Summary
In groups of 2-3 students, the fourth graders will choose a topic about Jamestown to research. Students will use search engines such as Ask Kids, Duck Duck Go, Sweet Search, OneSearch, and Britannica Online. They will also have the opporutnity to check print materials out from the library that may provide more information about their topic. Students work together to generate questions about their topic and as the students locate information, they will insert it into a Google Doc that is being shared with another fourth grade class in Henrico County. The other fourth grade class is researching the same topics about Jamestown. We will communicate and share information through the Google Docs. Once students feel that they have found a substantial amount of facts about their topic, they will then work with their group to create a product based on their specific task. Each group will pretend like they are one of the 104 English men sent to settle in North America. They will create an advertisement or film a news broadcast to explain their research information about Jamestown to the people of England. The students have had past experience with iMovie, Photo Booth, ComicLife, Pixie, Biteslide.com, etc. They can choose which program they would like to use to carry out this activity. After students complete their product, they will be asked to go to our classroom blog to link to a Google Form with essential questions as a follow-up. Completed projects will be placed on our blog for all to see.
http://blogs.henrico.k12.va.us/chheflebower/
TIPC Ratings
Students are generating questions to guide their research about Jamestown. Students are using search engines such as Ask Kids, Duck Duck Go, Sweet Search, OneSearch, and Britannica Online to research information pertaining to their topic of choice. Students will also have the opportunity to search for information in non-fiction books at our school library and in their notes from class. The teacher guides student investigation and supports students as they acquire, evaluate, and apply information.
Students are working in groups of 2-3 to complete this project. Each group is communicating and collaborating through Google Docs with another fourth grade class in the county to address an authentic task. Students will work together to communicate their research findings and apply them to the essential questions. After their projects are complete, students will be asked to reflect on their role as communicators/collaborators and set goals for future collaboration by answering questions posed on a Google Form on our classroom Blog. The projects will be shared on our classroom Blog.
Students are pretending to be a settler from England to complete this task. They will report back to their country about the conditions of Jamestown through the development of an advertisement or news broadcast. Students are given the opportunity to synthesize research and apply critical thinking skills. Also, students are generating and responding to purposeful questions and applying digital tools to present their research. Students are reflecting on their learning at the completion of their project.
Students are able to choose what program they want to use to show what they have learned about Jamestown. The students have had past experience with iMovie, Photo Booth, ComicLife, Pixie, and BeeClips. They are creating meaningful, original work within the assignment parameters. Students are also provided with the opportunity to reflect on the process of the project through our classroom Blog and a Google Form.
