Subject: Literacy and Science

Grade level: Third Grade

Topic: Physical Science

Goals:

  1. Students will learn how science is involved in fun, everyday activities.
  2. Students will integrate technology into an oral presentation.
  3. Students will work collaboratively through the inquiry process.

Objectives:

  1. Through their inquiry research, students will read and comprehend a minimum of three resources in a variety of genres and take notes regarding their learning, using the provided investigation sheets.
  2. Students will create and extend meaning from informational text by accurately summarizing and synthesizing their notes from single and multiple sources of information, by creating a synthesized main idea organizer for their photo essay presentation.
  3. Using a process and presentation rubrics, students will hold each other accountable to fulfill their individual role, stay on task, and actively participate in each step of the inquiry process, in order to be fully prepared to present their research findings to the class through a PowerPoint photo-essay.

Implementation Plan

Printing: 

Print one copy of the following documents for your own master copies:
  • WebQuest home page
  • Example of a photo essay page
  • Investigation sheet
  • Examples of all three rubrics (collaboration, process, and presentation)
  • Group roles page
  • Individual roles checklists (questioner, discussion monitor, checker, recorder)
  • Communicator sheet
  • Main idea organizer
  • Presentation outline
  • PowerPoint Template

Print student copies (in bulk to have extra on hand) of the following documents:

  • Investigation sheets—double-sided—at least 3 per student
  • Collaboration and process rubrics—single-sided—1 per student
  • Main idea organizer—single-sided—1 per student
  • Group roles checklists--double-sides, 1 per student
Print group copies of the following documents:
  • Presentation rubric—one per group (photo-copy per student when completed)
  • Communicator sheets—one per group, cut sheets in half
  • Presentation outline—one per group, may choose to print on 11X17 paper

 Technology:

  1. Have as many computers as possible with internet connection available to students throughout the project for research.
  2. Check out class set/computer lab of computers during step #6, developing the presentation.
  3. You will need a projector for step #7, delivering the presentations.
  4. Students will need access to the internet, as well as Microsoft PowerPoint, in order to develop their presentations.
  5. If you desire, you may want to save resource websites as favorites on school computers so all students do not need to have access to the WebQuest home page.
  6. If you haven’t done so already, create student folders on a shared server for students to save their work.
  7. Identify a location in the room for student computers to be used/accessed.
    8. Set up a rotation for students to use them on a daily basis during weeks 2-3 during literacy center time.
  8. If students do not have access to technology, they can still use print sources and cut and paste graphics onto chart paper or 11X17 paper to mimic electronic slides for their presentation.

Materials:

  1. Gather all suggested resources, not on the internet, in a labeled container, for students to use for research.
  2. Organize all printing ahead of time in a student-friendly location

Assign Groups/Roles:

  1. Groups should be heterogeneously formed as a result of ongoing data collection and analysis.
  2. Arrange student desks into their inquiry groups within the classroom.

Assessment:

  1. Assign students another student within their own group to grade on the collaboration rubric.
  2. Make copies of group presentation rubrics to give to each student.
  3. Follow-through with individual conferences to reflect on rubrics with students.

     

     
    Make a Free Website with Yola.