Living Museum

So yes ... we are doing another PBL project!!!!  If the data didn't show that kids learn more deeply and if the kids themselves didn't feel so proud, trust me the 3rd grade teachers would not be putting you through this.


This is what it is:  to reinforce our Language Arts unit on "Literary NonFiction" and to piggyback on our recent learning about economics and inventors, 3rd grade will present a LIVING MUSEUM.

Students will read, take notes, and write a speech in the first person (as though they ARE that person come to life).  The outline of the speech will focus on the character traits of the notable person and how their innovation (inventor, discovery, exploration etc.) changed the world we live in.

Students may read biographies for their nightly reading, but ALL of the writing will be done in class from the first draft to the last.

HOME:

A little creativity and support for your child.  The most engaging presentations have some kind of a prop, colorful well made poster or costume.  Nothing expensive.  The letter will show samples of "poster costumes" that cost less than a dollar and soda bottle puppets.

Under class pictures, look at last years' Museum.

I ran through the list of Innovators and stressed that there was not much information on some of the people or their discovery was difficult to understand -- they did not go for the "easiest" to research.

As we get into the research, if I do not feel that your child understands the accomplishments of their person, I will step in and change their topic.  Also, there is more information available on some inventors vs. others.  We want to give students free choice but again if the well is running dry, I will make an alternative suggestion.

In case your kiddo didn't remember - Here are our chosen topics:

Jame - Jane Addams
Rachel - Robert Fulton
Miriam - Mary Anderson
Erik - Garrett Morgan
Giselle - Nikola Tesla
Ava - Marie Curie
Elisa - Louis Pasteur
Jackson - Bill Gates
Nohamine - Ruth Wakefield
Caitlin - Walter Diemer
Grayson - Albert Einstein
Tyler - Patrick W. Smith
Luca - Wright Brothers
Nyandra - Alexandra Graham Bell
Noel - George Washington Carver
Brandon - Neil Armstrong
Jon - Ben Franklin
Daniel - Sir Hiram Maximin
Ashley - Mary Kay Ash
Steven - Martin Luther King Jr.
Izzie - Amelia Earhart

Innovators that I feel would be rich topics that were not chosen (and could possibly be switched to as mentioned above):

Thomas Edison!
Cyrus McCormick
Eli Whitney
Jonas Salk
Henry Ford
Louis Braille
Jane Goodall
Levi Strauss
Leonardo da Vinci -Caitlin
Jacques Cousteau - Daniel
Milton Bradley - Tyler
Louis Daguerre
Sir Isaac Newton
Thomas Jefferson
Charles Goodyear