Prospecting for Perspective
Spring 2020
Prospecting for Perspective
Spring 2019
Caught in the Act!
Fall 2018
Grow Your Own Way
Spring 2018
Chicanx Comix: A Study of Identity Through Graphic Art
Fall 2017
It Takes a Heart to be a Hero
Spring 2017
What Floats Your Boat?
Fall 2016
What's In A Game?
Spring 2016
Essential Questions:
Project Description:
What’s in a game? Students will explore a variety of games across different cultures and countries. They will examine issues of equity and how rules are constructed to promote fair play. After a close analysis of existing games, students will be challenged to create their own original game, incorporating elements of the games they studied. An official rule book will serve as the final product for this project, so that the students can share the games they created with others.
Fieldwork Activities:
Product: official game rule book
Standards Covered:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2 - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.A - Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.D - Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.6 - With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.8 - Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.7 - Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.9 - Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
- Why do people play games?
- What are the essential elements of a game?
- What makes a game fun?
- How do rules promote fairness?
Project Description:
What’s in a game? Students will explore a variety of games across different cultures and countries. They will examine issues of equity and how rules are constructed to promote fair play. After a close analysis of existing games, students will be challenged to create their own original game, incorporating elements of the games they studied. An official rule book will serve as the final product for this project, so that the students can share the games they created with others.
Fieldwork Activities:
- Visit the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista
- Albion Pros presentation
Product: official game rule book
Standards Covered:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2 - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.A - Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.D - Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.6 - With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.8 - Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.7 - Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.9 - Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
The House That Built Me
Winter 2016
Essential Questions:
Project Description:
The concept of “home” is different for everyone. For some, “home” is a certain place or structure. For others, “home” is a specific person, or maybe just an idea or feeling.
During this nine-week project, students will investigate the difference between a house and a home. They will begin to understand how structures affect the community in which they are built, and vice versa. Every structure is built with purpose and intent – how do the individual needs of a community drive that purpose? Students will study the California Gold Rush through the lens of housing and community. They will “become” a character (miner, doctor, vigilante, cook etc.) and keep a journal from the perspective of their character, detailing, with historical accuracy, what life was like during that time.
Finally, in teams of five, students will construct a doghouse for the San Diego Humane Society as their final product.
Fieldwork Activities:
Products:
Standards Met:
Writing
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7
Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Reading
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.5
Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.
Social Studies
4.1.5:Use maps, charts, and pictures to describe how communities in California vary in land use, vegetation, wildlife, climate, population density, architecture, services, and transportation
4.3.3: Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the physical environment
Science
ETS1.C: Optimizing The Design Solution Different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which of them best solves the problem, given the criteria and the constraints.
Mathematics
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.A.3
Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.C.5
Recognize angles as geometric shapes that are formed wherever two rays share a common endpoint, and understand concepts of angle measurement.
- What makes a home?
- What is the relationship between a structure and the community in which it is built?
- What were communities like during the California Gold Rush?
Project Description:
The concept of “home” is different for everyone. For some, “home” is a certain place or structure. For others, “home” is a specific person, or maybe just an idea or feeling.
During this nine-week project, students will investigate the difference between a house and a home. They will begin to understand how structures affect the community in which they are built, and vice versa. Every structure is built with purpose and intent – how do the individual needs of a community drive that purpose? Students will study the California Gold Rush through the lens of housing and community. They will “become” a character (miner, doctor, vigilante, cook etc.) and keep a journal from the perspective of their character, detailing, with historical accuracy, what life was like during that time.
Finally, in teams of five, students will construct a doghouse for the San Diego Humane Society as their final product.
Fieldwork Activities:
- Tour the Eagle Gold Mine
- Historic Walking Tour of the Gaslamp Quarter & Davis-Horton House Museum
- Visit a Habitat for Humanity build site in El Cajon
- Visit the San Diego Humane Society
Products:
- Hand-crafted perspective journal
- Dog house
Standards Met:
Writing
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7
Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Reading
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.5
Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.
Social Studies
4.1.5:Use maps, charts, and pictures to describe how communities in California vary in land use, vegetation, wildlife, climate, population density, architecture, services, and transportation
4.3.3: Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the physical environment
Science
ETS1.C: Optimizing The Design Solution Different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which of them best solves the problem, given the criteria and the constraints.
Mathematics
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.A.3
Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.C.5
Recognize angles as geometric shapes that are formed wherever two rays share a common endpoint, and understand concepts of angle measurement.
What's Written in the Stars?
Positively Charged Stories
Fall 2015
Essential Questions:
Project Overview:
Part 1: Each student will examine the most essential elements that make up who they are (family, passions, memories, hopes and dreams etc.) After choosing the elements with which they most closely identify, students will write a personal narrative that explains each of their elements. This narrative will then be transformed into a square on a periodic table representing all 4th grade students.
Part 2: Through the study of different constellation myths from various cultures both modern and ancient, students will craft an original star story based on a constellation of their own design.
Part 3: The constellations they create will be turned into an illuminated memento to be given away as a gift. Students will wire their own circuits with a switch to be used to light their nightlights.
Fieldwork/Activities
Skills Developed:
Standards Covered:
Common Core and Next Generation Science
- How do different cultures use stories to explain the cosmos?
- What elements of ourselves help define who we are?
- What is light and how does it travel?
- What "light" do you bring to the world?
Project Overview:
Part 1: Each student will examine the most essential elements that make up who they are (family, passions, memories, hopes and dreams etc.) After choosing the elements with which they most closely identify, students will write a personal narrative that explains each of their elements. This narrative will then be transformed into a square on a periodic table representing all 4th grade students.
Part 2: Through the study of different constellation myths from various cultures both modern and ancient, students will craft an original star story based on a constellation of their own design.
Part 3: The constellations they create will be turned into an illuminated memento to be given away as a gift. Students will wire their own circuits with a switch to be used to light their nightlights.
Fieldwork/Activities
- Kumeyaay storyteller
- Stars in the Park at Balboa Park
- "Journey to Space" IMAX film at Ruben H. Fleet Science Center
Skills Developed:
- Written narratives
- Grammar and Mechanics
- Circuitry
- Use of laser cutter software
- Collaboration
- Altruism
Standards Covered:
Common Core and Next Generation Science
- Solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements from a larger unit to a smaller unit.
- Geometric measurement: understand concepts of angle and measure angles.
- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
- Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
- Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
- With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
- Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
- Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
- Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.
- Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost
What if Everybody Did That?
Essential Questions:
Product:
A hard-cover book of pictures and captions that illustrates potential problems on the playground and the ramifications of what would happen if everybody behaved poorly.
Authentic Audience: All current and future HTe students can read and learn from this book.
Skills Developed:
Standards Covered:
- How can 4th graders help other students remember to play safely on the playground?
- What guidelines are essential for the playground?
- How can we create a lasting piece of useful information?
Product:
A hard-cover book of pictures and captions that illustrates potential problems on the playground and the ramifications of what would happen if everybody behaved poorly.
Authentic Audience: All current and future HTe students can read and learn from this book.
Skills Developed:
- Observation
- Collaboration
- Grammar and Mechanics
- Forming concise thoughts
- Critique/Revision
- Predicting events
Standards Covered:
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text. - CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.6
With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others - CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly. - CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.1.F
Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons.