Inquiry-Based Project: How to Keep from Getting Sick
Persistent Issue: People get sick all the time and have to miss class or work.
Driving Question: How can we keep ourselves from getting sick?
Hook/Grabber:
Have students watch a Brainpop Jr. video about the importance of watching their hands and not spreading germs (https://jr.brainpop.com/health/bewell/washinghands/). Then, reading A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon to the class. Afterwards, have a class discussion about being sick and preventing illness. Ask students about times when they have been sick. Ask students what they know about preventing being sick. What are some ways they know of to keep from spreading or catching germs? Write down their ideas on the board. (Some examples include washing hands, eating healthy, getting enough sleep, drinking water, etc.). Then, have the school nurse come in and discuss ways to prevent illness. Write down any ideas the students did not previously think of on the board. Then, introduce the project to students. Explain that they will be researching different ways to prevent sickness and eventually presenting their findings to others.
Culminating activity:
Have students work in small groups. Assign every group to a method of preventing illness (i.e. getting enough sleep). Then, each group will research the benefits of their method. Give each group a set of questions to answer (Why is their method beneficial? How should they use each method?) to guide them through their research process. Have each group take notes on their research, making sure they have enough relevant information to present. Students can conduct their research online (using kid-friendly resources such as Kiddle) or in the school library. Then, each group will create a poster summarizing their research. During an assigned time, the posters will be put up around the school cafeteria and the class will host a “gallery walk,” where other classes visit and walk around the different groups. Groups will present their posters to the visitors and answer questions about their topic. Students will be assessed on their understanding and presentation of their research. Students will also visit other groups’ presentations to learn about other ways of preventing illness.
Rubric | |||||
Area | Beginning 1 | Developing 2 | Accomplished 3 | Excellent 4 | Score |
Topic | Information is not on topic | Some information is on topic | Most information is on topic | All information is on topic | |
Research | Students have little to no information about their topic | Students have some information about their topic | Students have adequate information about their topic | Students have plenty of information on their topic to defend their method | |
Presentation of Information | Students have little to no knowledge about their topic and cannot answer questions about their topic. | Students have some knowledge of their topic and can answer some questions | Students are knowledgeable about their method of preventing illness and can answer questions | Students are able to defend their method and prove their knowledge of how their method prevents sickness | |
Student Focus | Students were not on task throughout the research project | Students were minimally on task with their research | Students stayed mostly on task with their research | Students stayed focused on their work and completed thorough research | |
Organization/Neatness | Disorganized/messy poster. No organization of information. | Minimal neatness/organization of information | Most information is neat, organized, and easily located | Poster is easy to read, organized, and neat | |
Resources | No resources are cited | Some resources are cited | Most resources are cited | All resources students used are cited | |
Teacher Comments: | |||||