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Project Description - Ideate & Create

This document outlines a collaborative project between three grades at a school to develop both engineering and writing skills. Students will work in cross-grade groups to use the design process to create prototypes addressing problems related to their grade, such as reducing food waste or protecting wildlife. They will also study a writing genre and develop an original work. Over seven weeks students will develop initial prototypes, pass them to another grade to improve the design, and create final prototypes. They will also peer review and publish their writing pieces to share at an exhibition for parents and younger students.

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Tara Della Rocca
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60 views2 pages

Project Description - Ideate & Create

This document outlines a collaborative project between three grades at a school to develop both engineering and writing skills. Students will work in cross-grade groups to use the design process to create prototypes addressing problems related to their grade, such as reducing food waste or protecting wildlife. They will also study a writing genre and develop an original work. Over seven weeks students will develop initial prototypes, pass them to another grade to improve the design, and create final prototypes. They will also peer review and publish their writing pieces to share at an exhibition for parents and younger students.

Uploaded by

Tara Della Rocca
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Ideate & Create!

Collaborative Project:
Miss Georgias 3
rd
grade; Miss Jacobsons 4
th
grade; Miss Ds 5
th
grade
Project Overview
This project involves both an engineering & writing
component. Both pieces require students to generate
ideas and create thoughtful products in a collaborative
environment.
ENGINEERING
Students in each class will be challenged to use the Stanford
d Schools Design Process (a human-centered approach) to create
innovative solutions to problems.
Each class will spend time aiming to understand a problem.
Groups of 3 students in each class will design and build
prototypes to address these problems.
3
rd
: How can we reduce our food waste at HTe?
4
th
: How can we protect native wildlife in our canyon?
5
th
: How can we repurpose our own trash to make toys?
Then, the first prototypes will be passed on to another grade (e.g.,
3
rd
will pass to 4
th
) and the new classes will create second
prototypes, building on the first models strengths. Finally, a third
rotation will allow the last class to create final prototypes.

WRITING
Students will select a genre to study: playwriting; free writing/
zines; or fairy tales and then in a mixed-grade classroom learn
about this genre and develop a creative piece of their own.

S P R I N G 2 0 1 3
Background
This project stems from the voices of
many students in each grade who
expressed interest in a project that
includes:
Opportunities for building and
developing creative ideas,
Cross-grade collaboration,
Creative writing, and
Multiple engineering tasks to
focus on over the course of the
project rather than just one.

Timeline
Over the course of 7 weeks, students
will complete both components of the
project.
Week 1: Cross-grade icebreakers;
Writing genre selection; Empathy
stage of engineering project
Week 2: Continued empathy & design
of prototypes; Writing classes begin
Week 3-6: Prototype designs and
builds including rotation of prototypes
from grade to grade; Creation and
revision of writing products through
peer and teacher critique
Week 7: Publish writing & exhibit
work


2
IDEATE & CREATE! SPRING 2013

Products
Individual
Each student will independently produce a writing piece (or a part of a writing piece).
Fellow classmates will critique drafts and students will revise them for publishing and
for presentation to an audience at either a Coffeehouse or Story Time exhibition.
Collaborative
Students will participate in groups of 3 or 4 (selected by the teachers) to create an
initial prototype for one problem, an improved prototype for a second problem, and a
final prototype for a third problem. Each student in the group will be responsible for
contributing to the design and build of the groups prototypes. Each student will also
be responsible for speaking about the work at the formal exhibition.
Audience/Exhibition
For the engineering component, students will
identify the appropriate audience to which
they should exhibit their work. This audience
will be comprised of people who can benefit
from exposure to the solutions created.
For the writing component, parents and
family members will be welcomed to a
Coffeehouse-style exhibition at which
students will present snippets of their work.
Students will also offer a Story Time to their
early primary buddies at HTe to share their
work with partners.
Learning
Students will
Develop an understanding of the d Schools Design Process.
Discover information related to their first engineering problem (i.e., food
waste; risks to wildlife in the canyon; toy design and upcycling) and create a
way to convey this to other classes.
Practice working collaboratively.
Learn to identify strengths in models and to enhance prototypes.
Employ creativity through several modes.
Learn about a particular writing genre and create a piece of writing in this style.
Assessment
Students will reflect on four areas
of growth periodically
throughout the project: critical
thinking, collaboration,
communication, and creativity.
At the conclusion of the project
students will self-assess around
these criteria, as well as receive
feedback from their group mates
and teacher.

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