Cycle 2 1 EDCI 397

PBL Essential Elements Checklist

The Eight Elements Project Based Learning Must Have Posted by Jeff Dunn on 2013-03-22 http://edudemic.com/2013/03/elements-project-based/

PROJECT NAME: Beauty of the Beast

Does the project?

FOCUS ON SIGNIFICANT CONTENT
At its core, the project is focused on teaching students important knowledge and skills, derived from standards and key concepts at the heart of academic subjects.

SOURCE: Rowena Gerber http://collaborate.iearn.org/space-2/group10/about Notes

(FOR 397) FOCUS ON GLOBAL AWARENESS AND DEVELOP GLOBAL COMPETENCE

DEVELOP 21 CENTURY SKILLS (FOR 397 DEVELOP RESILIENCE)

Students build skills valuable for todays world, such as creativity, critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, and communication, which are taught/practiced and assessed.

ST

ENGAGE STUDENT IN IN-DEPTH INQUIRY

Students are engaged in rigorous, extended process of asking questions, using resources, and developing answers.

ORGANIZE TASKS AROUND A DRIVING QUESTION

Project work is focused by an open-ended question that students explore or that capture the task they are completing.

ESTABLISH A NEED TO KNOW

Students see the need to gain knowledge, understand concepts, and apply skills in order to answer the Driving Question and create project products, beginning with an ENTRY EVENT that generates interest and curiosity.

We want the kids to research an endangered species to start the project. This develops critical thinking and synthesizing information from a digital resource. Yes- the kids are researching endangered species from around the world. Also, makes the kids aware that resources are limited and scarce for some animals/humans. Need to include problem solving and critical thinking skills. Examplesmatch animals to its country, researching and deciding on which endangered species, composing a final digital project that includes the poem (power point about country of animals origin plus their poem) With the research, students are asking questions like, why is the animal endangered? What resources do they need? How can we change this? Why does this affect me? These answers can be included in their final digital presentation. Why is this animal important to me and my community? How can we help raise awareness to protect the remaining animals? These questions get at the real importance of this project, goes beyond the surface of a description of the animal. Teacher will present an endangered species in their community that students can relate to; whales, polar

Lisa A. Bot, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved. Lbote@umd.edu

Cycle 2 2 EDCI 397 bears, etc.

ENCOURAGE VOICE AND CHOICE

Students are allowed to make some choices about the products to be created, how they work, and how they use their time, guided by the teacher and depending on age level and PBL experience.

INCORPORATE REVISION AND REFLECTION

The project includes processes for students to use feedback to consider additions and changes that lead to high-quality projects, and think about what and how they are learning.

INCLUDE A PUBLIC AUDIENCE

Students present their work to other people, beyond their classmates and teacher.

Students get to chose what animal they want to research, chose how they want to present their information (digitally) , and chose what type of poem they want to write about their animal as well as what the poem is about. We should include the writing and research process- peer reviews, editing, revision, and final copies & finding information, organizing it, synthesizing, and presenting the information. Part of the research process will be to find an organization who works to protect their endangered species, and send their entire project to them in hopes of getting involved with this group in some way.

Lisa A. Bot, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved. Lbote@umd.edu

Cycle 2 3 EDCI 397 Maryland State Curriculum Standards, 4th Grade

Reading/English Language Arts: Writing Standard 4.1.1

Standard 4.2.2.c

Compose texts using the prewriting and drafting strategies of effective writers and speakers o Generate and select topics using techniques such as graphic organizers, journal writing, free writing, listing. Compose oral, written, and visual presentations that express personal ideas, informs and persuade. o Describe in prose and poetry by using purposeful imagery and sensory details with active verbs and colorful adjectives. Compose to inform using a structure with a clear beginning, middle and end and a selection of major points, examples, and facts to support main idea.

Speaking Standard 7.1.a-c

Standard 7.2.d.

Use organization and delivery strategies at an appropriate level o Demonstrate appropriate volume, articulation, enunciation, intonation, pacing, timing and stress. o Demonstrate appropriate timing. Fluency, pacing, rate o Use appropriate non-verbal techniques to enhance communications Posture, eye-contact, facial expressions, gestures Make oral presentations o Plan and deliver effective oral presentations

Social Studies Standard 3.B.1.

Standard 3.D.1.c

Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions o Describe similarities and differences of regions by using geographic characteristics Modifying and Adapting to the Environment

Lisa A. Bot, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved. Lbote@umd.edu

Cycle 2 4 EDCI 397

Standard 6.C.2.a-f

o Describe how people adapt to, modify and impact the natural environment Explain how the growth of communities and suburbs have had consequences on the environment

Ask Social Studies Questions o Identify a problem/situation that requires further study Define the problem situation Identify prior knowledge about the problem/situation Pose questions about the problem/situation from a variety of perspectives Pose questions that elicit higher order thinking responses Formulate simple research questions Develop a plan for how to answer questions about the problem/situation

Mathematics Standard 4.A.1.d

Data Displays o Collect, organize and display data Organize and display data in line plots to frequency tables using a variety of categories and sets of data

Science Standard 1.A.1.a

Constructing Knowledge o Gather and question data from many different forms of scientific investigations which include reviewing appropriate print resources, observing what things are like or what is happening somewhere Support investigative findings with data found in books, articles, and databases Applying Evidence and Reasoning o Seek better reasons for believing something than Everybody knows that or I just know and discount such reasons when given by others. Develop explanations using knowledge possessed and evidence from reliable print sources.

Standard 1.B.1.a

Standard 3.E.1.b

Lisa A. Bot, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved. Lbote@umd.edu

Cycle 2 5 EDCI 397

Flow of Matter and Energy o Recognize food as the source of materials that all living things need to grow and survive. Describe what happens when food in plants and animalsis eliminated.

Lisa A. Bot, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved. Lbote@umd.edu