Middle School Project-based Learning


How do we inform the general public about how to prevent spreading the invasion of nonnative species? This was the driving question that guided Mrs. Vann and her 8th grade English students through a challenging and relevant project this spring.


To answer this question, the students first did in-depth research on their chosen invasive species in collaboration with our librarian Mrs. Besselsen. They used this research to write a formal research paper highlighting their chosen species including how to prevent the spread of this species in our local region.

In addition to their own research, the class hosted three park rangers from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park to learn more about the park service and the invasive species that threaten our natural areas. The students also spent a day at the park learning through hands-on experiences. Mrs. Vann explained, "Students adventured to Glen Haven to complete dune restoration along the shoreline as well as beach and trail clean-up. Students started their work at different areas in the park, including the Dune Climb Heritage Trail, Glen Haven Cannery and Sleeping Bear Point Trailhead."


Park rangers visiting the 8th Grade English classes to share their knowledge and expertise.

Students playing a "deer and wolves" game to learn about predators and natural selection.

The top of the dune climb!

As a culmination for their project, students were tasked with using a variety of technologies to share their new knowledge and understanding with a specific audience in order to make a positive difference in the world. Students created items such as bumper stickers, t-shirt designs, children's games, video productions and brochures. See the pictures below for a few examples. Mrs. Vann had this to say about the project "There's nothing that makes a person appreciate something more than giving of one's time and energy. After watching my students clean up the beaches for the piping plovers and the Heritage Trail for our community, I know they appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. Knowledge is power."

What an amazing experience for our students. Great job Mrs. Vann!


The tough guys with their tough message on how to prevent the spread of invasive species in our local lakes and rivers


Spencer's informative tri-fold brochure for park visitors.

An informative and fun matching game for kids!







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spanish Chatter Pix

Image
What's more fun than animals dressed up and speaking Spanish? Señora Pina's 4th, 5th and 6th grade elementary Spanish students were able to do just this! These students were learning the first person tenses of the Spanish verbs "to be" and "to have". To practice their new learning, the students were able to pick an animal that they wanted to be. They found images of their chosen animal online, saved them to their iPads and imported the images into the app "Chatterpix". This fun app allows students to add their own voice recording to any image to make it "talk". The students spoke as if they were the animal to describe their characteristics in the first person. Check out the video below for a sampling of these projects. Buen trabajo estudiantes de español!
Read more

Rockin' Elementary Robotics

Image
This year, Glen Lake Elementary has four amazing robotics teams that have been working their tails off to build, drive and begin to program their VEX IQ robots. The teams are comprised of 3rd and 4th graders with parent volunteer coaches. They practice at least once per week and are learning much more than robotics. Teamwork, compromise, listening, collaboration and good sportsmanship skills are essential for a successful robotics team. This January and February, our 3rd grade teams competed against other local teams in weekly completions through the VEX IQ Challenge. We had 15 third graders compete and they rocked it with one our of Glen Lake teams taking 2nd Place overall! The second round of competition, which will include our 4th graders will be starting next week. Way to go Little Lakers, we are so proud of you! 3rd Grade Robotics
Read more

No Bull Challenge

Throughout the course of the year, our librarian Mrs. Besselsen, has been working within the Middle School Reading classes to teach digital citizenship. Part of this curriculum includes an unfortunate reality that students may face in their digital world - cyber bullying. Mrs. Besselsen challenged students to take the “ No Bull Challenge ” and create and submit an original student-produced video for their contest.  From the No Bull website: “ NO BULL Challenge is a social action organization that inspires teens and young adults from around the world to take a stand against bullying and to promote digital responsibility, leadership, and social action through film making. We provide the framework and motivation to develop powerful short films and public service announcements that spark dialogue about bullying, one of the most critical issues of our time. The NO BULL Challenge empowers teens and young adults to tell their personal stories through our online video competition/...
Read more