✏Writing Assignment
We’re putting it all together and writing the paragraphs that you’ve been preparing for all year. This week I want you to write about your favorite biome. Remember that you’ve already written your introductory sentence (it’s in the middle box) and your concluding sentence (it’s in the last box). Now you’ll write 1-2 sentences for the other boxes to complete the paragraph.
PART ONE – CONTINENT PROJECT – DISCOVER SOUTH AMERICA
- Watch this VIDEO overview about SOUTH AMERICA. (3 minutes)
- What is considered SOUTH AMERICA?
- South America: It is the southern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, or simply the Americas. The continent is compact and roughly triangular in shape, being broad in the north and tapering to a point—Cape Horn, Chile—in the south. South America is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the northwest and north, the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast, east, and southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
- Use THIS LINK to see a list of all the countries are in SOUTH AMERICA, this will help you when you’re thinking about your continent project. The link is also a helpful overview of the area.
CONTINENT PROJECT:
Think about what you would like to learn more about in SOUTH AMERICA. Spend 1-2 hours learning about a creation that interests you, either a creation of God’s or something made by man, find information about the topic and create a short 2 minute (or 5 minutes, see step 3) presentation to be presented in class.
(1-2 hours)
- Sign up for the topic you want to present on. The list has lots of ideas you can choose from, but you are welcome to choose something that is NOT on the list, if you think of something that isn’t in the sign-up document check with Traci, likely we can add it. SIGN UP HERE.
- Identify on a map (you can use THIS MAP or choose your own) which area/country in SOUTH AMERICA that your project is from: (2 minutes)
- You can do a 2-minute solo presentation, or do a 5-minute presentation with one or two partners. (No longer than five minutes, I WILL cut you off. If it’s some kind of demo, practice first so you have a general idea of the time you will take. Contact me if you have extenuating circumstances)
- Here’s the deal, though – you can’t just stand up and talk about a topic. You need to do something creative – a skit, a video (that you make – not one you show from YouTube), a demonstration, you can bake something, paint something, make a floral arrangement, build something, write and sing a song, etc. Be creative!
Do you like PRIZES?
FYI: This week we will be awarding PRIZES for the most outstanding presentations. believe me, you will like these prizes.
PART TWO – PASSION PROJECT/WORLD’S FAIR:
TED TALK: “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” Sir Ken Robison
- Watch and Listen to the TED talk ““Do Schools Kill Creativity?” by Sir Ken Robison”
“Do schools kill creativity?” (20 minutes)- GET a 3×5 card and write down one new idea you learned in this talk. Bring this to class.
YEAR LONG PROJECT:
Keep working on your project, the finish line it almost here!
- Plan to spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours THIS WEEK on your project. (90-120 minutes) Depending on how you feel your project is going, you may need to increase this amount.
- Before class go the THIS LINK and report on how your project is going. (4 minutes)
PART THREE – WORLD’S FAIR COMING SOON!!!!
We need to start thinking ahead about how you will be presenting your PASSION PROJECT/YEAR LONG PROJECT at the end of the year. We will be inviting judges to review the projects and help choose 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. These winners will awarded prizes!!!
HEADS-UP FOR THE NEXT CLASS: In March you will be turning in TWO THINGS, a ROUGH DRAFT of a 1-2 page reflection paper about your project. And and ROUGH DRAFT of your tri-fold board.
This will be due in class on March 28th.
In case you are wondering, your final board will need to include:
- a Title
- 6 or 7 excellent facts your learned while researching your project
- Pictures/Images or your project.
MORE DETAILS for the rough draft of you REFLECTION PAPER and the rough draft of your TRI-FOLD BOARD will be available next month on the blog.
In the meantime you can peruse a few samples of award winning trifold boards:
Examples of tidy, eye-catching trifolds are these: (found on google)
Notice, the first student obviously has artistic talent so she used that to her advantage. Notice how clear, tidy and interesting it is to look at. The second student is probably not an artist, yet he accomplishes having an eye-catching board through the use of color and easy-to-read and organized information.
MORE INFO FOR THE UPCOMING WORLD’S FAIR, BUT NOT FOR OUR FEBRUARY CLASS!!!!!
So, I bet you want to know …. HOW EXACTLY WILL WE BE JUDGED?! I would love to wow our judges and make it hard for them to choose our winners. With that in mind if we all rise to the challenge and excel at this project then it’s going to be the small details that set your project apart from the rest. Are you ready to give this project the extra effort and finish the school year strong? Here is the judging criteria that will be used:
- 60% Project and Visuals- Your tri-fold board display and your finished project. I realize you’ve spent the entire school year working on the finished project so I want that to weigh heavily into your final score.
- 20% Reflection Paper Quality– The strength of your research, the quality of the information that you share and a well written paper.
- 20% Presentation Skills- Eye contact, confidence, clarity of speaking, sharing interesting information about your project. The presentation you give to the judges should be specifically about what you created, NOT about your research alone. You need to show them what you made and talk about the process, why you think it is significance, why you chose it, what you learned from it … focus on the project.
If you have have questions about any of the above PLEASE BRING THOSE TO CLASS!!!!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
Traci
