Our State Project

A couple of weeks ago I assigned my students a state project that will take them most of first quarter to complete.  I had each fifth grader choose a different state.  Given that there are about 40 fifth graders, everyone had some choice.  The states were chosen on a first come, first served basis.  The research project will help them meet four of their Language Arts Common Core Standards.  They will be gathering and reading information from at least three different sources.  They will learn how to write notes on what they are reading, how to use an index to find the best pages to read to find information, how to organize their notes to make sense, and how to write, revise, and edit their report.  Students will also work on their speaking skills as they present their state information and their listening skills as they record what classmates teach them from their presentations.  I am very excited to incorporate many of the reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills that students will need to be successful in the upper grades and at their future careers.  I am also excited that I am starting the groundwork of teaching kids how to break down big projects into smaller steps so that everything can be completed on time.  My students will work on responsibility and time management skills as they complete a small section of the project each evening for homework.

Here is the link to the State Project Directions, Rubrics, and Language Arts Common Core Standards that the project is meeting:
State Project