Projects

As we undertake new projects, I will post them here. This is to give you access to the information should you forget it at school. It can also be used as a "back-up," should you lose your assignment and criteria. Projects recently added:

• "Hall of Fame" project
•  Gr. 6 MOOO project  

“Hall of Fame”- Reading Power Final Project

Part I- Pick your song and get organized

1.     Your teacher will provide you with a list of this year’s song choices and put you in groups.

2.     You will have access to a laptop to listen to the songs if you need to. Use Youtube, but do please close the monitor and do not watch the videos.

3.     Consider your initial reaction to the songs: how do they make you feel, does one make you think more than the others? etc.

4.     As a group, pick your song. If you cannot figure out a democratic way to do this yourselves, consult your teacher.

Part II – Use the Reading Strategies

·      Each person reads through the lyrics and writes all their connections, questions, visualizations, inferences, and anything else that is notable about the song. You should do this several times to really get at the meaning of the song.  You can either take notes on the lyrics sheet or on a separate sheet of paper, just like we practiced in class.

·      Each group will have a meeting led by me. At this meeting, you will assign one of the following roles to each person in your group:

·      Relationship Expert (connecter)

·      Grand Inquisitor (questions)

·      Imagineer (visualizer)

·      Private Investigator (inferences)

·      At this meeting, you will share and discuss your findings, going through the song step by step. As you do this, each person is responsible for recording ideas related to his or her job.  

·      After reviewing all your connections, questions, visualizations, and inferences, decide as a group what the “transform” message of the song is. Consider:

·      What is not “written” in the song, but now you’re thinking about?

·      Does the song suggest a way to make the world a better place?

·      What’s the “big idea?” What’s the purpose/message of the song? What are the writers trying to say about human beings/life/being alive?

Part III- Put it all together  

1.    Prepare your individual speech and character

·      Each expert is responsible for putting together a brief (1 minute min., 2 minutes MAX) speech to share the best of his or her findings.  You should also be prepared to answer any questions about your thoughts/ interpretations on the song.

·      Decide on an “Expert Name,” preferably something humorous and fun that connects to your job.  Consider also personality:

o   How old is your character? How does he or she dress? 

o   How does your character speak? Does he or she have an accent? Is he or she loud or soft-spoken?

2.    Plan and prepare your group’s transform poster

·      Plan and prepare a collage/artwork poster to share the transform message of your song. The message should be written on the poster. Be prepared to explain/defend your transform message and how you feel/what you think about it, if you think it’s valid, etc. 

3.    Plan and prepare your group’s creative component

·      Prepare ONE creative visual/dramatic component. You must submit, in writing, an explanation of your creative choices and also be prepared to defend them to the audience. Choose ONE from the following:

a.     A “music video” of the song which presents the ideas/images of the song to the music or without the music

b.     Paint a picture of a particularly powerful image from the song

c.      Write a new song based on the same message/idea as the song you chose

d.     Do an interpretive dance

e.     A dramatic tableau/slide show which represents the 5 most important ideas/images of the song

f.      Other ideas? (will discuss/to be submitted for approval)

Part IV- Panel of the Experts Presentation – January 15^th, 2015

·      You will present your ideas to the class in the style of “Panel of the Experts.” You are presenting your findings at the 73^rd Annual Music Madcaps Conference. You will present your ideas one at a time. Everyone in your group must speak and take an active role in the presentation.

·      You need to provide Ms. O’Malley with your fun “expert” names and the institution you come from. Usually, this is a university, but you could do a recording label as well.

·      Your teacher will act as “moderator” of the discussion and you must be prepared to receive questions from the audience on your interpretations. 

·      So, each presentation will look like this:

                                 I.     Ms. O’Malley will welcome and introduce your group.

                               II.     Each speaker will share individual expert findings & answer questions from the moderator

                             III.     Present creative visual/dramatic component and explain

                              IV.     Present Transform poster to audience and explain

                                V.     Questions from the audience

·      Audience participation is anticipated and a MUST. Your participation in the presentations of others is part of YOUR grade.  

Assessment: How you will be marked

·      Individual speech                                                     /30

o   Preparation

o   Enthusiasm/Character

o   Content- suitable, well thought-out, detailed

o   Clarity    

·      Individual audience questions/participation        /10

o   Demonstrates proper listening, asks required number of questions, questions are thoughtful                    

·      Overall group preparedness and creativity           /20

o   Well-rehearsed

o   Evidence of co-operation, problem-solving, teamwork (also evaluated during work periods)

o   Imaginative/enthusiasic – good “business” and interactions between characters

·      Dramatic/Creative aspect                                        /20                            

o   Content-suitable, well thought-out, detailed

o    Explanation-suitable/convincing, detailed   

·      Transform message                                                  /20

o   Content- suitable, well thought-out, detailed evidence

o   Explanation-suitable/convincing 

Total:       /100

*You will also write a post-presentation reflection on your own ability and those of your group members to work together to organize and plan the project. This reflection will also be a factor in your grade.

Planning/Organization Sheet

Use the space below to organize how you will use your class time in the next several weeks.

Class work periods (use lines to plan what you will work on):

·       Wednesday, December 10^th ?

