Thursday, March 29, 2012

Thoughts About Projects: Preparing For An Exhibition














Just before the holiday, I chatted with students about project work, focusing on the following key questions:

How has your project work changed in the past year? Has it improved? How?
Do you enjoy having the freedom to choose your topics, and the form of your final projects?
What advice (regarding project work) might you have for the incoming 5th graders?

Their responses were recorded, and I've just completed a transcription, choosing a cross-section to accompany a exhibition upcoming in the library.

Here's what they had to say:


Thoughts about doing projects: choosing topics and how the project will be presented.

I like the freedom of doing what you want to do. I like seeing how everybody’s mind works, seeing what everybody’s project will be, and everybody’s doing something different. You can’t predict what you’re going to see. You’re always surprised. Cambell

I like how people get to choose what best suits them. If a Prezi suits them better, then they can do a Prezi. Gabriel

I really enjoy having your own freedom (to choose the topic and how the project will be presented). Everybody’s project is unique. They’re all different. Jake

I like the creative part of doing my way. I have more fun thinking about how I should do it, and how I’m going to put it all together. Susanna

It’s nice to have a choice, to choose what you think will work best for that project, and also you can try something new. Danielle

I think it’s important (that we can choose our own topic and choose how we present our project). Take the Artist and the Artifact project. If Giuli wasn’t able to present her project the way she did (as a presentation with clay artifacts), then there’d be nothing special about it, because they’d all be the same. It allowed her to stand out, and if Giuli enjoys it, she’ll probably learn more. Sabria

A lot of times we have these creative ideas, like I want to make a movie, or I want to make some artifacts . . . Ira

We’re able to pick our topics, so you can actually have fun while you’re doing it. Cynthia

They get ideas in their heads, like Da-Lan, she probably immediately thinks of a huge display. When you do something that you have to do, your heart may not really be in it, you don’t try as hard. But when you do something you’re interested in, you try more, you learn more, and it’s easier. Lexie

We’ve learned new ways to do projects by watching what other kids do. Cyrus

We’ve done a lot of projects this year. We’ve already done four or five. I’ve gotten better in organizing them. Elaina

We’re doing big projects, and people don’t know about your topic. In the Artist and Artifact project, no one really knew about your topic. It’s more fun that you get to choose it, and do it in your own way. Danielle

It’s sort of like we’re teaching, you’re teaching everyone about your topic. Sabria

At the beginning of the year, no one knew Prezi. I made a PowerPoint, but I didn’t know what a PowerPoint was, I didn’t make one before. A lot of times before presenting my project, I use the feedback from other projects to make last minute changes. Ira

We are expected to dive into the water (respond in depth), instead of skimming the surface (doing what is easy and superficial). We have the freedom to dive into our topic. We can’t slack-off, no one else is doing our topic. Cambell

When you get the project assigned, think about it, and start on it earlier, and you can finish earlier. Choose your topic carefully, and choose your partners carefully, because sometimes if you choose your friends it can be hard to stay focused. Susanna

I think that for everything you cannot be just on the surface. You might be kind of used to writing one sentence in a journal, and that’s it. One of our projects was 60 points just for detail. Danielle

I love picking my topics. If we had to do something about a book, and let’s say I don’t like this book, and we’re made to do it, I would be unhappy, and I would do it badly. But if it was a book that I liked, for example Harry Potter, my project would be much better. It’s the same thing with piano. If it’s a song I don’t like, then I don’t like practicing it, and even if I do practice, I play it badly. But if it’s a song that I love, I can practice it for hours. JacobM

You try harder if you enjoy what you’re doing. Margo

I like to choose what kind of display we do, because you can make your creativity go BOOM! So I can do anything, like a Prezi. Now that I know what a Prezi is, so I want to do Prezis more. When I first look at something, I explore what the features. I like to play around and figure it out. Da-Lan

If you enjoy it, it’s more likely you’ll put more time into it. And it’s custom made to Nora. Even how you do the project is about Nora. No one else used a music stand with notes on the back. That was totally you. Mr. Spedding to Nora

