Hello! It's that time again! I can't believe how fast summer goes! I am always sad to see the summer end, but there is also something exciting about the start of a new school year. It's nice to be able to have a fresh start and regroup!
I have two sections of Earth Science this year and I am starting with my idea from a few posts ago. The original Buck Institute project is called "A Balancing Act' and was focused on learning about ecosystems in a biology class. I am modifying it for an intro earth science project focusing on how the four spheres are connected. The students will be working in design teams to design a set for a reality tv show where the premise is that people are put into a man made biosphere to live. Each class is one biosphere and each design team is a different ecosystem. Within each team, each student will focus on one of the following aspects, geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. So far I have done just a few intro activities, including watching the Ted Talk by Jane Poynter on her experience living in Biosphere 2. I ended my last class by giving the students a memo that they have been selected to be on a design team for the new reality tv show and I showed the trailer to the 1996 movie "Biodome." Hopefully they are excited.
Now I just have to plan the next steps. In the original project the teacher had the students do posters and a report. In my previous post I had mentioned possibly having students create a mural in my classroom. Due to how many students are in the class I think a mural may be difficult. But, since we just deployed chrome books to every student I think I will incorporate technology. Maybe I can come up with a 3D modeling program. I still have to think the project part through. The key is going to be chunking the project into small manageable pieces and ensuring that the projects represent mastered content knowledge. So here I go. I will share my results.
