Be the Change Project
Artist's Statement
This PITP addressed the essential questions:
How can we design projects that incorporate the elements of exemplary project-based learning?
How can we work with colleagues and community partners toward a culture of deep learning through projects?
Transitioning from middle school math and science to fifth grade multiple subjects has challenged me as a teacher in many ways. The content is all new for me to teach. In adjusting to a new school setting, I wasn’t sure how much I had to stick to the standards and how much I could waver. The project I am designing is an attempt to both address some standards, my passions, and the passions of my class.
The Idea
When beginning the brainstorm for this project, I was coming off the heels of an American government and elections project that did not go as planned, and I think that left me wary of what to plan next. When thinking about my passions, the first thing that came to mind was community service, but then the little angel (or maybe the devil, I’m not sure yet) popped up on my shoulder saying, “Don’t forget the standards!” So I started thinking about the American history that is a part of fifth grade curriculum, specifically, the American Revolution, from the colonies to the war.
Revolution - as this project developed the meaning of that word kept changing for me. Is a revolutionary someone who breaks laws to change them often in violent ways? Or, just someone who works to change something they consider unjust? In the end, I decided the word wasn’t as important as the question I wanted students to answer, “Why and how have people taken a stand to change something about their community?”
The Project (for now)
When I think about my projects, I generally picture the ocean. Sometimes there are huge and scary waves, and then it’s calm, but there’s always ebb and flow. My project began simple then big, and now, I think, it’s somewhere in between. The idea is that students will find local people working to change our San Diego community for the better and compare and contrast them with historical revolutionaries who also worked for change in their communities.
Students will each create a portrait and written piece for their chosen person (or potentially organization). The written piece of this project is open to choice. Students may write a biography, poetry, or narrative story that details significant events and contributions that the person made to society.
The part that I’ve gone back and forth on was for the students to write a play in small groups and then present those at exhibition. I included this piece because my students are rather dramatic, but now they are also working on a separate play in music, my first thought was to collaborate, but I don’t think it’s going to work, although I may continue to try.
UPDATE: After the last class, I decided to change the project, mostly in terms of the exhibition. Students will still research historical and current change agents, but instead of creating plays, students will create an award to be given to the community member or organization that they learn about. The exhibition will be an awards show where student work will be displayed and they will give the awards to their subjects of study.
The Experts
Contacting experts has been much more of a challenge for me. I began by contacting a local organization, “Sons of the American Revolution,” who then referred me to check out BrainPop, a website that features short animations about various topics, it’s a great site that I often use with my students, but a dead end.
My second attempt went to Stay Classy San Diego, an organization that works with non-profits in the community. My particular interest was in their Stay Classy Awards where they honor people and organizations for significant contributions to the community. I have yet to hear back from them, but my hope is that the students work could somehow be connected.
The Prototype
I really enjoyed making my prototype. I do not consider myself a poet, but I decided to attempt it since it was the most out of my comfort zone. I liked the idea of using a creative means of expression to communicate the biographical information that can sometimes become stale in a report form. I look forward to sharing the work with my students and allowing them to critique. I hope that making myself vulnerable to their input, will help them to feel better about having their own work looked at. I still need to complete the other elements of the project, specifically the portrait and the connection to a current revolutionary. I am seeking the guidance of our art teacher for the portrait piece and I am contacting people in non-profits to connect the students with for the modern day change agent work.
How can we design projects that incorporate the elements of exemplary project-based learning?
How can we work with colleagues and community partners toward a culture of deep learning through projects?
Transitioning from middle school math and science to fifth grade multiple subjects has challenged me as a teacher in many ways. The content is all new for me to teach. In adjusting to a new school setting, I wasn’t sure how much I had to stick to the standards and how much I could waver. The project I am designing is an attempt to both address some standards, my passions, and the passions of my class.
The Idea
When beginning the brainstorm for this project, I was coming off the heels of an American government and elections project that did not go as planned, and I think that left me wary of what to plan next. When thinking about my passions, the first thing that came to mind was community service, but then the little angel (or maybe the devil, I’m not sure yet) popped up on my shoulder saying, “Don’t forget the standards!” So I started thinking about the American history that is a part of fifth grade curriculum, specifically, the American Revolution, from the colonies to the war.
Revolution - as this project developed the meaning of that word kept changing for me. Is a revolutionary someone who breaks laws to change them often in violent ways? Or, just someone who works to change something they consider unjust? In the end, I decided the word wasn’t as important as the question I wanted students to answer, “Why and how have people taken a stand to change something about their community?”
The Project (for now)
When I think about my projects, I generally picture the ocean. Sometimes there are huge and scary waves, and then it’s calm, but there’s always ebb and flow. My project began simple then big, and now, I think, it’s somewhere in between. The idea is that students will find local people working to change our San Diego community for the better and compare and contrast them with historical revolutionaries who also worked for change in their communities.
Students will each create a portrait and written piece for their chosen person (or potentially organization). The written piece of this project is open to choice. Students may write a biography, poetry, or narrative story that details significant events and contributions that the person made to society.
The part that I’ve gone back and forth on was for the students to write a play in small groups and then present those at exhibition. I included this piece because my students are rather dramatic, but now they are also working on a separate play in music, my first thought was to collaborate, but I don’t think it’s going to work, although I may continue to try.
UPDATE: After the last class, I decided to change the project, mostly in terms of the exhibition. Students will still research historical and current change agents, but instead of creating plays, students will create an award to be given to the community member or organization that they learn about. The exhibition will be an awards show where student work will be displayed and they will give the awards to their subjects of study.
The Experts
Contacting experts has been much more of a challenge for me. I began by contacting a local organization, “Sons of the American Revolution,” who then referred me to check out BrainPop, a website that features short animations about various topics, it’s a great site that I often use with my students, but a dead end.
My second attempt went to Stay Classy San Diego, an organization that works with non-profits in the community. My particular interest was in their Stay Classy Awards where they honor people and organizations for significant contributions to the community. I have yet to hear back from them, but my hope is that the students work could somehow be connected.
The Prototype
I really enjoyed making my prototype. I do not consider myself a poet, but I decided to attempt it since it was the most out of my comfort zone. I liked the idea of using a creative means of expression to communicate the biographical information that can sometimes become stale in a report form. I look forward to sharing the work with my students and allowing them to critique. I hope that making myself vulnerable to their input, will help them to feel better about having their own work looked at. I still need to complete the other elements of the project, specifically the portrait and the connection to a current revolutionary. I am seeking the guidance of our art teacher for the portrait piece and I am contacting people in non-profits to connect the students with for the modern day change agent work.
Revolution Project Description | |
File Size: | 10 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Prototype - Abigail Adams | |
File Size: | 9 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Community Connections | |
File Size: | 7 kb |
File Type: | doc |