Franklin 11/12-11/13

Team Enterprise

4th and 5th Graders, part of Team Enterprise, worked in their scene design teams to obtain stage measurements on Wednesday morning. Each group has selected the scene they will be adapting from the novel, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. They are collaborating to produce their scene's original script which includes dialogue, stage directions, props, and setting.

In addition to script writing, they will be creating their set design, building their set, developing props and costumes, and finally acting out their scene to bring all of the pieces together.

The tasks they have participated in thus far have all been incredible exercises in communicating clearly, expressing ideas and opinions, and collaborating to come to a common plan. Each group has found what works for them. Some have split up the jobs and identified specific roles, others are approaching tasks as a whole team, while some are using a combination of those strategies.

On Wednesday, students headed to our Franklin stage to determine how much space was needed for their particular scene. Groups worked together to measure the space they required then diagrammed it on paper. We used a measuring tape, which was a new tool for many students (we're used to rulers, protractors, and meter sticks). Teams quickly got the hang of it and figured out how to work with one another to gain the data they needed. They will be able to use this when coming up with their set design and item dimensions.

Students were fired up to get to work on the production aspect of this PBL unit, "Page to Stage".

Below is an anchor chart created to guide students in their script writing.

Team Promise and their Literary Entrepreneurs

Several students from Team Promise are continuing to create a list of character traits, text evidence, and related skills for the character they have chosen to focus on during their Literary Entrepreneurs PBL Unit. Once they have truly gotten to know their character they will be thinking about what business their character would create if they were to come to life. The business should reflect the character's personality and skills.

Today we reflected in a group discussion on the following questions:

1. What emotions, situations, or scenarios drive the characters’ actions?

2. If you “read between the lines” are there any hidden sides to the characters?

3.Are any of the characters conflicted (feeling more than one way)?  How do you know? 

While these questions were phrased in a challenging way, (written based on 5th Grade Lucy Caulkins progression) we were able to unpack and decipher what was being asked and each group member had insightful observations about their characters to share, as well as citing evidence.

Next week students will participate in a brainstorm protocol to began thinking about different types of businesses and entrepreneurial ventures. Eventually they will be devloping a business plan, a logo, and building a website for their character's business.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle Book Club (Team Pursuit, Wednesdays)

Last week Team Pursuit's The Mouse and the Motorcycle Book Club re-read Chapter one, developed possible routes Keith's family may have taken across the U.S. by noting text evidence, and made predictions about what might happen next in the novel.

On Wednesday we read Chapter 2 aloud, focusing on putting ourselves in Ralph's (the mouse and main character) shoes. Students made connections to their experiences and the characters', revisited important information from Chapter 1, and worked together to infer character thoughts and feelings.

This reading group will be participating in a PBL unit where they study maps, the job of cartographers, the needs of the Franklin community, and will be creating a map that can be utilized by Franklin visitors to navigate our school. As we read The Mouse and the Motorcycle and encounter its above grade level vocabulary, we will also be connecting our mapping to Ralph's travels.

Our Driving Question: How can we, as cartographers, create a map that could be used by visitors to our school?

Today we looked at a US topographical map, a US road map, and a US Map with state capitols. Students made observations about the similarities and differences they noticed in the 3 maps. Liam pointed out the different colors of lines on the road map and inferred that the blue lines might be rivers. Hannah and Aaliyah identified different states on the map and identified the corresponding location on the other maps.

Next week we will be creating a bird's eye view map of Team Pursuit's classrooms. We'll read Chapter 3 of The Mouse and the Motorcycle as well! We took a sneak peek this week and are ready to hear what happens to Ralph next!

Team Odyssey Travel Agents

This week we continued interviewing our clients to gain the information necessary to book our best trips. During our whole group discussion we modeled how you could use an online resource like "Orbitz " or "Kayak" to determine flight options (times, cost, and locations to fly out and in of). What I observed were students ready to participate and get cruising (no pun intended) independently. Before we moved to travel agent work students generated incredible questions such as:

• How do you know the airport name?

• Why is a flight 35 hours?

• What do stops mean?

• What if there are more than one airports for a city or country?

• What do additional fees mean?

• What if my client said a country instead of a city?

We also looked at what it means to select a flight. How many people are traveling, how can we calculate a ticket cost by number of people? What operation would we need to use?

So many incredible questions, so many engaged students, I cannot wait to see what these Agents propose to their clients!