This week the ASPIRE 5 scholars began working on their shoebox science fair, which will serve as our culminating event for 5th grade science. After selecting any topic that we covered in class this year, students wrote a driving question that connected it to a real-world problem facing humanity today. Next, the scholars chose at least one depth and complexity icon and at least one content imperative to guide their research. For example, a student could explain how overfishing of a species affects the food chain it is a part of. In turn, they could explore multiple perspectives of their issue through the lens of a fisherman, scientist, or nature conservancy group. They could also explore the origin of the problem by exploring the history of the fishing trade and economy in that region. To our pleasant surprise, many of the groups remembered Ian Byrd's Differentiator, and used it to write their driving questions.
Students were given a list of "must haves" and "can haves" for their project, but exploring and modeling the global issue remained the essence of their work. Options included graphs to display data, interactive quizzes, a summary of a career that related to their topic, a written or illustrated guide for possible solutions to their problem, and an essential vocabulary flipbook. So where does the shoebox come into play? Everything had to fit in or around their shoebox. Next week, everyone will have the opportunity to share their project, and to explore and leave feedback for their classmates' work. I believe it will be an exciting ending to our science class, and they should learn a lot from their peers while remembering many of the topics we covered in 5th grade.
As usual, the scholars ran with this project from the very beginning, and have made it better than my original vision. They made an enormous amount of progress during the first day, so we changed our schedule around to give them even more time. I think the shoebox design and model of their issue excited them the most, but their issues and driving questions were the most impressive aspect of their work to me. A few examples of projects include creating more energy efficient circuits, correcting adult misconceptions of the movements of the Earth, Sun, and Moon, showing the trends of fossil fuel and alternate energy consumption in the United States, and comparing animal adaptations in different continents. All of them show higher level thinking, and apply what we learned in class to an issue that affects their lives. I can't wait to see the final products. We will be sure to keep them on display during graduation if you want to see them too. A special thank you to all of the parents who supplied shoeboxes for this project. We couldn't have done it without your support!
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Friday, May 6, 2016
Humanities and the Civil War
Most of you know that ASPIRE 5 uses a William and Mary gifted and talented curriculum for social studies. While we cover the same topics in the GCISD curriculum, the William and Mary program provides opportunities for our students to explore them with greater depth and complexity. This has been especially true for our Civil War unit. As we began our journey, we made some difficult decisions about other parts of American history that we would not explore with the same depth in order to make a full commitment to understand the impact of the Civil War on our country. We finally ended the unit this week, and as we reflect on the many tasks our scholars undertook, there is no question we made the right decision.
The theme of our unit was Cause and Effect. We tried to integrate this theme in every aspect of the Civil War, including the events that led to the war, individual battles, medical issues, and Lincoln's assassination. We also integrated Language Arts on many occasions, as we read many primary sources, and wrote a variety of products.
The first highlight was the Soldier Diaries choiceboard. After reading several authentic letters from Civil War soldiers, the scholars chose a product to express their feelings about the hardships of war and what the soldiers were experiencing. Next was the Medical RAFT. After students read journal entries from Civil War doctors, the scholars chose a combination of perspective, audience, topic, and product to express their reactions. The Appomattox Court House assignment required the scholars to choose a way to write their thoughts about the end of the war from many different perspectives, including soldiers, Generals Lee and Grant, Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, or newspaper reporters. The best may have been last as we explored the nation's reaction to the assassination of President Lincoln by analyzing Walt Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!" and rewriting it from the South's perspective. (Thank you Mr. Wahpekeche!) We also visited the Texas Civil War Museum, which allowed the students to view the weapons, uniforms, medical tools, and personal items they had been reading about.
All of the above tasks allowed the scholars to immerse themselves in the different minds of the stakeholders of the Civil War, and write samples that conveyed their emotions and convictions. Students wrote poems, speeches, letters, articles, and journal entries that demonstrated their knowledge of the significant events, issues, and people of the Civil War, and their lasting effects and legacies. This would not have been possible without the incredible primary sources offered by the William and Mary curriculum, as there is nothing that has the same impact as the words from someone that was actually there. As a result, there is no doubt the students have a better appreciation for this difficult time in our nation's history. They used higher-level thinking to explore multiple perspectives of complex issues, and used their creativity and writing skills to reflect on what they learned and felt. I was very impressed with their ability to capture the essence of what they explored, and I can't wait to see how they use this new appreciation as we continue to study the events that shaped America.
The theme of our unit was Cause and Effect. We tried to integrate this theme in every aspect of the Civil War, including the events that led to the war, individual battles, medical issues, and Lincoln's assassination. We also integrated Language Arts on many occasions, as we read many primary sources, and wrote a variety of products.
The first highlight was the Soldier Diaries choiceboard. After reading several authentic letters from Civil War soldiers, the scholars chose a product to express their feelings about the hardships of war and what the soldiers were experiencing. Next was the Medical RAFT. After students read journal entries from Civil War doctors, the scholars chose a combination of perspective, audience, topic, and product to express their reactions. The Appomattox Court House assignment required the scholars to choose a way to write their thoughts about the end of the war from many different perspectives, including soldiers, Generals Lee and Grant, Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, or newspaper reporters. The best may have been last as we explored the nation's reaction to the assassination of President Lincoln by analyzing Walt Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!" and rewriting it from the South's perspective. (Thank you Mr. Wahpekeche!) We also visited the Texas Civil War Museum, which allowed the students to view the weapons, uniforms, medical tools, and personal items they had been reading about.
All of the above tasks allowed the scholars to immerse themselves in the different minds of the stakeholders of the Civil War, and write samples that conveyed their emotions and convictions. Students wrote poems, speeches, letters, articles, and journal entries that demonstrated their knowledge of the significant events, issues, and people of the Civil War, and their lasting effects and legacies. This would not have been possible without the incredible primary sources offered by the William and Mary curriculum, as there is nothing that has the same impact as the words from someone that was actually there. As a result, there is no doubt the students have a better appreciation for this difficult time in our nation's history. They used higher-level thinking to explore multiple perspectives of complex issues, and used their creativity and writing skills to reflect on what they learned and felt. I was very impressed with their ability to capture the essence of what they explored, and I can't wait to see how they use this new appreciation as we continue to study the events that shaped America.
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