AUTHOR: Denise M. Parmon
DISTRICT: WCVCS
LEARNING CONTEXT: Elementary/Intermediate 6th grade
STANDARDS USED: MST 2-1, MST 3-2,3,4, ELA 1,4, CDOS 2
PREREQUISITES: Knowledge of integers including computation. Knowledge of Micro-Soft Publisher.
Their brochure will be evaluated using a rubric. When they have completed this assignment they will then be tested on the information using a test of the teacher's choosing.
PROCEDURE
After the class has covered the material on integers they will then be given the following challenge. Students will work with a partner who is selected by the teacher. The students will be able to use their notes and any other resources, including computers, for their brochures.
Integer's Brochure Challenge
Essential Question: In the last couple of weeks we have been learning a lot about positive and negative integers, but what do you really know about integers? Why are they important to know?
Your challenge is to create a brochure about integers using Microsoft Publisher. You and your partner need to write a learning brochure that will help others in the study of integers. The brochure needs to be easy to understand and in language that any student learning about integers will be able to follow. If you do not understand a word you need to look it up and put it in to words that make sense to you.
Focus Questions: (some of the things to think about)
Product Standards:
*Your brochure needs to be informative, include focus questions.
*It needs to be written in easy to understand language.
*It needs to be done in Microsoft Publisher.
*It needs to have 3-5 hand-drawn illustrations.
*Graphics have to do with integers.
*It needs to be well organized.
*It needs to be creative and eye-catching.
Criteria Standards:
*You and partner both need to participate.
*Your brochure needs to include the above standards.
*It needs to be ready by the end of Math class on __________
Instructional/Environmental Modifications
There are no special modifications necessary to the classroom.
Amount of material covered would depend on class ability.
Time Required
Planning time includes class periods to teach the material on integers. Depending on the class the amount of information covered is modified. The faster paced group may include all computation of integers, another group may only cover adding/subtracting integers. This is up to teacher discretion.
Working on the brochure itself takes two 90 minute class periods.
Assessment Plan
The brochure was assessed to the Challenge criteria using a simple 4 point rubric which included the product standards stated above. See below for example of rubric.
The students were also tested using a teacher made test which included the information covered in class and reviewed when creating their brochures.
Resources
Students: availability of computers that had Micro-Soft Publisher and some type of encyclopedia. Extra help in printing brochures. Any art supplies necessary.
Teacher: information on integers necessary for students. Familiarity with Micro-Soft Publisher.
Reflection
This unit was developed with the idea of using technology in math. The students had been exposed to Micro-Soft Publisher in Social Studies and I thought this would be a great opportunity to reinforce its use. The students were also very excited about using Publisher again, it added a new dimension to reviewing information for a test which made more sense because it was student driven. They internalized the material and put it into their own words.
The only thing I would do differently is make sure more than one printer is available and someone at the other printer was familiar with back to back printing and with publisher to help. There was a large back-up at my printer and this held up completion of the project and also added some confusion to the period. A little pre-planning with the computer teacher would have avoided the back up. The computer teacher is an excellent resource and pre-planning with her would be extremely useful.
The brochures came out well but next time I would double check the information they were putting on the brochure before they printed. The students really enjoyed this and wanted to make more.
One thing that I did notice in doing this brochure was that all the brochures had the same bit of mis-information. The students said in their brochure that when you subtract equal opposites that they equal 0. This is not the case. When you subtract you add the opposite, so this was something that the students needed to have clarified before the test.
Rubric
|
|
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| Information: |
Includes accurate information |
Includes some accurate information |
Includes little accurate info. |
Includes no accurate info. |
| Language: |
Easy to understand |
Some easy to understand |
Written from the book |
No clue |
| Illustrations: |
3-5 illustrations Show understanding of integers. |
Less than 3-5 illustrations Don't always connect to understanding of integers. |
Pictures show no connection to integers. |
No illustrations |
| Organization: |
Excellent organization |
Shows some attempts to organize material |
Little organization |
No organization |
| Mechanics: |
Excellent |
Contain some errors |
Many errors |
Many errors and they interfere with ability to understand |
This is a very basic rubric that can be revised to meet your needs. It gives you guide with which to work. This challenge has very specific criteria and can be used as a checklist with which to grade. There are 10 criteria written into the challenge. You can use these as your grade. 10/10=A, 9/10=A-etc.
When I graded these brochure I checked off on the challenge what they did and then checked it for neatness. If all the criteria were met and they had a quality product they got a 3. If they met most of the criteria and it showed some quality they got a 2. If they didn't meet most of the criteria they got a 1. If it was late, and lacked quality and criteria it got a 0. The project itself as a means to review integers was the most valuable.