Explorers of Ancient Greece

Submitted by: Kourtney Grant
Collaborators: Blair Hart, Joy Herod
School: R.C Longan Elementary School

Summary

Third grade students self-selected from a list of 5 choices (Government, Olympics, Occupations, Art and Architecture, and Geography) the research topic they wanted to explore. Based on their individual selections collaborative research groups were formed. Using a variety of resources including: nonfiction books, websites, and online reference materials, students gathered information on their topic of ancient Greek culture. These five groups of about four students communicated with one another to formulate questions to guide their research. As a team, students decided between two programs which technology tool would most creatively display the facts they had discovered. As a final project each group created a video clip summarizing their topic, which was then uploaded to our class blog. Students were excited to share their video with other Third grade classes at Longan Elementary and a Third grade class at Skipwith Elementary.

TIPC Ratings

Developing: This lesson falls into the high-end of the developing domain of the TIP-C. Students constructed their own questions for research in addition to the questions that they were given. They analyzed information from a variety of sources (print and digital) to assemble and organize it to address a class assignment.

Approaching: This lesson falls into the low-end of the approaching domain of the TIP-C. Students grouped themselves according to interest and established their own group norms and roles within the teams. They collaborated purposefully without direct supervision both within and beyond the classroom.

Approaching: This lesson falls into the low-end of the approaching domain of the TIP-C. Students both generated and responded to purposeful questions during this activity. They applied a variety of digital tools to complete their projects, including a digital reflection.

Developing: This lesson falls into the low-end of the developing domain of the TIP-C. Students were given elements of choice to work within while completing their projects. They summarized their research using provided digital tools.