Grade Level

 1st grade

Unit of Study

 English/Language Arts- “Key Ideas and Details”

Project Title

 Dr. Seuss is Loose!

Start Date/Duration

 March 17-31

Teachers

___Mary Alice Pouliot

___Lynn Gartman

___Gina Phillips

Identify the Challenge - Providing 1st grade students the opportunity to take control of discovering the key details in a story, asking and answering questions about key details, retelling stories, and demonstrating understanding of their central lesson or message.

Describe the scenario for the project:

 Students will be introduced to several Dr. Seuss stories and shown how to search online or on the school library database for more Dr. Seuss books.  They will be allowed to select a story of their choice and they will have to read it.  Then, they will ask and answer questions about the text, ranging from basic comprehension and key detail questions (Who is the main character? What is the setting? Sequence the story, etc.) to deeper comprehension questions (What messages could I take away from this story?  Where in the text do I see evidence to support that?  Why might a character have acted this way?  Describe a character, and use evidence from the text to support your claim, etc.).  

After reading and recording these questions and answers (either independently, with a partner, or as a group-- however you decide to do this in your own classroom) the students will then have time to create a presentation where they present their story, retell it to an audience, and share their thoughts, including their text based opinions and proofs.  

They will present this information using Microsoft Office PowerPoint or Smart Notebook technology.  They will save their projects over time, and on the 31st, we will break into groups and present to different groups (Kindergarten teachers and classes, the principal, the librarian, etc.).  

Summarize the authentic challenge in this project:

There are several authentic challenges:

- Selecting and reading an appropriate text

- Working with others to note the key details of the story

- Asking and answering questions that get deeper into understanding and forming opinions based off of these key details from the story

- Using technology to create a presentation where the story is retold, the details are pointed out, and these deeper thinking opinions are presented and supported with evidence from the text

Priority Common Core State Standards (3 – 4)

 1.) Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. [RL.1.1]

2.) Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. [RL.1.2]

3.) Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. [RL.1.3]

Supporting Common Core State Standards

 4.) Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses. [RL.1.4]

6.) Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text. [RL.1.6]

7.) Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events. [RL.1.7]

8.) Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories. [RL.1.9]

Craft the Driving Question

Draft a Driving Question for the project:

How can characters from Dr. Seuss stories inspire us?

What can we learn from reading Dr. Seuss stories?

Using a Project Development rubric, discuss your draft question with colleagues. Refine and redraft the question as necessary.

Final Driving Question for the project:

 How can you apply what you’ve learned from the main characters in your Dr. Seuss story to your life?

Start with Results

How will the project involve the community or allow students to interact with other adults outside the classroom?

 The students will present a project that they create electronically to other teachers, administrators, and/or students.

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How will students share their products/solutions/ideas with a public audience?

 The students will present their projects for teachers, administrators, or other students as well as bring home on a flash drive their finished projects to present at home.

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Identify the key 21st century skills to be learned in the project.

X❑ Teamwork and collaboration.

X❑  Innovation and Creativity

X❑  Critical thinking and Problem Solving

X❑  Effective Oral and Written Communication

X❑  Accessing and Analyzing Information

X❑  Work Ethic

Compare your projected outcomes to required state standards and standardized tests. Can you anticipate critical content gaps?

This project will allow the students to develop and show mastery of the required state standards.  It will be more authentic and deeper than a standardized test could allow for with formatting and multiple choice question/answer problems.  

Potential content gaps might arise if students attempt to select a Dr. Seuss story that is limited in depth.  For example, “Hop on Pop” would not be a good selection, because it doesn’t tell a story, rather has simple to decode words for the earliest readers.  Yet, with proper collaboration between group members, the students should be able to discover this and choose a different, more appropriate text.  The teacher should participate in discussions and help students to recognize this as well, if the need arises.

What final products will students produce in the project?

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Students will create a slideshow in Notebook or in PowerPoint or Keynote.

What instructional resources and materials are required?

Physical: Time, appropriate texts, paper/pencils, etc.

Technology-based: Computers, Flash-drives, access to PowerPoint or Smart Notebook, time, access to a scanner, internet access, i-curio.

Standards from other content areas to be included:

 Technology standards:

7.) Use digital tools to access and retrieve information.

