Submitted by: Catherine Brouillier
School: Holman MS
Summary
Using the theme of “environment,” we completed class units on informational text and research skills. Students were then asked to apply these informational text and research skills to their own research projects on an environmental issue of their choice. Once students explored some topic ideas and selected their topics, they chose 2-3 sources to use for their research. The first source was provided by the teacher as an example of a reliable source and as a basis for their continuing research. Students then used their research skills to find 1-2 more reliable sources that would give them additional information on their chosen topics. Students then completed a prewriting map to help organize their research into 3 main ideas, and then used an outline to organize all their main ideas and details into 5 sections. Once the outline was checked by the teacher, students had the choice of sharing their research by creating either a written research paper or a presentation with a visual aid. Using specific rubrics for each project, students made their project choice, helped each other to revise and edit what they had created, and shared their findings with the class.
TIPC Ratings
Approaching:
Some of my classes used the Britannica Elementary website and then were able to choose from a list of recommended sources. Other classes reviewed Britannica Elementary and then had free reign to choose another 2 sources that they cross-checked as reliable.
Developing:
Students gathered their own research and then worked together in student-selected groups to revise their products and finalize their projects. These projects will be shared with the class. In order to more effectively communicate their ideas to people outside of our classroom, they would need to upload their projects to an online source. This is a possibility, but has not been completed at this time.
Approaching:
Students used multiple sources to bring together a variety of information about a given topic and drew conclusions as to how that issue affects the environment and how that issue impacts the world through their relationship to the environment.
Approaching:
Students could choose the mode of presentation of their research, and they collaborated and played with different functions of the Promethean and PowerPoint programs to try to communicate their ideas to their classmates in the most creative way possible. Some of them used layering, revealing tools, and sound effects to accentuate their Promethean flipcharts, while others created unique transitions, graphics, and sounds in PowerPoint, and others played with creative language, imagery, and hooks in their essays. They all tried to include solutions to their environmental problems, some gathered from research and some self-created.
Student Artifact
Download Files
Contents:
– H21 Lesson Plan
– Environmental Essay Rubric
– Presentation/Visual Aid Rubric
– Project 411 Prewriting Bubble Map
