Can green energy be the solution to reducing our use of natural resources?
Science
We use electricity for countless purposes every day. The consistent use of fossil fuels for electricity generation adds unsustainable amounts of carbon dioxide to our environment, thus contributing to climate change. How can we extract the natural energy in wind to sustainably meet our electricity needs? In this project, students learned how electricity is generated and explored wind power as a possible method to sustainably generate electricity.
Over the course of this project, students explored factors that influence the amount of electricity in a wind turbine by engaging in inquiry cycles to test different turbine design choices. The final product from this process is a scientific poster that communicates their research findings and suggests how those findings can be used to influence turbine engineers. From the data students collect, they designed an optimized turbine and evaluated its performance against the rest of their peers. The final product from this portion of the project is a technical paper that details their design choices and evaluation of their prototype.
English
Due to a need to meet ELA standards, quarters 3 and 4 do not align with the secondary essential question.
ELA Essential question: How can media literacy change the way we consume and produce media?
Students are introduced to the topic of media literacy with George Orwell's classic novel 1984
While students read, they are introduced do different rhetorical appeals (Ethos, Logos, Pathos) and identify examples of those appeals within the book.
Students are exposed to different advertisements and must identify persuasive elements (rhetorical devices) and explain how they contribute to the overall theme/idea of the ad.
For their final products, student will create an advertisement for a fictional product or an awareness piece for a social issue.
Students will then write an essay in which they identify and elaborate on the rhetorical devices they've used and how they contribute to the central idea/theme.
STUDENT EXAMPLES *Examples will be added following the due date for this project.*
History
In History, we tackled the question of Greed and if it is a good thing or bad thing. Students worked to understand the era of history known as the Industrial Era of America and came to understand these prominent figures during this time that rose to wealth and status. Furthermore, students worked with groups to research and determine if the positive or negative aspects of Greed during this age made it Justified or not. Students took what they learned about greed and applied it to a modern day issue of income inequality and gathered research on a factor of income inequality (e.g., Racial, Regional, Gender and/or Socioeconomic)
Math
We collected data in class and looked at the Measures of Centrality and Variation.