Submitted by: Paul Cassimus
Collaborators: Kourtney Bostain, Karen Clements, Shannon Hyman, and Janis Jones
School: Byrd Middle School
Summary
“My name is Basilio Vargas. I’m 14 years old. I work in the La Cumbre mine. My boss gave me a double shift…..that means 24 hours of work. If I had a father, I wouldn’t have to work in the mines. I would be able to study more. I wouldn’t work with minerals and we wouldn’t live in the mountains. We would live in the city. But that’s if I had a father. This is an assumption, but I don’t have one…” Basilio Vargas, 14 years old.
Before beginning a research project to explore the way of life in countries such as Bolivia, Mexico, El Salvador, and others, students will watch a powerful and moving documentary about a 14 year old child in Bolivia who is the main bread-winner of a family of 4. Afterwards, students will begin investigating the lives of people in Central and South American countries to compare how life might be for the average person specific countries in those regions. Students will make comparisons in things like Gross Domestic Product, Per Capita Income, cost of common items, cost of luxuries, and more between the country they are researching and the United States of America. In order to do this, students will learn to convert foreign currency in order to make accurate comparisons. Students will share their research with the class and will write a brief essay (in English) to reflect on what they have discovered and their own lives in the United States.
TIPC Ratings
Ideal/Target : The research topic is specific yet provides students with the opportunity to approach the research in a manner they deem fit. They are responsible for finding, evaluating, and using information they find from a variety of sources. They also have the opportunity to elaborate on their research and draw conclusions based on what they find.
Ideal/Target: Communication and collaboration are essential to this lesson. They are communicating and collaborating with each other to assemble the research and data and evaluate it. They will then present and share this information with the class.
Approaching: Students are analyzing and comparing data in a way that will give them a good idea of what life is like for a citizen of a particular country. Furthermore, they will use math skills to draw the perspectives from economic numbers and convert foreign currency.
Ideal/Target: In the final portion of the group work, students will use various resources to creatively share their research. Students are provided with the opportunity to expand, to elaborate, and to go beyond the normal assignment. They get to work with classmates to determine the best tool to use to communicate their information. The ideas listed above are merely suggestions, and the students will be encouraged to use any method they wish to present their material.
Student Artifact
Come to Cancun – Vacation of a Lifetime – 6th Grade Math from Kourtney Bostain on Vimeo.
