Cognitive Rigor Matrix & Project-Based Lesson Plan

Topic: Time Travelers*
Grade 7 World History

Project Prompt: As "time travelers", you will investigate social issues of different times throughout history to determine those that would be relevant and potentially interesting to today's youth.

Students will be divided into groups of four members, hetergeneously grouped by ability.

Content Standards & Objectives:
RLA.O.7.1.6, RLA.O.7.2.1, RLA.O.7.2.9, RLA.O.7.3.6, 21C.O.5-8.1.LS1, 21C.O.5-8.2.TT2, 21C.O.5-8.3.LS1

• Students will be able use appropriate resources to investigate, gather, paraphrase and summarize relevant information.
• Students will relate themes from text to themselves and real-world connections.
• Students will collaborate with peers to create and present a media product.

Materials:
Printed and non-printed informational resources
Assignment handouts and rubrics
Student notebooks/journals
Class-set laptops or computers; computer lab

Levels of Thinking and Questioning:
DOK Level 1- Recall of Information
Students will begin the project by deciding on the time period that they are interested in researching. They will identify or describe features of places or people, key figures. Some questions they will consider as they gather information:

1. Where does this time period geographically take place in?
2. Who were the key figures during this time period?

DOK Level 2- Basic Reasoning
Students will dive deeper into their chosen time period by considering questions such as:

1. Identify and summarize major events, solutions, conflicts and problems during this time period.
2. Describe the cause-effect of particular events during this time period.

DOK Level 3- Complex Reasoning
As students have gathered enough information and notes, they will start to:

1. Explain and connect ideas using supporting evidence from different sources.
2. Analyze the similarities and differences between major events, issues and/or conflicts of their researched time period and of the modern day.

DOK Level 4- Extended Reasoning
Once students have finalized their research and begin to organize their findings into a media product for presentation, in their presentation, they will analyze and explain using supporting evidence and inferences to why they chose their time period and why it would be relevant and potentially interesting for today's youth.

Source:
*http://wveis.k12.wv.us/teach21/public/project/Guide.cfm?upid=3599&tsele1=1&tsele2=107

MAT671 Applied Best Strategies in Classroom Instruction

Reflection on Teaching Diverse Learners

Not only has diversity become a norm within the classroom among our students, we should expect that diversity will continue to grow. As each student enters the classroom with unique cultural and linguistic backgrounds and personal experiences, it is important to regard them respectfully as individuals and address their individual learning needs. To best teach diverse learners, I believe best practices in the classroom should include:

Differentiated Instruction
A new topic, lesson, or unit should always be introduced with clarity so that students understand the purpose and learning goals of it. As there are different types learners (visual, kinesthetic, audio, etc.), content materials should be varied in form to achieve optimal student learning and mastery of objectives/goals. Students come with so many different perspectives and experiences of their own, building meaningful connection based on their personal experiences will help them process the new information/material better.

Feedback and Student Accountability
Teacher feedback is also crucial for student learning; to address the diverse learning needs, feedback should be specific to the students' capabilities and learning style.  Because not all students learn at the same pace, they should be given opportunities to be active in their learning process. Through reflection and self-checkpoints, students can be held accountable for their own learning progress by monitoring their own projects and work, and to better understand their learning strengths and areas of improvement.

Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning can be a very effective strategy in developing students' critical thinking skills, making connection to the real world, and providing meaningful purpose to what they are learning. Through projects and group work, students will face decision-making as well as accountability amongst themselves. In collaboration, students can gain more awareness of their individual talents and have the chance to make significant contributions.

Project-Based/Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

Project-Based Learning is an approach to learning where students are encouraged to investigate and apply their skills in solving a real-world challenge or problem over an extended period of time.

How "Smart" is Your Food?*
Grade 5 Mathematics

Project Idea: To promote local wellness and healthy eating, students will work in groups to select four healthy recipes from USDA Recipes for Schools (one entree, two side dishes, and one dessert). Each group will perform calculations for the recipes to serve 25 for a class and 150 for an event. The amount of ingredients and nutritional information will be included in a PowerPoint presentation. Their recommended meals will be presented to a community or school event to vote for the "Smartest" Food Meal.

