PROJECT OVERVIEW Page 1 s3

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING (PBL)
Planning Template
Name of Project: / Animal Farm: Animal Tales / Duration (hrs): / 2-3 weeks
CTE Course: / Computing for College and Careers (CCC) / Grade Level: / 9
Academic Course(s): / English I
Teachers: / Gwen Coy
Sandy Powell
Project-Based Learning Components
Project Idea:
Summary of the issue, challenge, investigation, scenario, or problem. / Students will investigate different types of myths, folklore, folktales, legends, and tall tales to identify the allegory, lesson, life truth, and/or moral and how it/they relate(s) to author’s purpose and theme. Students will then create a PowerPoint to present their research and fashion an allegorical children’s storybook which presents a moral or life truth.
Driving Question:
The question that both engages student attention and focuses their efforts. / What are the keys to and values of understanding author’s purpose?
What is an allegory and how does it relate to author’s purpose?
Anchor Event/Project Launch:
Introduction and/or back- ground information to set the stage and generate interest. / Introductory PowerPoint that gives an overview of the Russian Revolution, George Orwell, and allegory, focusing in on details that relate specifically to the book Animal Farm.
Inquiry & Innovation:
Discuss how the project engages students in innovative research and thought in each
curriculum area. / Students will be engaged in actively searching for and identifying allegory, author’s purpose, and their relevance to Animal Farm through their research of various types of myths, folklore, folktales, legends, and tall tales. Students will use skills and knowledge of PowerPoint, Photo Shop, and Publisher acquired in a career and technology course. Students will draw upon their knowledge of the historical event of the Russian Revolution as it relates to Animal Farm and the allegory embedded in it.
Process of Investigation:
Develop student guidelines for each phase of project.
Project Calendar
P:roject Teaching & Learning Guide
Project Management Log / 1. Introduction and Team Planning: Students will go through PowerPoint on the Russian Revolution and allegory with the teacher. Students will be assigned to groups of two and meet with their groups to begin planning.
2. Initial Research Phase - Gathering Information: Each group must choose two different stories (folktales, legends, myths, etc.); one must have animals as the main characters and both must teach a lesson, moral, or life truth. Students will research the stories they picked concentrating on the story, moral, allegory, and author’s purpose.
3. Creation and Development of Initial Artifacts, Product(s), and/or Prototype(s): Students will collaborate to create a PowerPoint presentation incorporating their research. Each student will be given a rubric explaining what is required.
4. Second Research Phase - Additional Information & Revision: Students will take what they have learned about stories, allegory, and author’s purpose and apply it to the development of their own allegorical children’s book that teaches a lesson they would like to share with others.
5. Final Presentation Development: Each group will present their PowerPoint to the class, making sure to follow the PowerPoint rubric. Each presentation must also include an aspect of audience participation. Students will then bring the children’s books they created to an elementary school to read to younger students.
6. Publication of Product or Artifacts: The children’s books will be proofread, revised, and published/bound to look like actual children’s books. These final products will be brought to elementary schools.
Collaboration:
Discuss collaboration among colleagues in teaching the project.
Discuss collaborative instructional strategies utilized by students. Collaboration Rubric / Teachers: English and CCC teachers will collaborate to make sure the due dates, planning times, and group-working times are appropriate chronologically. English and CCC teachers must communicate with each other on a daily basis in order to keep the pacing of the project consistent. Teachers must also collaborate on the grading process.
Students: Students will have to collaborate in their groups to create the PowerPoint of their stories. Students must also be familiar with their partners story in order to compare and contrast the two. Each group is also responsible for developing a class participation piece. Students will additionally partake in peer editing for revising their children’s books.
Student Voice:
Describe how students play a role in project design and implementation. / Students will have to choose the stories they will research, design and create a PowerPoint collaboratively, and design an allegorical children's book (in Publisher), including front/back cover (in Photo Shop), characters, plot, and moral or life lesson.
Major Products & Performances:
Elaborate on products; Discuss publication and presentation of projects.
Presentation Rubric / Products: / The products will be a PowerPoint presentation and a children’s book. The PowerPoint will include all the elements listed on the rubric, including an explanation of the groups’ stories, identification of the moral or life lesson, where the allegory lies and what the author is trying to teach through it, a slide to compare/contrast the two stories, and an element of class participation. The children’s books will have to be allegories that teach a life lesson, truth, or moral and must have illustrations to go along with a written story. The students will design a front and back cover for these books in Photo Shop. The books will be edited and revised before being published. Through these products, students will learn how to conduct appropriate research; how to identify author’s purpose and allegory; how to use Photo Shop, Publisher, and PowerPoint; how to compare and contrast various literary works; and how to collaborate and use team-building skills.
Publication/
Presentation: / Group: Each group will present their PowerPoint to the class. / Presentation Audience
Individual: Each individual will publish and present their children’s story to a group of younger students.
Instructional Technology:
Select and discuss the technology-based instructional options embedded in the project.
Discussion:
Business/Community Involvement:
Describe how business partners contribute to project learning. / Students will read/present their children's books to younger students in the community at local elementary schools.
Project Standards
Topics of Study:
Main areas of project investigation. / Myths/legends/folklore, the Russian Revolution, author’s purpose, allegory, PowerPoint, Photo Shop, Publisher
Content Standards:
Those taught and
assessed in the project: / CTE Performance Standards
01.01, 01.04, 01.05, 02.03, 02.05, 03.06, 04.01, 04.04, 06.03, 09.01, 11.02, 11.03, 11.04, 11.07, 11.08, 11.09
Common Career Technical Core (CCTC) Standards
These standards will be released/August 2012
Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards
(see common core)
Common Core Standards
R 2, 3, 6, 9; W 2-9; SL 1, 2, 4, 5; L 1 & 2
21st Century Skills:
Those taught and
assessed in the project.
For descriptions follow web links / LEARNING &
INNOVATION SKILLS / INFORMATION, MEDIA,
& TECHNOLOGY SKILLS / LIFE &
CAREER SKILLS
Creativity & Innovation / Information Literacy / Flexibility/Adaptability / Productivity/Accountability
Critical Thinking/Problem Solving / Media Literacy / Initiative/Self Direction / Leadership/Responsibility
Communication/Collaboration / ICT Literacy / Social/Cross-Cultural
Project Assessment, Reflection, Feedback & Revision
Assessments: / Formative Assessments
(During Project)
Summative Assessments
(End of Project) / Other Product(s) or Performance(s) w/ Rubric:
Reflection Methods: / Individual
Group
Whole Class
Feedback & Revision: Scaffolded feedback and “check points” should be routinely provided by the teacher within the collaborative instructional process. Feedback can be based on either teacher and/or peer evaluations.