Examples: online libraries, multimedia dictionaries, search engines, directories

•  Evaluating accuracy of digital content

Example: determining fact versus opinion

10.) Design original works using digital tools.

Examples: tools—digital drawing tools, music software, word processing software, digital cameras

Are literacy and writing standards included in the project? Yes

Which research based teaching strategies will be used in the project?

X❑ Identifying Similarities and Differences

X❑ Summarizing and Note Taking

X❑ Reinforcing Effort, Providing Recognition

❑ Homework and Practice

❑ Nonlinguistic Representations

X❑ Cooperative Learning

X❑ Setting Objectives, Providing Feedback

❑ Generating and Testing Hypotheses

❑ Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers

❑ Interdisciplinary Non-Fiction Writing

Build the Assessment – Section 1

1. List the assessable products and skills for the project.  How will you assess each of these? How will you use formative assessments to ensure quality?

Build the Assessment – Section 2

2. Define the PROFICIENT criteria for each Priority Standard:

Build the Assessment – Section 3

3. How will you grade the project? Assign and weight grades for each product or skill. Content should be no more than 50% of the final grade.

4. How will students answer the Driving Question?

How can characters from Dr. Seuss stories inspire us?

What can we learn from reading Dr. Seuss stories?

 Students will answer the driving question in varying ways.  Not only are they reading different stories, thus pulling different central messages/themes, and being inspired in different ways, but they are working cooperatively with a group.  Through the discussions that take place amongst group members, perhaps more than one answer or message or inspiration will happen from the same text.  These questions could be answered in multiple ways.  As long as the student can convey ‘why’ they answered a certain way and can validate their opinions with evidence from the text, then I’m happy!  We love to see divergent thinking!  We want to be impressed in different ways from the different students.  So, they will answer these driving questions in discussion and also in their projects and when presenting their stories.  The ways that they answer though, could vary greatly, and that’s absolutely fine (sort of the point, really!)

Enroll and Engage

1. Plan the first two days of the project. Check tools to be used to begin the project.

Entry event      _____                         Handouts                      _____

Need to know _____                              Review rubrics            ___X__

Contract               _____                         Refine DQ                     _____

Set norms           _____                         Protocol                        ___X__

Review timeline __X_                          Form teams                 ___X__

Exemplars          _____                          

2. Create the Entry Event for the project. How will this project begin?

We will begin the event by reading several Dr. Seuss stories and selecting from the many, different stories that have messages that speak to the students.

Will you refine the project or the Driving Question with students?

 We can.  It has to make sense and be personal for them, so if what I had in mind doesn’t resonate, then we’ll have to refine and revise it as a group.

Focus on Quality

1. How will you form teams? How many?

We will have groups of 3-4 students, (A low performer, medial performer, and high performer, or two) preselected by the teacher to ensure that personality clashes are less likely to occur.

2. List team building/training plans:

Short team building activity on day 1 since the kids already have had time within the classroom to get to know one another.  “Check-in game” :

Students take turns telling the other group members how they are feeling that day and answer the question “If you were a breakfast cereal, what would you be and why?”

3. How will students interact to through revision, reflection, or peer protocols to assure quality products?

Students will practice telling the story to each other and journal about what they could have also included in their retelling.  Students will use the rubrics as a checklist to ensure quality.  Students will practice final presentations and have time to make changes based on peer feedback.

4. How will you differentiate and support individual learners?

End with Mastery

1. How will students prepare and practice for the final exhibition?

 They will have several days to create the project, and will practice with their peers from their group, presenting to each other and taking turns presenting slides, etc.

2. Have you planned to reteach, if necessary?

 Yes.  These skills will be hit on throughout the year.  I also intend to include such PBL activities throughout the year.  Thus, reteaching will take place throughout the academic year.  

3. Does the project timeline allot sufficient time for mastery?

 Yes.

How will students reflect at the end of the project?

They will have an opportunity to reflect on a form and make notes as to how they would improve for next time, as well as what worked well and they enjoyed about this time.

Improve the Plan

Use the Critical Friends Protocol (CFG) to share your Project Plan with colleagues. Use their feedback to refine and improve your project plan.

What did they like about the project?

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What did they wonder about the project?

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What useful suggestions/resources did they offer?

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With all of the above in mind, fill out the Project Calendar.

 Day 11 - Presentations to Audience!