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Thursday, December 11^th  9:20-10:15, 10:30-11:45

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Friday, December 12^th  9:30-10:15

______________________________________________________________________________

·       *Week of December 15^th-19^th when time allows*

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Monday, January 5^th 8:40-9:50

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Tuesday, January 6^th 9:20-9:50

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Wednesday, January 7^th  9:35-10:15

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Thursday, January 8^th  9:20-10:15, 10:30-10:50

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Friday, January 9^th  9:35-10:15

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Monday, January 12^th  8:40-9:50

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Tuesday, January 13^th 9:20-9:50

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Wednesday, January 14^th  9:35-10:15 *Last work period

______________________________________________________________________________

·       Present Thursday, January 15^th    (though date can be adjusted at teacher’s discretion)

Checklist- Make sure you’ve done everything!

·       Assign “expert” jobs ⎕

·       Group share expert findings, record group’s feedback ⎕

·       Decide and agree on transform message ⎕

·       Write your “expert” speech   ⎕

·       Choose creative component ⎕

o   Plan creative component ⎕

§  Who, what, when, where, etc.

·        Plan transform poster ⎕

o   Who, what, when, where, etc.

·       Complete creative component ⎕

·       Write explanation for creative component ⎕

·       Provide Ms. O’Malley with expert and institution names ⎕

·       Complete poster ⎕

·       Assign additional speaking jobs ⎕

o   Who will explain poster? Creative component?

·       Rehearse, practice, rehearse, practice…. ⎕

·       Ask teacher if you have any questions/concerns ⎕

·       Practise, rehearse, have fun! ⎕

Research Project: The Diversity of Life

You will prepare a research project on a living organism or group of organisms. The purpose of the project is to show how you can:

• analyze how different organisms adapt to their environments
• distinguish between life forms as single or multi-celled organisms and belonging to one of the five kingdoms

Instructions

• You will be provided with some class time to research your project.
• You may choose to work with a partner or alone. There will be NO groups of three.
• You may complete your project as a PowerPoint or on a poster board       
• You must submit a project plan which identifies or outlines:
• Your mode of presentation (poster board/PowerPoint)
• A list of sources you will use for your research
• A list of jobs which must be completed
• A timeline for getting it done

            This plan must be approved by your teacher and is due _______________.

You will get class time nearly everyday to work on this from December 9^th to December 19^th.  Please have all necessary materials and be prepared to work in class during this time. Additional work periods may be added in the New Year, but these will be few.

Project due: January 16^th, 2015

Master Of One Organism Project (MOOO project)

1. You must include ALL the following in your project:

1.      A title which describes your topic and the organism are you researching.  Remember, there are MANY other types of life than just animals and plants.

2.      Four different sections with the following titles (in bold) and answering the following questions:

                                               i.     Characteristics: Is your organism single or multi-celled? What kingdom does it belong to? What characteristics does it share with all living things? Why does it belong to this class- in other words, what characteristics do organisms from this species have to differentiate it (make it different) from other kingdoms?            

/20

                                             ii.     Needs: How does your organism meet its needs? Describe how it meets its needs for:

1.     Energy and nutrients- What does it eat? How much does it eat? How does it get its food?

2.     Air- How does it get its air?

3.     Water- How does it get water?

4.     Habitat- Where does it live? How does this habitat help it to support its other needs? 

/15

                                            iii.     Adaptation: What type of biome does your animal live in? Describe at least two specific adaptations, either physical or behavioural, which help your organism to survive in this biome. 

/20

                                            iv.     Diagram- Draw a diagram, or a picture, of your organism (with labels) to show at least ten of its different parts. You must include significant characteristics as well as adaptations.

/15

                       

2. Choose 2 of the following to include in your project  (    /10 for each)

1.      Compare and Contrast: (a list of the similarities and differences) between your organism and another organism in the same kingdom. What characteristics do they share and not share? Show at least three things they do share and don’t share.

2.      Respecting Living Things: Have people generally liked your organism in the past? Why or why not? Write a paragraph on how people have treated your organism in the past and why it’s important to respect all living things. For example- think about rats, who have, perhaps, earned a very bad name for themselves throughout history.

3.      Be Creative: Write a poem, song, or (very) short story from the point of view of your organism. Based on its needs and characteristics, how do you think it sees the world?

4.      Food Chain- Prepare a diagram of a food chain and show where your organism belongs in it.

5.      Natural Enemies – Make a drawing of at least two of your organism’s natural enemies. Write a short paragraph to explain why they are natural enemies.

6.      Modeling- Make a model of one of the internal organs of your organism with modeling clay and discuss during your presentation how this organ works.

7.      Mapping- Make a map to show places in the world where your organism lives

8.      Allegory- Write an allegory using your organism. Remember that in an allegory the characters represent people and the story is meant to tell something meaningful about human life.

3. Projects will receive an additional 10 marks for:

1.      Neatness, graphics, and presentation of information

2.      Creativity and choice of organism

3.      Knowledge during presentation

Total:    /100

Remember that there are things you MUST do in your presentation (section A) and 2 things you can choose to do (section B). Make a choice that suits your learning style and that also might challenge you a bit (because you learn when you are challenged!). Remember you are encouraged to learned something about a form of life you have, heretofore, been ignorant of.

Due: January 16^th, 2015