Yourname:ErinTaylor Gradeyouteach:5 1. Nameandauthorofbook:SeedfolksbyPaulFleischman 2. Whydidyouchoosethisbook?Ichosethisbookfortworeasons.Fromaliterary standpoint,ithasalotofwaysin.Itiswritteninaseriesofshortvignettes,eachdevelopingthe storyfromadifferentperspective.Iveseenkidsengagewithitbeforeanditallowsmanytypes ofpeopleandintereststofindapointofconnection.Fromanengineeringperspective,it presentsproblemsthatstudentsmightactuallyencounterinaschoolorcommunitygarden. SincethesearethesettingsinwhichIhopetoteach,Icanimagineusingitinawaythatallows studentstomakeaproducttheycanactuallyuse. 3. Brieflydescribeyourlearninggoalsforthestudentsforliteracyand engineering. FromaliteracyperspectiveIwouldliketointroducestudentstoperspectiveorpointof view.Whatdoesperspectivemeaninthecontextofliterature?Whatdoesitmeantowriteforan audiencewithadifferentpointofview?

w?Howdothecharactersperspectivesaffectwhattheysee andsay? Fromanengineeringperspectivemymaingoalwouldbetogivestudentstheexperience ofseeingaprojectthroughfrombeginningtoend.Iseealotofvalueingoingthroughthat processandthinktheperseveranceandenvisioninginvolvedwouldtranslatetootherareasof theirlivesbothinsideandoutsideofschool.Anothergoalwouldbetogivestudentspracticewith theskillsofplanningandrevising.Tomakeaproductthattheycanactuallyusewillrequirethem toreallythinkthroughwhattheywanttodoandthentogobackandchangeitwhen/ifitdoesnot worktheywaytheyhadhoped. 4. Whataresomeofthetopics/themesinthebookthatyouwouldliketofocuson duringdiscussions?Thereareseveraljuicythemesinthisbook,buttheoneI wouldliketofocusonisthatofseeingthingsfromadifferentpointofviewratherthanjudging.It fitswellwiththeliteracygoalofexploringperspective,andalsofitsdevelopmentallywith5thand 6thgraders.Iseealotofinterpersonalissuesariseinmyclassroomthatseemrootedin studentsinabilityorunwillingnesstothinkabouthowtheiractionsaffectothersorhowtheir wordsmightbeinterpretedfromanotherpointofview.Inthebook,charactersoftenhavetheir impressionsofotherpeopleand/ortheiractionschallengedwhentheygainmoreinformationor thinkofthingsinanewway. 5. Whatproblemsdoyouanticipatethestudentsfinding? Awatersourceforthegarden Protectingthecropsfromotherpeople Whattodowithallofthetrashthathasbuiltupinthecourtyard Howtokeeptrackofwhatyouregrowing Howtodivideupthespaceinafairway HowtogetVirgilsdadsbabylettucetotherestaurantswithoutitwilting Protectingthecropsfromanimals/pests Awayforthegardenerstocommunicatewitheachother(includinglanguagebarriers) Howtogetpeopletostopthrowingtrashinthegarden

Whathappenswhentheyrunoutofspace? 6. Howwillyoudetermineanddiscussconstraints?Whowilldefinethem? 7. Willyourequireallthestudentstoworkonthesamechallenge,choosefroma feworwilleachgroupbeabletoworkonadifferentchallenge? (6and7)Iamparticularlyintriguedbytheprocessofdeterminingconstraints,soIwould loveforthistobeagroupdiscussion.Thereisapointabouthalfwaythroughthebookwhenthe problemshavepiledupandnonehavebeensolvedyetbythecharacters.Iwouldliketostopat thatpointtodosomesmallandlargegroupbrainstormingbothaboutproblemsandabout constraints.Iimaginebrainstormingproblemsasawholeclassandbreakingstudentsintosmall groups,oneperproblem.Ifstudentshadaccesstoanagriculturalspace(i.e.schoolor communitygarden)asagroup,Iwouldsteerthemtowardsproblemsthatmightalsocomeupin theirspace.Imightdothisbyhavingstudentsranktheirtop3or4choicesandassigningthe problemsthatcomeclosesttooverlapping(i.e.watercollection,orprotectingthecrops).Iwould hopetohaveeachgroupworkitsownproblem,butifoneproblememergedasparticularly salientIcouldalsoenvisionhavingseveralteamsinventingdifferentsolutionstothesame problem.Imightthendoaminilessonontheconceptofconstraintsusingaproblemwitha smallerscope.AfterthatIwouldspendsometimeasaclassdiscussinggeneralconstraints thatapplytoalloftheproblemsandthengivethemtimeintheirsmallgroupstolookbackinthe bookforanyconstraintsspecifictotheirownproblems. 8. Describethewritingcomponent(s).Pleaseincludetheaudienceforwhomthe studentswillbewriting. Sincetheliteracycomponentofthisisfocusedonperspectiveandcommunity,themain writingportionwouldbeaswell.Inthecontextofthebook,theothergardenersarethepeople onewouldneedtoconvinceinordertoinstitutesomethingnew.Theculminatingwriting componentwouldbealetterorspeechinwhichstudentswouldtakeontheperspectiveand writingstyleofonecharacter(someonewhowouldlikelysupporttheiridea)andtrytoconvince therestofthecommunitytoadopttheiridea.Thisgetsatpointofviewintwowaysandpullsin persuasivewriting.Studentswillneedtotakeontheperspectiveandstyleofonecharacterin authoringthepiece,andwillneedtoimaginetheobjectionsthatothercharactersmightraisein ordertoconvincethem.Intermsofengineeringtheywillalsobepracticingpresentingtheselling pointsoftheirproducts. 9. Howwillyouintroducethebuildingportionoftheactivity? Iwillgiveparticularattentiontoexpectationsabouthowtoolsandmaterialsareusedandto goals.Icanimaginethebuildingportionbeingoverwhelming,especiallyifstudentsaresimply giventhematerialsandtoldgo.TomitigatethiswithoutconstrainingcreativitytoomuchIwill focusonremindersofwhatstudentsaretryingtoachieveandwhatthegoalsarenot.Each groupshouldaimtosolvetheironeproblem,nottrytotakeoneverythingatonce.Theyshould haveaclearstatement/ideaofwhatsolvingtheproblemmeansbeforetheybegin(exWell knowthatwehavesolvedthewaterproblemifeverygardenercangetwaterfortheirplotwithout havingtoleavethegarden,evenifitsnotraining).Theyshouldfocusonmakingsuretheir productdoeswhattheywantittodowithoutfallingapartbeforetheymakeitlookbeautiful.If basedontheplanningstagesitseemsnecessary,Imightdevelopmorespecificjobs/roles withineachgroup.

10. Willyouaskstudentstodosomethingspecificwhentheyplan?Ifyes,whatwill thatbe? Yes,theywillbeaskedtodrawaplanandtolistandrequesttheirmaterials. 11. Whatmaterialswillyoumakeavailabletothestudents?Whyareyouchoosing thesematerials?(Thinkthisthrough,materialselectioncanbeapedagogical tool.)Whenwillyoumakethematerialsavailabletothestudents?(Before planning,duringplanning,afterplanning,etc.) Muchofwhatwoulddeterminethelimitsonmaterialsforthislessonwouldbedeterminedbythe context(classroomvsinformalsetting,howmuchtimewasavailable,etc).However,Ithinkthat generallyIwouldpushstudentstotrytothinkaboutrepurposingfounditemsandthingsalready onhandinthegarden.Iwouldliketohavesomebasictoolsavailableeitherforthemtouseorfor anadulttouseundertheirdirection(hammerandnails,drill,saw).Sinceboththestorycontext andtheengineeringchallengearerootedintheideaofusingtheresourcesofacommunity,I thinkitmakessensetoextendthistothematerialsusewhatisavailableinyourcommunity. Fromapracticalperspective,thisalsomakessense.Iwantstudentstobeabletoseethe projectthrough,notgetstymiedbecausetheydesignedsomethingmadeoftitaniumandhave nomeansofworkingwithoraccessingthatmaterial. Analternatepossibilitywouldbethatstudentswouldbuildprototypesormodelsoftheirideas usingsimplerandlessdurablematerialssuchascardboard,staples,tape,etc.Inthiscase,the culminatingactivitymightbepresentationsandavoteonwhichprojecttoseethrough(asa group)tocompletion.Thiswouldallowustomovethroughthestepsmorequicklybecausewe wouldnothavetocollectfoundmaterials.Itmightalsoallowustoconsolidateresourcesto comeoutwithoneverystrongproduceratherthanfourorfivemediocreones.Itwouldalso changetheframingofwhatcompletionmeant,fromeachgroupcompletingsomethingtoour class/largergroupcomingoutwithonecompletedverywellthoughtoutproject.Ifthiswerethe caseIthinktherewouldneedtobeanintermediatestepinwhichallgroupshadsomeinputinto thefinaldesignsothattheyallfeltthattheyhadcontributedtoit. 12. Whatwillthebuildingschedulewillbe?Howmuchtime?Howoften? ThiswilldependalotonthecontextinwhichIendupteachingthislesson.Inaninformal educationalsettingorifotherwisegiventheflexibilityIwouldlovetoallowtwolong,relatively unstructuredchunksoftimeforstudentstobuild,performinformaltests,andcontinuebuilding.I thinkitwillbeimportanttoputspacebetweenthemforreflection.Inamoretightlyscheduled classroomenvironmentImightforlogisticalreasonsneedtodosomethingmorelikealternating buildingandtestingperiods. 13. Whatsortoftestingwillthestudentsdo?Willtestsbedictatedbyyourorthe students?Howwillyoumanagetestingifeachgroupisdoingadifferentproject? BecauseIamhopingtohavemultiplesmallgroupsworkingondistinctproblems,theywillhave tocomeupwiththeirowntests.Iwouldscaffoldthatprocessbyaskingtwoquestions:Howwill youknowthatitsolvesyourproblem?andHowwillyouknowitcanlast?Thefirstgetsatthe problemthestudentshavechosenandthesecondgetsatdurability,aconstraintIamadding becauseIhopethatstudentsmightbeabletouseemploysomeoftheirsolutionsthemselves.I wouldinsertthestepofdetermininghowtotestthesetwothingsbetweentheplanningand

