Inquiry Project Doc

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Mandi Lucas

Inquiry Project


Team members

Name: Jenna Musselman

Name: Mandi Lucas

Name: Maddy Berta


Topic: 4.ESS.3 Describe how geological forces change the shape of the land suddenly and over time.

Part 1:  Driving question:

  • What are your three initial driving questions?

    • How have rock formations changed over time?

    • How have weather patterns influenced changes in the shape of the land?

    • How do you think the land will change in the future? Why?

  • What is your one, final driving question?

How do you think the land will change in the future?

  • Background information of this driving question:

Fourth grade. Standard 4.ESS.3. The project would take about a week, including research and implementation of the project. Students should expect to present their projects to the class at the end of the week and discuss their stance. Our question focuses on development and changes in land over time. Our plan would be to provide students with evidence as to how land has already changed over time, looking at natural occurring formations, such as the Grand Canyon. Then, we could ask students to look at an already existing natural occurring formation, and ask them how they think this would change 100 years  into the future and provide evidence based on what they should already know. Students can choose the natural formation that they want to look at, but it has to be teacher approved. Students will collaborate in groups. Groups will be assigned by the teacher based on how students will collaborate together, making the groups balanced. After presentation, students will complete a short reflection on what they gained from the project and how the discussion may have changed their opinions on their topic. This reflection will be used as an assessment tool.

  • Why do you think this is a good driving question?

    • Yes. They’re open ended questions and the groups will have to do research and provide their answers. The answer can vary depending on what the groups think will happen in the future. (ie. if the group thinks there will be a natural disaster that occurs, and depending on which formation the group is looking at).

    • It’s a relevant issue because the project is looking into the past and then applying what they know to infer what they think will happen in the future. These possibly changes are something that they could experience within their own lifetime.

    • There is more than one solution because it depends on which formation the students are looking at and what they think will happen in the future. (ie. natural disasters)

    • Students will have the opportunity to evaluate the data they come up with and decipher how it supports their claim. They then will be able to present and defend their claim in an orderly fashion via discussion. Students will be able to present their finding to the class and will engage in a class discussion based on why they hold their positions. Students will be able to defend their answers as well as be open to suggestions from other students.


Part2: Grabber

  • What is your grabber?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhdr19BF6vA

How the Grand Canyon was formed: http://www.pbs.org/video/2365758737/

  • Why do you think this grabber is beneficial and how it  align with your driving question?

Try to answer these questions. (But you should not answer them with yes or no, instead explain the details and convince me that you’ve met these criteria)

  • I think that the video peaks the interest of the student. The video doesn’t really explain anything, but rather just gives examples of geological forces changing the land. The video focuses on how geological forces have destroyed, as well as created things.

  • The video references a few things like earthquakes and tsunamis, which may be relevant to some students. I think the music that is in the background is also high energy and really helps to build the suspense of the topic.

  • The video is authentic and relevant. The video shows pictures from real things. The video shows mountains, volcanoes, the grand canyon, effects of plate tectonics. All these things have happened and are relevant to the planet that we live on.

  • This video would be used to help introduce the project. After a mini lesson on geological forces, this video would be played. This video would then serve to peak the students’ interest in the project. The video focuses on how forces have showed the land into what it currently is, so the students would still have to do some research to see what these landmarks were like in the past.


  • Culminating activities: List all your activities here:


1) Activity 1

  • What is your first activity?
    Mini-lesson: Give a short lesson on Geological forces and how they can affect natural lands. Use Geological Forces article to summarize each type of force, as well as an example of a natural land that has been affected by a force. We could present this information in a powerpoint format, followed by our grabber videos.


  • Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?

This activity allows students to learn the basis of the lesson needed to complete their projects. This particular activity does not require student involvement or collaboration because this is a lecture style activity conducted by the teachers, but is necessary for the project. This activity DOES, however, help students become engaged in the lesson by showing our grabber videos after the lecture.


2) Repeat the information above for any additional activities you want to add.

  • What is your second activity?

Student Research and Presentation: After we give a short mini lesson on the different kinds of geological forces, we would ask the students to create a project. This project would include researching how geological forces have changed the land over time and how they think that land will change in the future. Students will have to pick a natural landscape that they would like to research with approval from the teacher. We will provide students with a couple resources (websites) to get them started. Of course, the teacher will be available for guidance throughout the project. Students will be placed in groups by the teacher that will help the groups to achieve to the best of their abilities. After students conduct their research, they will make a PowerPoint presentation that they will then present to the class. After their presentation, other students are expected to take part in a discussion about their presentation and the group presenting will be expected to answer questions that the audience has as well as trying to engage the audience. After all the groups have presented, students will write a short paper reflecting on their experiences. This will focus on how the children’s schemas have changed based on the information that was presented to them. They will also discuss if the discussion that they had with other students helped to influence their ultimate decision on how the land would develop.

List the name of your activity here. And explain how it would be implemented  in the class, describe the process, such as how to group your students, when to present information to your students, what resources you will use, what students will create or share, etc.


  • Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?

The activity focuses on a real life situation, which makes it authentic. By doing their research and having an opportunity to present their findings to the class, they have the opportunity to defend their solutions. Depending what the students are looking at, their answers will vary. There is not a definitive answer. The students will also have to collaborate with other students in their group to come up with a conclusion for their natural landscape. They will have to problem solve within their group and come to a consensus. To judge how students have learned from this activity, we will grade them from a rubric, along with a reflection paper. The rubric will focus on how well the students communicated and defended their position while the reflection will focus on their learning.

Rubric: http://www.rcampus.com/rubricshowc.cfm?code=QX7CX37&sp=yes

Resources:

Halocline Caves video: http://www.pbs.org/video/2365833284/

Explanation of Forces: http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/earths-changing-surface/the-forces-that-change-the-face-of-earth

IRubric: http://www.rcampus.com/indexrubric.cfm

How the Grand Canyon was formed: http://www.pbs.org/video/2365758737/


Famous Land Formation

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150205-the-15-most-amazing-landforms


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