Spicewood Elementary School Our fifth grade classes are just wrapping up their How the World Works unit of inquiry in which students explored the concept of phenomena (what does that word actually mean?) and how different perspectives can influence one’s interpretation of the word. The concepts in the central idea, Human and natural-made phenomena exist in our world and impact societies, were analyzed and researched by our fifth graders, concluding in a summative assessment. A summative assessment is the final end product that provides students a platform to share what they learned in the unit of inquiry. Summative assessments can take a variety of forms, however, they are all student driven and directed, exemplifying an authentic assessment of their knowledge.
Inspired by all of their inquiries throughout the first part of the unit, students chose a phenomena that interested them and got started with their research. From man-made wonders of the world like Hoover Dam and the Roman Colosseum to more natural phenomena like Mount Everest or The Grand Canyon, students generated questions to guide their inquiries and collaborated with one another as they gathered and interpreted their findings.
Next, students learned how to use a green screen (DoInk app on the ipad) to create a creative presentation to share their research with others. Students took the lead in teaching one another how to best create their videos, add images, and edited them for their final products. Each video was then linked to a QR code giving access to anyone who visited the library to these amazing projects!
The projects will be in the library over the next week, be sure to stop by and check them out!