PROJECT OVERVIEW PART 1: DEFINE
Name of Project:
Subject/Course:
Project Idea
Summary of the issue,
challenge, investigation,
scenario, or problem:
Driving Question
Content and Skills
Standards to be
addressed:
21st Century Skills
to be explicitly taught and
assessed (T+A) or that
will be encouraged (E) by
project work, but not
taught or assessed:
Endangered Animals Duration: 2-3 weeks
Writing and Science Grade Level: 3
Animals are increasingly endangered due to human activities. This project is to investigate what humans have done
which has in turn caused problems for wildlife. Examples include, but are not limited to: global warming, habitat
destruction, deforestation, invasive species, gaps in food webs, man-made inventions (boats and floodgates harming
manatees), etc. Additionally, students will explore ideas that we personally can or humankind should do to address
these problems. Student groups will each choose a particular animal to focus on, research its habitat and reasons for
endangerment and present their findings through a multimedia project.
Why are animals endangered?
W.GN.03.04 use the writing process to produce and present a research project; initiate research questions from content area text from a teacher-
selected topic; and use a variety of resources to gather and organize information.
S.IA.03.14 Develop research strategies and skills for information gathering and problem solving.
S.RS.03.18 Describe the effect humans and other organisms have on the balance of the natural world.
E.ES.03.52 Describe helpful or harmful effects of humans on the environment (garbage, habitat destruction, land management, renewable, and
non-renewable resources).
T+A E T+A E
Collaboration x Other: x
Students will work to locate, analyze, and Partners will write an expository text
present information with partners.
using their organized research.
Presentation
x
Students will create a multimedia presentation
to inform others on the effect of our changing
world upon specific wildlife.
Critical Thinking: x
Students will decide what information is relevant
and important to their topic. They will then
decide how to organize this into categories.
© 2008 Buck Institute for Education 1
 Presentation Audience:
Group: Students will create a narrated Photostory or Voicethread of their researched topic. x
Culminating This is after extensive research, note taking, and drafting an expository writing piece. Class:
Products and
x
Performances
School:

Community:

The culminating product will be a group one, with each individual student Experts:
Individual: contributing to the whole. x
Web:
Other:

PROJECT OVERVIEW PART 2: DESIGN

“Grabber” to I am going to begin by showing a clip from a Polar Bear video (http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/Polar-bear). To
launch inquiry & begin with we'll just talk about what we see. Aren't the cubs cute? Look how they have a den deep in the snow. Notice how the mother bear
hunts and teaches her cubs to hunt. Next, we'll click on the Map tab, which is a feature the National Geographic Kids site has. It will show where
generate interest:
the polar bears' habitat is. I'll ask if the kids have heard about what is happening to the ice. Why is it melting? What is causing it to melt? Then
we'll discuss how diminishing ice will affect the polar bears, referring back to the video clip where the mother bear is shown breaking through the
ice to hunt seals. Next we'll continue our discussion with why the ice is shrinking. What do people have to do with it? Can people change what is
happening? This will lead into the explanation of the project.

Assessments Quizzes/Tests Practice Presentations

Formative
Assessments Journal/Learning Log Notes x
(Checkpoints
During Project) Preliminary Plans/Outlines/Prototypes x Checklists

Rough Drafts x Concept Maps

Online Tests/Exams Other:

Written Product(s), with rubric: Other Product(s) or Performance(s), with rubric: x

Summative __________________________________________________ Narrated Photostory or Voicethread
Assessments __________________________________________________
(End of Project)
Oral Presentation, with rubric Peer Evaluation

Multiple Choice/Short Answer Test Self-Evaluation x

© 2008 Buck Institute for Education 2

 Essay Test Other:
.

Debriefing Journal/Learning Log x Focus Group

Methods (Individual,
Group, and/or Whole-Class Discussion x Fishbowl Discussion
Whole Class)
Survey Other:

Resources On-site people, facilities: Computer lab

Needed
Equipment: microphone, video projector, Internet access

Materials: Photostory 3, note taking and drafting materials, preselected video clips, images, and
sites.

Community resources: Possibility to Skype with an expert in the field

© 2008 Buck Institute for Education 3

 PROJECT TEACHING AND LEARNING GUIDE
Project: Animals versus People
Knowledge and Skills Needed by Students
to successfully complete culminating products and
performances, and do well on summative assessments
Students need a basic awareness of animals that have been
impacted by human activities.
Students will need an introduction to research/ note taking.
Students will already be familiar with creating paragraphs.
However, they will need particular guidance with expository text.
Specific skills will be taught in correlation with our writing
program.
Students will revise drafts with partners.
Students will locate and save images. (Previously learned skill.)
Students will create and narrate Photostories, including a title
page, credits, and ending page. (Children will be familiar with
this program.)
Students will use a rubric throughout the process to ensure that
they are meeting or exceeding project requirements. They will
also self evaluate their learning at the culmination of this study.
Course/Semester: Winter 2010
Scaffolding / Materials / Lessons to be Provided
by the project teacher, other teachers, experts,
mentors, community members
Teacher will need images to give students a glimpse of
 possible choices to research, which will simultaneously grab
interest and attention.
This will be done by teacher modeling. A form will be created
 to assist in organization. Sites/ resources will be found
ahead of time to facilitate timely research. ***Students will be
expected to cite sources.
Teacher will first model an introductory paragraph using
 previously modeled notes from the polar bear example. This
will continue by modeling how to organize notes into
categories followed by developing paragraphs. The final
piece will be a concluding paragraph.
The teacher will observe, reinforcing previously learned
 revising skills as needed.
Teacher will model using class example.

Teacher will model using class example.

Teacher will model the use of the rubric throughout the
 process.
© 2008 Buck Institute for Education 4
 P R O J E C T C A L E N D A R
Project: Animals versus People Start Date: Winter 2010

M O N D AY T U E S D AY W E D N E S D AY T H U R S D AY F R I D AY

PROJECT WEEK ONE

Discuss problems Model researching plight Begin researching Continue researching. Organize research into
animals face. Guide to of the polar bear. Note animals, focusing on categories. (Model/
examples such as polar taking, citing sources, problem caused by guide using polar bear
bears losing ice due to etc. Use template to humans. (Emphasis on information,)
global warming.
organize information. finding and recording
Incorporate video clip
and images. List ideas,
Have students choose a relevant information.)
adding to with teacher different animal to
ideas if needed. research. (2-3 children
per topic.)
PROJECT WEEK TWO
Begin drafting. Model Model creating a polar Continue drafting Continue drafting. Model revision.
intro on polar bear. bear paragraph using paragraphs with other Partners work on
Groups then draft one category of categories. revising.
intro. information. Partners
choose one category
and create a paragraph.

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 PROJECT WEEK THREE
Model concluding Finish revising. Begin Photostory. Continue… Continue…
paragraph. Partners Find images that Import images.
create their own. support your research. Title page, credits, Be sure to have
REVISE! ending slide. children use their
Narrate using final rubrics to self access.
draft. May also label Children will also
images. complete a self
evaluation.

Present! Students will sign up to present in one participating classroom. Children will then select topics of interest to view.

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