ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

The introduction of MAPS testing for grade three, personal experiences, personal observations, and previous testing information were the basis for the creation of this unit. Writing and critical thinking are key aspects of every curricular area. I’ve observed, in movement between schools of varying degrees of socio-economic backgrounds and having elementary age children, the increased need for writing and critical thinking skills. This unit will allow students the opportunity to analyze a part of nature, create a digital photograph, and write about it creatively.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: 1. I want my students to understand that being curious and analytical about our surroundings is a never ending journey.  2. I would also hope that my students will enjoy being active learners in their environment and that writing will be a way to analyze information or to express their feelings about things that are around them or happening to them.
Goal(s): 1. Students will analyze an living or nonliving object.  2.Students will use written language to describe a living or nonliving object.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: Students will be encouraged to ask questions through the science inquiry process. 1. Why would I use a graphic organizer to assist me in writing?  2. How do the smaller parts effect the whole object and in what way?  3. How does knowing an objects physical properties help understand the object? 4. Why should I wonder about my surroundings?
Objectives: 1. Students will determine which item, in our area, they find interesting.  2. Students will list 3-4 questions minimum that they would like answered about their item.  3. Students will use a Proscope to look closely at their item to help answer their questions.  4. Students will use a graphic organizer to organize thoughts and words about their item, minimum of 10 words.  5. Students will write a non-rhyming poem using words from their graphic organizer, following a patterned writing form.  6. Students will use a thesaurus to increase vocabulary usage in 5 of their chosen words in their non-rhyming poem.  7. Students will publish their work using a word processor and make it visually appealing to an audience.  8. Students will present their work to their class and others.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding? This type of questioning is not appropriate for this activity.
What academic prompts e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding? 1. Students will be asked general questions to help them examine the physical characteristics of their item.  2. They will journal their questions where they will write their observations or answers to each question.
What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding? 1. Students will submit their questions / answers from their journal.  2. Students will submit their word webs and list of words changed due to the usage of the thesaurus.  3. Students will publish their product according to a rubric.  4. A digital photo of the object will be included in the published product.
What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect?  A student self-assessment will be used as well as observations to determine understanding.

Instructional Strategies

Inquiry-based and project-based strategies will be used in the process of this project. Using the inquiry-based will allow students to determine their object and devise their questions according to the scientific process. They will also develop their word web according to their thoughts and ideas of the physical properties of their object.
Using inquiry-based as a strategy will allow my students to wonder about their environment and hopefully continue this thought process as they age.
Using the project-based strategy will allow students to create an output that will be presented to an audience. Their project will be developed and presented according to rubrics to allow them the opportunity to understand what is expected. The use of organizers and the editing process will help them understand that writing for a variety of purposes requires drafts and involves a process.