Shoebox Science Fair

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!