Content Standards & Objectives:
M.O.5.1.1, M.O.5.1.3, M.O.5.1.6, M.O.5.1.7, M.O.5.1.11, M.O.5.4.5, 21C.O.5-8.1.LS3, 21C.O.5-8.2.TT2, 21C. O.5-8.3.LS4

• Students will order and compare decimals and whole numbers to compare nutrition facts.
• Students will estimate decimals and whole numbers to justify their nutrition decisions.
• Students will add and subtract fractions/mixed numbers and decimals, use conversion within a system of measurement, and use models of equivalent fractions and decimals to present their choice of recommended meal with servings of 25 and 150.

Materials/Resources:

School/Community Individuals - Nutritionist, school cooks, local caterers (invite individuals to help start a discussion on healthy foods, how to adjust recipes to feed an entire school, etc.) 

Technology - Computer lab, internet access, word processing software, PowerPoint software, calculators 

Classroom materials - Colored construction paper and base ten blocks (manipulatives to model students' understanding and calculations of conversions and measurements), tape, scissors, glue

Day 1
Students will be introduced to the project and have the opportunity to interview and discuss with a guest (cafeteria worker, nutritionist, etc.) to explore the topic and activate background knowledge. Demonstration of nutrition labels (provide examples of different packaged foods) and discussion of what it means for a food to be "smart" (smart = a smart and healthy choice) will help students build connection to the project.

The class will be divided into groups of four, based on heterogeneous grouping by ability. Among each group, students will determine individual roles within the team: Manager, Materials Technician, Supervisor, and Director. While every role requires active participation and equally shares the group responsibility, the Manager will oversee the overall workings of the group, the Materials Technician will obtain, organize and return all necessary materials, the Supervisor will speak for the group and seek assistance if needed, and the Director will double check all math work of the project.

Rationale: Different roles within the team allows students the opportunity to highlight their strengths and to be engage in their learning and contributions to the group.

Days 2-3
Teams will begin by brainstorming and using the computers to access the USDA Recipes for Schools website to decide on; one recipe for an entree, two recipes for side dishes, and one recipe for a dessert. A copy of each recipe will be printed out for future reference.

Using information from the nutrition facts, each group will be asked to compare the values of different components of the recipes. Each student will select one recipe of the four chosen by the team and estimate the amount of each ingredient that will be needed to serve 25 and 150 people.

Within the instruction of calculating decimals and fractions to help students make conversions, the teacher will provide different stations to differentiate students' process in understanding and meeting their learning needs for the project:

Station 1: Students will be provided with manipulatives or drawn representations to help students understand why numbers and its computations work the way they do. Students will work on an example problem individually, then share with a partner their work that is provided with drawings or manipulatives to defend their solution. In turn, the partner will use a second method to check their classmate's computation.

Station 2: At this station, students will develop their comfort, accuracy, and speed on their calculations. Students can complete a teacher-generated task or a computer program that offers a game-based practice that covers the skills of adding, subtracting, and modeling equivalent fractions/decimals.

Station 3: Students will explore other real-world situations that requires adding, subtracting, and modeling equivalent fractions/decimals, such as purchasing groceries (monetary transactions). Individual students can access the internet and report their findings through an example scenario with provided computations.

Rationale: Different stations will give students different ways to process the concept based on their preferred learning style. Station 1 involves in manipulatives and drawing representations to give the students a more hands-on learning experience while Station 2 gives students a more engaging way of practicing and working on the accuracy of their calculations. Lastly, Station 3 is a supplemental option for higher-achieving students who can independently complete tasks that encourages them to explore the concepts more in-depth.

Days 4-5
Students will complete all their computations and begin putting together their PowerPoint presentations; they will be required to use a minimum of four slides and present their recommended meal around the length of 3 minutes.

Presentations will be graded based on a teacher-created rubric with criterion including application of knowledge, accurate calculations, and creativity. In addition to equal responsibility of the effort and appearance toward the overall presentation, each team member is responsible for creating a slide containing the recipe they helped calculate for the change in servings.

Each student will complete a self-evaluation and team evaluation of the collaboration for this project.

Rationale: Student accountability for the final product is ensured by having every team member be responsible for the presentation of one recipe each. In addition to grading the overall presentation, teacher may assess student performance and learning progress based upon their individual slide as well.

Source:
*http://wveis.k12.wv.us/teach21/public/project/Guide.cfm?upid=3495&tsele1=2&tsele2=105