This project was assigned by Carol Cisky, 5th grade teacher, as a take home project,
and is based on Blooms Taxonomy. The students came up with a variety of different approaches
to each question, and the student work is spread throughout the "Journey to
the Center of the Earth" web site.
Here is how she organized her approach with the students:
Knowledge is a list of facts. Students were asked to list all the ways they could think
of that people change the earth. They did not have to comment on whether the changes to the
earth were good or bad, they were to simply list all the ways they could think of.
Comprehension. How much did the kids comprehend a lesson as it was being taught, and
how much can they remember when it is over? Can they give feedback? On this topic students
were asked to explain how different rocks and minerals are formed.
Application. Can they apply the knowledge they've learned? The students were asked to draw
a series of three pictures to illustrate commonly used products which are made from
rocks and minerals.
Analysis. Can students take their knowledge and apply it to other situations?
Knowing what the kids know about our earth, and space exploration, can
they analyze whether the earth's process can happen on other planets besides ours? The
assignment for this element was to explain whether they thought there were rocks and
minerals on other planets.
Synthesis. This assignment did not have to be factual, it needed to be creative, but be
based on the knowledge and understanding of facts. The students were to create a
story (factual or fictional) about a plant or tree that is "cracking" a great boulder.
They were supposed to use some facts that they know about how this process works.
Evaluation. This the highest level, and the students apply everything they've learned.
How can a problem be solved? First, there was a class discussion on the topic of how
to determine a way to fairly divide the minerals of the ocean among all the countries of
the world. During the discussion, an introduction to simple politics was
presented by Carol Cisky so that students could begin to understnd the context of the
problem. The second part of this assignment was for each student to write an opinion on
how they would solve the problem if they were put in charge of implementing the solution.
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