Day 3: Creating a Presentation

Day 3: Creating a Presentation

NCSCOS:

Alamance-Burlington Science Objective

4.01 Analyze the water cycle:

*evaporation

*condensation

*precipitation

*groundwater

Alamance-Burlington Arts Education Objectives

1.01 Participate in partner and small group playwriting.

3.01 Participate in making artistic choices in a small group.

4.02 Demonstrate responsible behavior such as sharing, flexibility, leadership, negotiating and teamwork

8.07 Participate in presentations.

Big Ideas:

Our world is made of cycles: seasons, water cycle, rock cycle, days & weeks.

The water cycle is a natural process for everything to renew itself.

The stages of the water cycle surround us on a daily basis.

The fresh water supply we have is minimal and we must keep it clean by not polluting our environment

Researching is something scientists do.

Students are scientists when they investigate the world around them.

Objectives:

TSW create a presentation teaching the water cycle.
TSW identify the important parts of the water cycle their presentation should address.
TSW recognize the importance of the water cycle.

Multiple Intelligences:

Bodily/Kinesthetic- students can choose this venue to represent the water cycle

Musical/Rhythmic- students can choose this venue to represent the water cycle

Interpersonal- working collaboratively in their groups toward making a presentation on the water cycle

Verbal/Linguistic- brainstorming ideas, developing a script, and discussing in their groups

Universal Design:

EC/ESL/AIG- these groups will be mixed together to draw on each other’s strengths and weaknesses; students who are not comfortable verbally representing the water cycle can do it through movement instead; there is a great deal of flexibility in the presentations so everyone can find their niche

Materials: the assigned grouping, the presentation and teamwork rubrics, Task Card #3

Procedure:

We have conducted a good amount of research as scientists to learn about the water cycle. Now we are going to be like teachers because we are going to explain the information to first graders through our presentations.
You have many different options for how you would like to present the water cycle. You can make a skit, a rap, or a song.
There are certain things in the presentation I am expecting for you to have. For instance, I expect for you to definitely show something about evaporation and what that means. What are some other things that you know should be included in your presentations? (I have a rubric of the expectations made, I will add any expectations on the board they do not mention and then I will pass out the rubric).
I will explain that they will also be graded on how they work together in their groups. I will say how each group member will fill out a form saying how the other group members behaved. I will read the teamwork rubric expectations to the class as they look at their personal copies.
I will call out the names in each group and send the different group numbers to an area of the room.
I will hand out the task cards to the students. One of the first steps is brainstorming. I will explain to the students that brainstorming is a process where they all share their ideas on how they would like to make a presentation. During this stage you never criticize ideas.
Then they can narrow down the ideas by voting or discussing.
I will circulate the room to make sure students are on-task and to answer any questions.

Assessment:

How far along did each group get in making up their presentation?
Name the different aspects about the water cycle that must be in your presentation. Are there other things your group might include also that is not required?
Everyone look at our chart. Are there any questions remaining that you are not able to answer? Write this question down on a scrap of paper and turn it in.

Reflection:

I began this lesson after lunch (I read the Magic School Bus before lunch) because my unit is already being crunched for time. During lunch I showed Ms. Bateman the groupings I had made of the students. I tried to make each group diverse of sex, ability, language, and race. I checked with her if these groups would work well together and she felt they would. Today, the students were only able to pick the type of presentation they wanted to use like skit, rap, or poster and create some of the very beginning decisions on how to start their presentation. I was worried about this process being very chaotic and worried about how on-task the students would be. The task card and rubric I think were especially important in giving direction to students. Because the procedure was laid out for them on the task card, they knew what was expected of them while they were in their groups. I noticed that they would refer to it as I circulated the room. As I walked between the groups, I never found them off task. They had all quickly decided which type of presentation they would be doing. There was some disagreement in one group where two of the students wanted to make a rap, but the majority wanted to make a skit. I explained that their parts of the skit could be rapped and the whole group felt this could be a solution. The students were excited to share some of their ideas for the presentation with me. Tomorrow, I plan to remind them of some of the necessary elements in the presentation and hope that they will work as diligently as they did today!

Reflection (second day):

It was easy to get the students to start where they left off yesterday. I reviewed with them what was expected in their presentations and then had each group return to where they had been working the previous day. Three of the four groups were working very diligently. They were making good progress with the content of their presentation. Two of the groups used the computers to type up their scripts so that each member would have a copy (having copies for each member was a direction on the task card). One student of the classroom who has not been allowed to work in groups, eat with the class, or go to recess with the class was doing an outstanding job today. This student often will hit other students or use other immature tactics to get attention from his peers. I was very happy that Ms. Bateman gave him a chance to work in a group for this presentation. He contributed to the group very well and was truly engaged with the topic.

There was only one group that I was disappointed with their group dynamics. The students were bickering about who should be responsible for certain aspects of their rap presentation, which led to a great deal of wasted time. I stepped in a number of times to get them on track for working. After I gave them guidance, they would make some progess but then I would return to the same problem after visiting with the other groups.

The class as a whole was looking forward to presenting to the first graders. They were asking about when the performance would take place. On Monday, I plan to allow a little more time for practice and then have a dress rehearsal for them to perform in front of each other. This is when I will have them grade each other using the teamwork rubrics also. A written assessment for Ms. Bateman’s records will be taken then too.

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