Whatever I do is based off of me, like the puzzle I did, because I like puzzles. All this stuff we do, we do because we like to do it. Caroline

From the teacher’s view, that you do a puzzle, and you love puzzles, that makes everything better: you remember it better, it’s a better quality product, and you invest more of yourself. Mr. Spedding to Caroline

I think projects are important for your grade, and what you do in your life, and the things you do normally are reflected in your projects. Like Caroline mentioned, the puzzle reflects who she is. In the Artist and Artifact, your project reflects who you are. Sometimes we see very creative projects, and more of a Plain Jane kind of project, you know, black and white. So there’s a difference between a detail and creativeness. If you have maybe a person who didn’t do a lot of creative stuff, but has a lot of information, and then have a person who did a lot of creative things, but didn’t have exactly all of the factual things. I think if we all did something simple and basic, we’d be a little more on the same level of creativity. But if you do something different, it shows who you are. Ellie

When I do my projects, I like being different than everyone else, because it’s just who I am. I like putting a lot of thingies into it. Now that we’re an IB school, we can choose the one that we want. Da-Lan

* * *


Advice for doing project work.

I’d say to picture this school and your projects as a beach. Before you might have just been playing around on the shore, you’re not in the water. Maybe you’re used to being by the water on the shore, but you’re not really diving into a project. Now you’re diving deep, you’re SCUBA diving. Sabria


A tip: never, ever, ever, ever put your projects off until the last minute. Believe me, I’ve done that, and it’s not cool! Skylar

Sometimes you’re doing research, you have a bunch of stuff, and later when you find something else that you hadn’t seen before, I think you should add it in, because the more detail you have, the more points you get. Always use bullet points, and along with bullet points have a picture, so you don’t have to do a lot of writing. Ira

I think you should work really hard on your projects, and not be on the surface. It’s like swimming. When you go deep you’re actually getting a better understanding of your topic. Abdalla

I’d say if you’re doing the Explorer Project, for example, and you want to choose an explorer, do more research about that person to be sure how much information there is, see if you like her, and if you don’t, then I’d choose a different person. And never plagiarize! Lexie

Just because you don’t do well on one project doesn’t mean that you’ll fail on the next one. You should try harder on the next project. Ariel

Maybe you’re not happy with your project. Let that be your motivation, so you can compare projects. You can say, in this project I didn’t like this part, but on this next project I’m going to be sure to make it better. Sabria

The suggestions I would have for the incoming 5th graders in terms of projects would be for them to know that the expectations are much higher. This year you have to go into huge depth and detail. I would tell them that they should expect for themselves way more than they did before. Everything has got to have a lot of meaning, and it has to be very detailed, and well-organized. A big tip I would give them from my own learning, like I learned that we are not to use dense text. We should use bullet points. I’d give them this advice from the start so that they don’t make that mistake. JacobM

My advice would be to pick something that you enjoy, and stay away from your friends who you know you’re going to talk to. Like you said, we should do it from interest and not friendship. Sometimes it happens to be your friend likes to do the same thing. They need to stay away from purposefully doing the same thing with their friends.

Caroline

Don’t get too creative, like I did, because you’ll get an A-. When you’re doing your projects, don’t follow someone, like, oh, the Caribe people, I’m going to do it with her. Da-Lan

One of the biggest tips would be for them to not plagiarize. I would show them how easy it is to copy it, paste it into an internet web-searcher thing, and it would take me right to it. JacobM

You need to choose your project really carefully, your ideas, and you need to choose the right partners and the right way to do things, like a PowerPoint or a Prezi, how you will display your knowledge. Ellie

Along with no dense text, you don’t just put the dense text into bullets. It’s basically just notes for you, and you really need to know what you’re talking about. Anna

You have to organize it well. Organize it in bullet points with a label. Mae

Don’t let your parents take over the whole entire project, and don’t go to the store and buy so much stuff. (I will continue to do that though!) Da-Lan

The expectations are way higher. Sloppiness and no detail isn’t really accepted. Nora

When you write a paper, make sure to edit it with a grown-up, because you may not catch your own mistakes when you read it over yourself. Gabby

A tip: when you’re doing a project, talk to your parents about it, too, but still do it yourself. Plagiarizing is not a cool thing to do, because the teacher will easily be able to tell. Kyle

When you’re choosing a topic, don’t always go with your first instinct, like, oh, I want to do Jane Goodall, the moment the teacher says that we’re doing this project. After a week, you may find someone you really want to do. Ellie

* * *


Have my projects improved this year? Explain.

My projects have improved, but only a little bit. My oral history project was really strong. I enjoyed doing the movie, and the board, too. For my culture project, I didn’t like doing a display board, I don’t really like doing boards that much, but I also think that was really good, just like my oral history project. For that one I got a little more creative, because I made that head, and painted it. For my last project, I should have put bullet points instead of text. JacobM

But that’s the learning process. You don’t get things perfect the first time. Plus you have lots of models to look at. Mr. Spedding to Jacob

I don’t think my projects have improved, but I understand what you’re supposed to do in a project, like the basic items, you need to do bullet points, etc. It also has to do with what the teacher says, if the teacher likes it or not, because if they want it done a certain way, it can really affect the way you think of future projects. Ellie

I think my projects haven’t improved this year, but I think they will next year because I more had a learning process this year. The first project, the oral history project, I thought that one was really good, and I liked it, and I had fun doing it. I also had fun doing the other two projects, but I don’t think as much. With my culture project, it was who I am, and I know who I am, so it wasn’t that fun for me, and I hand wrote a part, and now I know you’re supported to type it. For the native tribe project, I learned that you’re supposed to use bullet points instead of dense text. It’s been a really big learning experience. Anna

I think that not only have my projects improved, but I have improved. Last year I was more shy, like talking in front of the whole class. I can talk a lot when I’m with one friend -- you guys know that already -- but if I’m up in front of the class presenting something, I get nervous, it’s harder to be myself in front of a whole lot of people. I’m okay with five or six people, but 25 or 50 puts butterflies in my stomach. Caroline

You don’t exactly know if your projects improved because the ones this year are bigger and you have to have more detail. So, technically, from 1st grade it’s like sea level, then in 3rd grade I probably went up a couple feet. And when you go into 5th grade it just goes skyrocketing high. It has to be done in depth. Da-Lan

I do think my projects have improved because this year you are expecting more of us, and I think we’ve done five projects (including science), so I think the quality really has improved. Margo

I think it is better when we work in groups, because then the pressure isn’t on one person, it’s spread out between people. Now this we’re better at organizing, we say you do this, this, and this, and I’ll do this, this, and this. Caroline

In my opinion, I think there are two definitions to the word project. There’s the surface project, and then there’s the in-depth project, which you have to do. I used to do surface projects, then I started going into more detail. Nora


Sunday, March 25, 2012

Holiday Extra Credit in Language Arts: A Letter to Jacob

Jacob:


I hope you’re enjoying the holiday.


About extra credit in LA: I would be happy to treat anything you compose as extra credit, realizing that the point value would be determined by the depth/detail given to the writing. I suggest that you consider practicing/experimenting with basic and advanced forms, such as:


= dialogue with description, focusing on word careful word choice (varying your choice of words, looking for more precise words, probably referring to a thesaurus, you can find these on-line, too); for a fun variation, you might try twisting a plot: taking a story we know well, and twisting it, updating it, creating a parody, or a spoof


= practice of basic story forms: beginning (introducing us to setting, characters, and plot), middle (developing the plot/conflict, heightening the dramatic tension), end (resolving the plot/conflict)


= practicing this basic form:

intro/opening (stating a thesis) -> three details/arguments (each in its own paragraph, leading with a topic sentence) -> closing/conclusion (restating your thesis, and concluding the paper)


= another form which we’ve not used thus far this year is giving instructions, following a list of simple steps: how to find the least common denominator, how to make homemade cupcakes, how to make and keep friends, etc.


Of course, it’s important that you have fun, or make it entertaining for yourself, while still practicing skills.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Explorer's Project: General Outline

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Images from Einstein The Nobody.

This entry is for students interested in beginning an investigation of your selected explorer during the two-week spring break. First, here's a working list of students and explorers (keep me informed of any changes):

5A
Mehad/Sir Francis Drake Daniel/Steve Jobs Brandon/Leonardo da Vinci
Gabby&Alyssa/Captain James Cook Nora/Charles Darwin
Shiva/Louis Pasteur Caroline/Jane Austin Mae/Nicolaus Copernicus
Margo/Martha Graham Da-Lan/Steven Spielberg Oliver/to be determined
Paola/Hernan Cortes Adrian/Leonardo da Vinci Jacob/David Copperfield
Abby/Jan Goodall Sebastian/Charles Lindberg Isaiah/Alfred Hitchcock
Jesse/Sir Isaac Newton Cameron/James Cameron Anna/Silvia Earle
Katie/Galileo Kyle/Sir Edmund Hillary Ellie/Marco Polo Carlos/Marco Polo

5B
Karli/Sir Francis Drake Cindy/Anna Polova
Kristian/Junipero Serra Sabria/Ruth Harkness Susanna&Vivian/Jane Goodall
Stefan&Jake/Sir Edmund Hillary Ashley/Nikoli Tesla Chase/Marco Polo
Elaina/Jill Pruetz Abdalla/Jacques Cousteau Ariel/Francisco Pizarro
Guili/Dian Fossey Danielle/Dr. Mary Cynthia/tech
Lexi/Christopher Columbus Ira/Indian Film Maker Skylar/NASANancy
Evan/Dr. Bill Wattenburg Gabriel/Robert Falcon Scott Cyrus/Bill Gates
Cambell/Galileo Jacob/to be determined France/Tomas Edison

It is very early, the unit has barely begun, and we must together determine the details of the project after the holiday. Still, it would be a great idea to begin gathering materials about your explorer. Go to your local library and see what you can find. Look for a biography/ies. Organize your research around our three lines of inquiry:

1. The Explorer
especially his/her childhood, family life, early influences, and schooling; create a timeline for their life

2. The Exploring
what did they explore; look for evidence of dedication, imagination, and examination (or concentration)

3. How the exploring changed the world
(or contributed to our understanding of how the world works)


I recommend researching your explorer using the 5Ws & H, described below (from this website):

The Five W's and the H

The Five W's and the H, an idea borrowed from journalism, is another approach to use to narrow topics. Good reporting covers the 5W's and the H of every story: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? Since these words guide coverage of the entire range of a subject being reported, you can use them as a guide to the Font sizerange of possibilities offered by the subject you have chosen:

WHO:

THE PEOPLE INVOLVED.

WHAT:

THE PROBLEMS, THINGS, IDEAS.

WHEN:

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE OF THE TOPIC.

WHERE:

THE PLACES INVOLVED.

WHY:

THE CAUSES, REASONS, RESULTS, CONDITIONS.

HOW:

HISTORY OR FUNCTION (HOW IT BEGAN OR OPERATES).



You might keep careful notes, organized by line of inquiry. We'll be creating a bibliography for this project, so keep track of your resources. For now, just be sure to write down the titles and authors, and/or the URLs, of all materials that you use.

Remember, the performance of your project will be evaluated, so it is important to really get to know your explorer. Imagine that you are an actor doing research for a role, and you must get to know very well the person you will become on stage. This is the very best approach. Become the character! You might plan to speak of the explorer in the first person, as this is a photo of my mother and father, or this is where I went to school. Or, you might act as if the explorer was your brother or sister, or family member, so they are someone you grew up with and know well.

As always, invite your parents' participation in the process. Fill them in on what you're learning.

I'll be home for the holiday, and would be happy to assist/advise in any way. Send questions.

Lighter Than Air: Friday Knockout

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Students combine basketball with interpretive modern dance in a choreography they call Knockout.

A View To The Future: The 6th Grade Living Museum

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Our fifth grade students had the opportunity to view their own futures through the lens of the 6th grade Living Museum of Ancient Egyptian History. It was a helpful context for our own upcoming Distant Lands & Worldly Curiosity Explorer's Project, which will include an element of performance (to take place in late April).