Gr.+5+Exhibition+Unit


 * Reflect: **

This week, students are reflecting about how their final presentations went, what they would do differently if they could start the exhibition over from the beginning, marking themselves and their peers against a rubric of their creation (with explanations why they gave themselves each mark).


 * Share/Discuss: **

I am so proud of our students and their final presentations. The timing went really well- each student stuck to their 17-20 minutes time frame and chose to present four times to small, rotating audiences instead of one time in front of a large audience. I was also proud of them for doing such a good job with writing and giving speeches at the beginning and end of the exhibition. They also chose to give feedback sheets to their audiences, and the feedback was very positive with many interesting questions for them to think about.

Here are some photos from the final presentation night: media type="custom" key="18814568"


 * Create: **

Students have started researching on the internet and recording their information according to 7 of our key concepts: Perspective, Function, Responsibility, Connection, Form, Causation and Change.
 * Investigate: **

A big thanks to the 5 teachers who have volunteered their spare time and expertise to mentor our Gr. 5 students throughout the rest of the Exhibition process. All the students have had their first meeting with their mentor. Each student fills out a mentor meeting form for every meeting that looks like the following:



They have spent some time looking at their new information and forming new research questions that stem from their new knowledge.




 * Ask: **

Their first step was to understand the Transdisciplinary Theme-


 * Sharing the Planet: **

An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

After brainstorming topics that they were interested in researching, each student chose a topic that fit best with the theme.

Using some tools like this organizer, they created a central idea- the big understanding at the heart of their project.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">Here are the 5 Central Ideas we have so far:

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//We can make the world more peaceful by solving conflicts without dangerous weapons.//

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//We can help the earth by recycling finite resources.//

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//Literature teaches us about finite resources and peace and conflict. We can raise awareness through literature.//

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//We can protect animals to keep ecosystems in balance.//

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//We can help protect environments by saving and sharing finite resources.//

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Students have also created guiding questions to help focus their research.


 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 180%;">The Inquiry Cycle **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">During this unit, the students are the ones in charge of how they follow the inquiry cycle. They fill out their own unit planners to help them organize themselves and focus their inquiry, understand and create something from their topic.



Last updated: May 29, 2012