Yay or Nay to More Development for Short Pump?

Submitted by: Brooke Carter, Fifth Grade Teacher
Collaborators: Whitney deBordenave, Elementary ITRT
School: Short Pump Elementary School

Summary

Henrico County entered the 20th century primarily as a rural county with many farms.The landscape of Henrico County has continued to change, especially the Short Pump area.Short Pump had been mostly farmland until about 15 years ago. As the economy of the area has prospered, there has been an impact on the landscape. Farmlands have been changed into residential developments and shopping centers. It has been proposed to further develop Short Pump Park which is located behind Short Pump Elementary School, which is currently primarily woodlands. A community meeting is going to be called and students will need to present whether they favor the proposed development of the woodlands behind the school or not.

TIPC Ratings

The lesson is Target/Ideal in this strand because students were able to conduct research in a variety of ways on an authentic task. Students researched the park by visiting and recording observations, they interviewed other students who used the park, and they were able to video conference with an expert. The students formulated the questions they wanted to research and reflected upon their work.

The lesson is Developing in this strand because the teacher selected the student groups. Even though the students had to collaborate on an authentic task and were able to communicate with an expert outside the classroom to gain new learning, since the teacher selected the partners it prevents this lesson from moving into the Approaching and Target/Ideal range.

The lesson is Target/Ideal in this strand because students worked together to solve an authentic task. Students were asked to create arguments for or against more development to the existing Short Pump Park using the information they gained through their research. The students had to decide with their partner what would be the best digital tools to present their argument.

The lesson is Target/Ideal in this strand because students created original products when posed with an authentic task. Students were given the option of utilizing different digital tools to create their products. They reflected upon their products and others through the student share portion of the lesson.