Project Based Learning Design

            California’s 4^th graders learn about their state’s history and the different settlers that came to the state.  This lesson provides an opportunity for students to learn about their own family history and make connections to the settlers they learn about in Social Studies.  In this project, I will relate the risks early California settlers took to the risks that students’ family members took and they will learn how those risks affected the future.  The question students will be answering is: “What makes people take a risk?”

            Students will use Choose Your Own Adventure stories as a basis for understanding decisions and risk taking and then they will perform research and interviews to learn about their family history.  They will combine their findings with some of their classmates’ findings as they work in groups to create a presentation.  This is meant to teach students about California settlers while also understanding their own family’s history and the risks that were taken for them.  This will be meaningful learning in an engaging and authentic manner.

Standards Addressed in Lesson

4.RI.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text. 

4.RI.6 Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.

4.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

4.SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Sequence of the Lesson

1.      The students will be introduced to the lesson through a reading of a Choose Your Own Adventure story.  The class will discuss the outcome of different decisions throughout the story and what it means to take a risk.

2.      I will ask students the driving question of the lesson: “What makes people take a risk?” We will discuss risks they have taken.

3.      I will read aloud immigration stories and we will identify the risks in each story.

4.      Students will be tasked with performing research (on the internet and books) about their family’s immigration history and identify risks taken.

5.      Students will interview someone in their family to learn more about their personal family history. They will complete a write up on their interview.

6.      Students will be put into groups. The groups will plan and write their own Choose Your Own Adventure stories based on their research and personal family history. They will perform more research through books and the Internet if needed.

7.      Groups will create a first draft of the adventure and then they will edit and make revisions.

8.      Groups will create a presentation to inform the class of their story and answer to the driving question (possibly presentations include Prezi or videoed dramatic performances).

9.      Students will present their adventures with their teams to the rest of the class. I will assess the students on the entire lesson based on the criteria in the rubric.

Differentiation Within the Lesson

In this lesson, students are answering the philosophical question of why people take risks, both today and in history, and come to their own understanding of the topic. There are several opportunities for differentiation within the lesson.  “With an awareness of how learners may differ, you can build in mechanisms to attend to such differences: small-group instruction, additional practice, varied modes of presentation, multiple ways of demonstrating knowledge, materials at varied reading levels and in different languages, and so on” (Tomlinson & Imbeau, 2014, p. 13). 

This lesson allows for students to work in small groups, access materials at various reading levels, and demonstrate their knowledge in multiple ways.  Having a variety of ways to group my students helps increase their access to content material.  In this lesson, students are in mixed ability groups.  In these heterogeneous groups they are able to work together and learn from each other.  Each student will have a unique immigration story, so the students will be learning about history in a real way and will then collaborate to come up with their group story and presentation. Students are first given a question and they must research and collaborate with their teammates to eventually arrive at their answer.  The students can conduct their research multiple ways so they can gather information in the way that best suits their learning style (through family interviews, reading books, or online research) and reading ability.  There are a variety of ways the students can present their findings to the class.  This allows the product to be differentiated depending on their learning preference; students could write a speech, make a video, create a PowerPoint, or make a poster. 

            Every student will be responsible for participating fully in each step of the lesson.  Each student will need to research their own immigration story prior to meeting in their groups.  This will ensure that each student is coming to their group prepared with information to contribute.  The groups will include of piece of each group members findings in their group story to ensure that all students are listened to and contribute.  Each student needs to be part of the presentation, but the group can decide which presentation method/s best suit their learning styles.  I will consistently monitor groups throughout the entire lesson to ensure each group is collaborating efficiently. 

 Reference

Tomlinson, C.A., & Imbeau, M. B. (2014). A differentiated approach to the common core:                           How do I help a broad range of learners succeed with challenging curriculum?                              Alexandria, VA: ASCD.