Brainstorming Part II

I spoke with my Vice Principal today and once again we began brainstorming ideas about the Water Project.  I explained to her the desire I have to decorate my room with raindrops falling from the ceiling.  She liked the idea and suggested that I have the students make the raindrops and write something on the raindrop about what they already know about H2O conservation,Caddo Lake, or the swamp and have them hang up their water drop.  That's a one day activity.

We also discussed decorating using clouds that are positioned high on the walls as well as trees (3D) in the corners of the room using brown butcher paper and green table clothes (from DollarTree).  She also mentioned that I could bring in a stomp and have a reading area with pamphlets, books, pictures.

Students could take pictures or research pictures of different plants and animals found in or near water and posterize the picture and hang up in the classroom.  (1 1/2 day project)

Group Responsibilities & Robot Challenge

Today, I've begun working on the job responsibilities for each group:  News & Marketing, Aquatic Engineers, Jr Corp of Engineers, and Conservation/Environmental Specialist.  I'll attach the final drafts soon.

I also began looking for a Robot Challenge for that component of the Water Project.   On the Robotics Academy website I found this challenge:

http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/content/lego/competitions/other/robotropolis/index.html (Robotropolis)

Request for Donations

My goal today is to begin making phone calls for donations of an aquarium to our project. 

1.  PetCo
     6596 Youree Drive
     Shreveport, LA 71105
     318-524-0540
     http://www.petco.com/content/locator/Details.aspx?storeId=481&Nav=2

• spoke with Mary, manager about sponsoring our class
• normally every year that have a TETRA program that sponsors classes in fall which includes a free coupon for aquarium products along with lesson plans http://www.tetra-fish.com/sites/TetraFish/aquademics/AquademicsContentSecure.aspx?id=218
• registered our school for the Tetra program (call back in Aug for update)
• concern:  website mentions program is only for 4th and 5th grade teachers however the manager at the store said 4th grade and up

2.  PetSmart
      7061 Youree Dr, Shreveport, LA 71105 » Map (318) 798-6623

• spoke to manager, David Smith and he mentioned  to request our desires on school letter and give it to him and he will fax in our request to their corporate office

Websites of Interest

Here are some websites of interest for The Water Project.

http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/contacts  Environmental Education Commission - LA Wildlife and Fisheries

http://www.changemakers.com/  Ashoka's Changemakers (grant opportunity)

http://cals.arizona.edu/arizonawet/teachersupport/lessons/curriculum-guide/project-wet-curriculum-and-activity-guide Arizona Project WET teacher support center

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/shv/?n=education-home  National Weather Service- Shreveport for rainfall and forecast

Next Steps

My next steps is to do the following to prepare project.

1. Speak with Principal about historians to speak to students
2. Call local aquarium shops for donations
3. Call Wildlife and Fisheries for assistance (info)
4. Contact Water Treatment Plant (Cindy has a contact)
5. Research Red River Project
6. Research Arizona Project WET
7. Call Ron Clark Academy (Mr. Townsel) again

Brainstorming

Yesterday, I scheduled an appointment with my Vice Principal of Curriculum to discuss my ideas for developing a project based learning curriculum for eight grade students.  I was so excited to meet with her because she's so creative and I knew that once we got started our creative juices would begin to flow.  That's exactly what happened today. 

I explained my idea to have a project based curriculum for the semester that's collaborative with other subjects.  From there, we began to incorporate the idea of the class being set up as a corporation.  She previously visited Ron Clark Academy and saw this idea in action. I called Ron Clark Academy and left a message to speak with the science teacher, Mr. Townsel, to further discuss this idea.

 After two hours of brainstorming, the final result was "The Water Project." 

Four Defined Roles

A.  Marketing Agents
      a. Mentor:  Local news station
      b.  Documents experience (website, blog)
      c.  Videographer and Photographer
      d.  Reports news to Administration and Parents
      e.  Field Trip:  News station to do mock weather report
     
B.  Aquatic Engineers
      a.  Mentor:  Meteorologist/?
      b.  Water testing
      c.  Daily weather updates
      d.  Maintain Class Aquarium
      e.  Field Trips:  Water Treatment Plant, Meteorology Center, Swamp Tour with Historian

C.  Corp of Jr. Engineering?
      a.  Mentor:  Army Corp of Engineers
      b.  Robotics Engineering (building, programming)
      c.  Field Trip: 

D.  Environmentalist (Conservationist)
      a.  Research:  Arizona Project WET
      b.  Water scarcity research
      c.  Fundraising for water well

History Component

• Students will learn the history of water in this area. 
• Have historians explain the history to students (video conferencing or skype)
• How and why cities were founded near bodies of water
• Create an online timeline(marketing group)

Science Component

• Discuss the Water Cycle, Water Table and Ecosystems
• Water testing
• Maintain Aquarium
• Scientific Experimentation

Math Component

• Gather online data of rainfall
• Gather rainfall using rain gauge
• Make spreadsheet of data showing changes

Writing Component

• Writing newsletter, blogging, and posting to website
• Marketing material

The Vision

Throughout the summer, I have been brainstorming about how to enhance the Evangel S.T.E.M. lab experience for 8th grade students.  As 7th graders, these students have been introduced to the Carnegie Mellon curriculum  "Robotics Engineering: Introduction to Mobile Robtics vol.I".  I would like the 8th graders to experience project based learning that encompasses the worlds of Science and Math along with English and Social Studies for the entire semester.  Collaboration!! 

After attending the Cyber Discovery Camp at Lousiana Tech this summer, I have gained insight how to structure my project.  I want to include robotics challenges, a treasure hunt, essay writing, movie discussion, and a storyline.