Spring Showcase

Driving Question: How do archaeologists help us understand how civilizations have changed over time? How does this help us understand the world around us? 

Task: Students have been taking on the role of archaeologists as they have been studying characteristics of ancient cultures and examining artifacts of the past such as cave art, tools, and documents like the Code of Hammurabi. At the end of the unit, after virtual field trips, and multiple mini-projects, students used what they learned about the characteristics of civilizations to create and present their own civilization incorporating each component of civilization such as Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economics, and Social Structure.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Social Studies/History, ENL

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: What are the causes and effects of Westward Expansion?

Task: The students have been learning about “Manifest Destiny,” the belief that Americans were destined to expand their territory westward. As the country began to expand, there was a need for larger territories to form into states. In this project, members of our class were tasked with creating their own states as if they were going to be annexed into the United States of America! Each student created a map of their state and an accompanying slideshow presentation with laws, infrastructure, and an economic system to explain how their state would run.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Fine Arts, CTE, Social Studies/History

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: In the late 19th to early 20th centuries, is relocating your family to America worth the hardship? Why or why not? How will you survive? 

Task: The students were tasked to create a family survival plan to determine what it might be like to immigrate during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Each group imagined it was the leader of his or her family. The family is steerage passengers aboard a ship heading to New York’s Ellis Island. They have spent most of their life savings to purchase passage. No one in the family speaks English.

First, you are concerned that your whole family may not successfully pass through customs because your youngest child has been coughing during the last week of the voyage. However, you are optimistic and want to construct a survival plan to be prepared when you arrive in America. Combined, your family has $50.00. Based on letters you received in your hometown from friends, you know that rent and food will cost you $10.00 per week. Jobs are scarce. If you are fortunate enough to locate a job, wages are $1.00 per day. In your group brainstorm and create a survival plan for your family.

Product: Create an Excel spreadsheet detailing your plan and budget. How will you make money? What are your expenses? How will the family survive?

• Briefly summarize your survival plan. 

• How does it feel to be uncertain about the survival of your family?

• Evaluate if relocating your family to America is worth the hardship.

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Math, Social Studies/History, CTE 

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, draw conclusions, make text connections - to self, text/media, world 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can we create a successful lemonade stand that helps us practice counting coins and understanding the value of money? 

Task: Students had the task of creating a budget for the lemonade stand, making a list of essential items, and detailing a step-by-step process for making the lemonade. After that, they were able to sell the lemonade (they made), munchkins, and popcorn to teachers and Mr.Pearl, making sure to give back correct change. Students gained an understanding of the importance of returning the correct change to customers and staying within budget for their stand. Furthermore, they acquired knowledge on creating lemonade, while working on their social skills to warmly greet customers and effectively sell their product. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, ELA, CTE

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, sequence, develop vocabulary, problem and solution

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Self and/or Social Awareness, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can a new invention improve your life? 

Task: The students were asked to think of a new invention they could patent that would improve their lives in some way. The students thought of new invention ideas, then filled out a patent application which included a description, illustration, cost and packaging materials. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Fine Arts, CTE, Math

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, make predictions, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: Which energy sources are best to power our devices and homes? 

Task: Long Island currently gets most of its energy to make electricity from burning fossil fuels. New York State’s goal is to get half of the state’s electricity generation from renewable energy sources by the year 2030. We all need electricity for our homes, phones, and computers. So what are some good alternatives?

Students each selected one alternative energy source and created a flipbook about that subject. Research was done to describe how the energy is transformed for our needs, whether it is renewable or not, its advantages and disadvantages over fossil fuels, and whether it is a good fit for Long Island. Students made brief presentations to teach each other about their discoveries and defend their point-of-view.

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA, Fine Arts

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, compare & contrast, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, draw conclusions, demonstrate fact vs. opinion, connect problem & solution, sequence 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: What is the difference between theoretical and experimental probability? 

Task: Students were tasked with acting as a data analyst. During the activity, they had to determine the theoretical probability of a given event before conducting trials to find the experimental probability. In other words, figure out what is expected to happen before testing and recording what actually happens. Over the course of two class periods, students navigated 4 different stations. Ultimately, learners were able to arrive at the conclusion that theoretical and experimental probabilities can work out to be the same value in a small sample space, however this is hardly frequent. The best way to shrink the difference between the two values is to increase the number of trials. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, Science, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed:  activate prior knowledge, draw conclusions, compare and contrast, problem and solution

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking

Driving Question: How can we as fifth grade students, formulate game show questions to reflect our learning this year? 

Task: First, students were tasked with using their prior knowledge to create open ended questions. Then, students predicted the top 6 results that they thought their peers would say. Later, students collaborated in teams to participate in a game show involving the questions created. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies/History 

Instructional Skills Developed:  activate prior knowledge, draw conclusions, make predictions, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How does extreme weather impact our everyday lives? 

Task: Students are tasked with becoming meteorologists and will research an extreme weather topic of their choice. Students will produce an extreme weather safety guide presentation (i.e. powerpoint, pamphlet, PSA video) to share their expertise with their peers.

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA, Math, Social Studies/History 

Instructional Skills Developed:  activate prior knowledge, find author's purpose, analyze text structure, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, demonstrate fact vs. opinion, identify main idea & details, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, sequence, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: What is the benefit of having different cultures around the world? 

