best for escape, what to bring on their mission, and how to proceed. When the aboitionist “rescues them” and leads them through the school on the path to the “North,” they must look out for safe houses through clues, avoid bounty hunters, determine where and when to hide, and make decisions about who to trust. When they reach the “North,” some will find that their decisions caused them to be captured, while others will reach freedom successfully. In the end, they will reflect as a group about their journey and judge their choices using Voice Thread. They will also upload videos that were recorded along this secret route to freedom.

Submitted by: Laurie Kaplan
Collaborators: Joe Harrell (Deep Run HS) for lesson plans
School: Freeman High School

Summary

The students will collaborate within their groups to save John Proctor’s reputation. They will research the scandals of past politicians and their recoveries through videos, news articles, and other media to get ideas about how to help Proctor rebound. Students will analyze the persuasive techniques used to save the politician’s reputation and create a script to persuade the audience that Proctor deserves exoneration too.  Then students will create a completely original 45-60 second commercial using a media of their choosing that convinces the audience that Proctor is a man that made a mistake and deserves exoneration.

Submitted by: Cheryl Ives
School: Glen Allen Elementary

Summary

After completing our studies of Jamestown (VS3a-g), the students were challenged with creating video segments that would cover the topics that were studied in our unit. The segments covered topics that included, John Smith, Christopher Newport’s fleet, and Tobacco. The students created scripts, that were written in first-person, based on the study materials provided to them and facts that they have discovered while doing their own research. The students had to find and create props and costumes that will help the audience recognize the topic they were speaking about. The filming and editing of the final video product was organized and completed by the students in the classroom. This project allowed the kids be creative and show their personalities in their work while expanding their knowledge of Jamestown.

Submitted by: Kitty Coor
Collaborators: Kathy Vick – Librarian, Jessica DelMonte – ITRT
School: Echo Lake Elementary

Summary

Third grade students self-selected their collaborative research groups and the habitat they wanted to explore. Using a variety of resources: nonfiction books, Discovery Science, and websites, students extrapolated information on animal and plant adaptations by communicating with one another the importance of the located material. The students used a research template to guide their research. A rubric aided the students by enabling the researchers to know what was expected of them to receive their desired grade. The partners also communicated to formulate questions they wanted to research relevant to their topic. In addition, the partners were able to record specific interesting facts they came across in their research. The student’s communicated as to how best to show their research in a final project. They decided which technology tool would showcase their work the most creatively. Examples of projects were uploaded to our class blog. At the completion, families were invited to a share fair. The lesson was also shared with third grade classes across the county.