Curriculum Connections:     

This project meets the Illinois State Learning Goals  in the following areas: Social Science Goals 16 and 18; Language Arts Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. ; and Science Goals 11, 12, and 13.   

Time frame-six to ten weeks

Students will be able to comprehend a variety of scientific concepts, specifically those dealing with earth science.

Students will understand the scientific method and be able to apply it to their own experiments.

Students will create a visual display that demonstrates their learning.

Students will work collaboratively and cooperatively to accomplish their projects. 

Assessment:    

Student's performance is continually assessed throughout the project. One form of assessment will be informal teacher observation plus ongoing teacher and student group discussions. There will also be formal assessment assisted by a rubric. To view the rubric, click here.         

Teacher Notes:  

We had all students complete our web based field trips first. This gave them background on the scientific method and curricular science concepts. We then did the Science Court interactive units (Tom Snyder). The experiments the students conducted were written up using a lab report format based on the scientific method. Next students watched the selected videos and took notes. Each classroom divided their students into teams of four and assigned them a topic area (hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.). Students used classroom time, Technology Center time, and Media Center time to research their topics, organize and create their projects, and practice their presentations. Lastly student pairs chose a science fair project based on concepts studied within the earth science 5th grade curriculum.