Task: Students were asked to research their culture and different cultures around them. Students should also understand that there are different cultures and know that everyone has a different background. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ENL, ELA, Social Studies/History 

Instructional Skills Developed:  activate prior knowledge, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, demonstrate fact vs. opinion, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can you connect transformations and architecture? 

Task: As architects and interior designers, students will use their knowledge of transformations to create an ideal classroom. They will apply mathematical transformation rules to explain and justify the interior design that they chose. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Math, Fine Arts

Instructional Skills Developed:  activate prior knowledge, sequence, develop vocabulary  

Life/Career Skills: Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Flexibility 

Driving Question: How do organisms interact with their environment, and what are the effects of these interactions? 

Task: This was an introductory lesson to our Ecosystem Unit. Students were tasked with identifying and defining content vocabulary words through reader's theater plays. Students collaborated in small groups to prepare and perform their assigned play for the class. Then all students identified and defined unit vocabulary words. All play content will be revisited throughout the unit. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Science, Fine Arts

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, analyze text structure, use text evidence, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How does probability factor into board games? 

Task: Students strategized how to win. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed:  activate prior knowledge, draw conclusions, make predictions 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Actively Listen and Speak

Driving Question: How can we effectively communicate the impact of natural disasters through news reporting? 

Task: Students were tasked with becoming News Reporters. Students worked in pairs to research the natural disaster of their choice. Each pair needed to determine what happens when the disaster occurs, where in the world it typically happens, a well-known example, the cause of the disaster, the negative effects it has on the Earth/humans, and how humans can prepare. After researching, students collaborated with their partner to craft a script for a simulated news report on the natural disaster they chose. Students chose a background for their presentation and presented their report to the class. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA, Social Studies/History 

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, draw conclusions, identify main idea & details, make inferences, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How do we use percentages in everyday life? 

Task: The students were tasked with creating their own taco truck business and used their knowledge of percentages to help them make sales and financial decisions about their business. Each group created their own truck and menu for their business. Students then spent time collaborating with their peers to order off of each others menus. They used their knowledge of percentages to help them calculate discount, sales tax, and other fees to find the total of the orders that they placed on each others menus. After, students looked at their sales and made predictions about the quantity of each menu item they would sell, calculating the percent error in their predictions. They also calculated the percent change in prices on their menu items over time. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, CTE, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, make inferences, make predictions, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking 

Driving Question: What makes an animal unique? 

Task: The third grade students researched an animal of their choice using PebbleGo and books on their reading level. They took notes in a graphic organizer about what makes their animal unique such as their physical features, what they eat, where they live, their lifecycle and how their adaptations help them to survive. Using their graphic organizer and notes, they created a written informational report about their animal. Upon completion of their report the students created a diorama of their animal and their animals habitat. They presented their report and diorama to each other as well as to other classes. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Science

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, use text evidence, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Creativity, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How do Vietnamese people celebrate their New Year? 

Task: Students will design and create their own Vietnamese lantern. The lantern will require them to write their name using the Vietnamese alphabet.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Social Studies/History, Fine Arts

Instructional Skills Developed: use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Creativity 

Driving Question: How do patterns in the sky affect our life on Earth?

Task: Students are tasked with becoming junior astronomers and depicting patterns in the sky for other first grade students and adults. Students receive a letter from the American Astronomical Society and have been granted the status of Junior Astronomers.  Their task is to complete a research project on one of the patterns in the sky they’ve learned about and become an expert and present in a self-selected format.

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA, Math, Fine Arts

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, develop vocabulary, cause and effect, compare and contrast, sequence, make predictions, make inferences, use text evidence

Life/Career Skills:  Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking

Driving Question: How do natural disasters affect the Earth and its people? 

Task: Students were tasked with becoming researchers and "mini experts" on their self-selected natural disasters. Our two classes worked collaboratively in their jigsaw groups to gather their required facts. They were then tasked to become nonfiction writers. Students utilized Canva to create digital nonfiction texts. Just like one of our favorite authors, Lauren Tarshis, and her StoryWorks teammates, our jigsaw groups met frequently throughout the research and writing process to offer constructive feedback so that everyone had the chance to make their best work even better. Finally, students were tasked with becoming presenters and shared their projects with the goal of informing the class about their natural disaster. Audience members were expected to actively listen and take notes of what went well and what could be improved. Each presenter received three SPECIFIC "glow" compliments and three SPECIFIC "grow" comments. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Science

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, find author's purpose, analyze text structure, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, demonstrate fact vs. opinion, identify main idea & details, determine point of view, connect problem & solution, sequence, use text evidence, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can students have agency in meeting the needs of others in the local community? 

Task: Students were tasked with becoming philanthropists. They were asked to identify a local community service provider. They had to meet with the provider to determine the ways in which students could meet agency needs. Once this was determined, students were asked to research needed supplies, locate a funding source, order supplies, complete the work and deliver the finished product to the organization. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Math, Physical Education/Health, CTE 

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, sequence 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: What are Anglo-Saxon era values and beliefs and how do these beliefs still apply today?

Task: Students were given a choice to represent the three most important Anglo-Saxon values, based on various literature read.  Students wrote essays, comics, epic poems, and created short films.

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Social Studies/History

Instructional Skills Developed: activating prior knowledge, developing vocabulary, author's purpose, analyze text structure, connect essential ideas, themes, perspectives, using opinions, using text evidence, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and point of view

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity