Marston Grade 6

Overview: Students work with SD Coastkeeper and research the relationship between climate change, mega droughts and water shortages. They meet with subject area experts, participate in lessons across curriculum, and create websites to persuade the general public to reduce their carbon and water footprints. 

Project Initiation: San Diego Coastkeeper launched the project with a lesson that emphasized how little potable water there is on Earth, and the importance of conserving and protecting that water. In social studies, science and ELA students conducted research and created a variety of projects to present to members of the school and during Open House. The CCTE teacher faciliated PSA and website construction. Zoomed with SIO expert. SD Coastkeeper posted winning websites on their social media accounts. 

Project Exploration and Development: Standards based learning: Social Studies- importance of rivers; Science- water/carbon footprint and human impact; ELA- research, informative and persuasive reading and writing; CCTE- PSA and website creation. The teachers collaborated in meetings and taught lessons to each other's students. The client launched the project with a lesson, arranged for SIO guest scientist, evaluated products, gave feedback, selected winners and published them on social media sites. Students produced presentations on rivers, infographics and slideshows and PSA's on carbon and water footprints, climate change, and water preservation, and websites that presented all of their learning in one, cohesive space and presented to Marston students, adults and parents in classrooms and during Open House. 

Project Revision and Exhibition: Students worked together in groups, gave each other feedback within their own groups and across to other groups, presented rough drafts of their work to the client, who came and gave them feedback. Students revised their work and received remote feedback from the client. Teachers and other students viewed the work and gave feedback. Project was exhibited at Marston's Open House, will be posted on Marston's webpage, and on San Diego Coastkeeper's social media pages. 

Teachers and Subjects: Pamela Hashimoto/ ELA; Krista Hayenga/ Social Studies; Joe Paulson/ CCTE; Elizabeth Benkendorff/ Science