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As students finished their rough drafts early, to allow them to excel even further I spent my planning time giving them written feedback. 

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This allows me to give the students who are struggling precious one on one time in class.

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Standards Incorporated (my class has no official state standards) 

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Standards Incorporated (my class has no official state standards) 

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The unit aligns with these National School Library Standards:

I. Inquire. D. Grow 3. Learners participate in an ongoing inquiry-based learning process by enacting new understanding through real-world connections

I.  Inquire B. Create. 3. Learners engage with new knowledge by following a process that includes generating products that illustrate learning.

III. Collaborate A. Think. 2. Learners identify collaborative opportunities by developing new understandings through engagement in group learning.

ISTE Standards Assessed: (what I use to structure my class)

1.3.a Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.

1.3.b. Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.

1.6.d.  Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

Science:

6.S.1A.1 Ask questions to (1) generate hypotheses for scientific investigations, (2) refine models, explanations, or designs, or (3) extend the results of investigations or challenge claims.

6.E.2A.2 Critically analyze scientific arguments based on evidence for and against how different phenomena (natural and human induced) may contribute to the composition of Earth’s atmosphere.

English:

2.1 Transact with text in order to formulate logical questions based on evidence, generate explanations, propose and present conclusions, and consider multiple perspectives.

3.3 Gather information from a variety of primary and secondary sources and evaluate sources for perspective, validity, and bias.

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Learning the importance of collaboration 

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Learning the importance of collaboration 

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Being on the electives team and not having a team of my own or department it is easy to work on my own and not collaborate with others. However, this project has forced me to not only work with Ms. Fuller for the students to get expert advice in research but to also talk to their English teachers to provide scaffolding that is tailored to what they are learning in their core classes. This collaboration, I believe is one of the reasons I have had such success with this unit.

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Through this unit I have learned a lot. This unit has forced me to change my perspective on feedback. I will now rely on peer feedback (through the compliment sandwich critique) as well as me providing written feedback.

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Being a STEAM class, students will immediately enter their next project based unit on paper making. This is a spin off unit. As students learned of the importance of recycling they will now become part of the recycling process. Students will take old paper, soak it overnight, blend it into pulp, and press it into molds to create new paper. They will then take this paper and create Holiday cards for the teacher of their choosing. Their cards will include a picture and a festive haiku.

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Helping struggling student with research 

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Helping struggling student with research 

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This will be given to students when they are done with their rough drafts. Before starting on their website and working on the design portion students will find the media they will upload.

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Students will be given this rubric as they start their final websites so they know exactly what they will be graded on.

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Students got to pick any of the topics from this list to research. Since they got to chose, most students were excited to perform research to find out more about something they were interested in.

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Science: 6th Grade Unit 3 Standards are focused on Animal Adaptation and Survival.  Students will have to learn about how animals’ survival abilities are being affected or how they are having to adapt because of an increase of trash and other human effects on animal habitats.

Technology:  Students will use:

1. Google Docs- Students will use Google Docs for their notes throughout the unit, to collaborate, and to write a paper.

2. Google Sites-  Students will be required to create a final presentation in the form of a Google Site.  The website will be a culmination of all of their research and will contain the information they have learned on their chosen topic.  It will be their argument to the Woodmont Middle community regarding why recycling is important to implement.

3. Storyboard That will be incorporated as students create comic strips about the importance of recycling.

Arts/humanities:  Technology will be included as students will be tasked with building their own Google Site. Students will learn how to make comic strips and they will learn strong design techniques as they learn how to format a website that is easy to use.

Math:  Students will determine statistical analysis of global waste and carbon footprints for each individual.  Part of the project will also be gathering school data on how much waste we produce that is then broken down into garbage, recyclables, and compost.

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Here is the projected timeline for the unit.

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Empathy mapping (verbal feedback on formative assessment)

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Empathy mapping (verbal feedback on formative assessment)

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Students for every project at a certain point write 4 "I" statements: I said, I did, I thought, I felt. I have students write these statements to connect to the material personally. I then have each student in the class share their favorite one (unless agreed with the student that they do not participate in discussions due to numerous reasons). This allows me to get a gage on where the students are at emotionally with the unit. Do they feel connected to the material? If not, how can I reframe or put the problem in a way they will understand.

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Through creating inquiry about what students do with items they no longer use, students start to get curious about different outcomes instead of just throwing their items in the trash. They then start to think about what would happen if everyone in the room through away 1 item, then what about everyone in the school. What would that look like? How can they change the outcome? This is a Segway into students creating their comic strips.

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Students excelled in performing their research. My entire 6th period class finished on time with the help of Ms. Fuller and I. My 7th period needed some more assistance in finding "meat" so we took some time at the start of class after Thanksgiving break to review what strong research would look like.

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Students and staff got to observe the amazing work the students had been working on.

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In case you can't view: Home page part 2

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In case you can't view: Home page part 2

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Here is the description of the page and the links to the students sites. This works as a homepage for all students as well as the community to view their peer's sites.

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For those that can't view site: Cover of Site: Home Page

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For those that can't view site: Cover of Site: Home Page

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Student pictures as shown above are then showcased on the page

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Each day of the unit is on the slide show. The (STOP) lets me know where each day is supposed to end. This project is flued and reviews can be added and subtracted based on where students are at each day.

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This document contains all of the small steps and instructions leading up to the final product. This is the same format students use for all of their projects. It is an easy way to keep a multi step project oranized.

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Think Template_ Saving the world through Recycling

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Story of a Recycled Item Instructions (Incorporating the A and Student Choice)

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Story of a Recycled Item Instructions (Incorporating the A and Student Choice)

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Final Woodmont Middle Website (making sure to keep the A and T the center of the project)

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Final Woodmont Middle Website (making sure to keep the A and T the center of the project)

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Here is the hub site that connects the viewer to all of the sites made by the students. For security reasons I can not edit the site to be viewed to everyone just people in Greenville county.

1. How can we use technology to gather information about our current local and global impact on the planet through our waste and carbon footprint?

2. How can we present research and multiple forms of media on a website to educate students, teachers, and the Woodmont community about the importance of recycling so that they will be more inclined to implement recycling in their lives?