buildingsteps.Makingspacebetweenmakingaplan/requestingmaterialsandactuallystartingto buildwouldalsoallowtimeformetocollectmaterials.Then,inordertogetthosematerials, eachgroupwouldneedtobeabletoarticulateinwritinghowtheywilltestforeachofthose questions. 14. Howwillyousupportstudentreflection,bothontheentireprocessandalongthe wayinordertogivefeedbacktotheirdesigns?(Forexample,willtherebe middesgnshareouts,updatesonprogress,etc.) Throughouttheprocesstherewouldbeminicheckinsinformssuchasexitslips(howdoyou feellikeyourgroupisworkingtogetheronascaleof110),onesentenceupdates(inone sentencesharewhatyourgroupworkedontoday),andthumbsup/down/sidewaysvotesatthe beginningofendofsessions,andmaybeshortlaunchingand/orclosingconversationsatthe beginning/endofsessions.Atthepointwheneachgrouphascomeupwithaninitialplanbut beforetheyrequestmaterials,therewouldbeashareoutwithsomestructureforstudents offeringeachotherfeedback.Iwouldwanttodothisearlyenoughthatgroupscouldactuallytake theirclassmatesfeedbackintoaccountandmakechangestotheirdesignsbeforerequesting materialsandembarkingonbuilding. 15. Whatareyourplansforevaluatingtheproblems/solutionsasengineeringand/or otherdisciplines? Iwouldevaluatethewritingportionbasedonthefollowing: Howconvincingarethearguments? Howorganizedisthewriting? Towhatextentdoesthepieceaddressothercharacterspotentialconcerns? Towhatextentdoesthepiecerepresentthechosennarratorsperspective? Iwouldevaluatethesolutionsbasedonthefollowing: Howdoestheproduceperformonthestudentgeneratedtests? Howcloselydoesitmirrorthegroupsplans?Andifitdepartsfromtheplans,can studentsjustifywhy? Towhatextentdoesitaddresstheconstraintsthattheclassandthegroupcameup with? Weretherequestedmaterialsused?Didthegroupplantotheextentthattheywere abletorequestallofthematerialstheyneeded?Ifnot,whynot? 16. Willtherebeaculminatingactivity?Ifso,whatwillitbe? Iwouldlovefortheretobeaculminatingactivitythatinvolvedthegardenspacethat(Ihope)the studentsarecreatingtheprojectsfor.Itwoulddefinitelyincludeapresentationofthefinished productsandhopefullyalsoademonstration.Dependingontheseason,thenatureofthe projects,andwhetherstudentshadworkedongrowinganyproduce,Iwouldloveforitalsoto involveeatingsomeofthefruitsofthegarden. RoughTimeline: Week1: Introducetheproject,possiblywithaminidesignchallengesuchastheBearChair

Readthefirsthalfofthebookaloudintwoorthreeshortinteractivereadaloudsessions focusingonperspective Minilessonorsmallerwritingpracticerelatedtoperspective Week2: Brainstormproblems/constraints,referencingtheBearChairactivitytogiveaminilessonthe conceptofconstraints Breakstudentsintosmallgroupsbasedontheirchoicesofproblems Oneworksessioninwhichstudentsfurtherdefinetheirproblemsconstraints,keepinginmind boththesettingandtheperspectivesofthecharactersthathavebeenintroducedsofar Oneortwoworksessionsfocusedondrawingdesigns Week3: Maybecontinuetoreadthebookaloudtokeepstudentsrootedinthetext Eachgroupidentifiesatleastonecharacterinthebookwhotheythinkwouldsupporttheiridea andbrainstormswhy Groupsshareouttheirdesignstoeachother,andgivefeedbacktoothergroupsrootedinthe perspectivesoftheirchosencharacters Worksessiondedicatedtorevisingdesignsinresponsetofeedbackandsolidifyingwhich materialstorequest. Week4: Continue(possiblyfinish)readingthebookaloud Worksession(s)dedicatedtobuildingprojects(orprototypesofwefollowthealternateplan) Worksession(s)dedicatedtotheculminatingwritingproject(letterorspeech) Dependingonhowthegroupsareworkingtogether,itmaybepossible/makesenseforthework sessionsduringthefinalweektobelessstructuredandallowindividualstudentswithinthe groupstofocusoneitherthewritingorthebuilding.Everystudentwouldhavetocontributetothe PLANNINGofboththewritingpieceandthebuilding,butifagroupdecidedtosplitupandhave twostudentshonethewritingwhiletwohonedtheproduct,thatcouldbeokay. Week5: Culminatingactivityandpresentations.