Title

PBSNOVA:NatureSeries

Topic

ApplyingLessonsofNatureinOurOwnCommunity

GradeLevel

6thGrade

Subject

Elective

EstablishedGoals(Standards)
NextGenerationScience
LS4.D:BiodiversityandHumansChangesinbiodiversitycaninfluencehumansresources,suchasfood,
energy,andmedicines,aswellasecosystemservicesthathumansrelyonforexample,water
purificationandrecycling.

ESS2.D:WeatherandClimateWeatherandclimateareinfluencedbyinteractionsinvolvingsunlight,the
ocean,theatmosphere,ice,landforms,andlivingthings.Theseinteractionsvarywithlatitude,altitude,
andlocalandregionalgeography,allofwhichcanaffectoceanicandatmosphericflowpatterns.
(MSESS26)Becausethesepatternsaresocomplex,weathercanonlybepredictedprobabilistically.
(MSESS25)Theoceanexertsamajorinfluenceonweatherandclimatebyabsorbingenergyfromthe
sun,releasingitovertime,andgloballyredistributingitthroughoceancurrents.(MSESS26)

ESS3.B:NaturalHazardsMappingthehistoryofnaturalhazardsinaregion,combinedwithan
understandingofrelatedgeologicforcescanhelpforecastthelocationsandlikelihoodsoffutureevents.
(MSESS32)

EssentialQuestions

HowcanyouapplywhatyoulearnedtotheCoachellaValley?
Whatdoyouneedtodotoensureyourprojectisaccuratelytranslatedandappliedtoourlocal
environment?
Whatinformationisneededtoverifythevalidityofawebsitetoapplyittoyourresearch?

Understandings

Studentswillunderstandthat...
Studentswillknow
NGSSstandardsapply
Howtoanalyze
totheirlocal
websitesfor
community
validity,complete
Theirprojectwillbe
research,andput
graded50%bypeers
togetherafinal
and50%bythe
project

Studentswillbeableto
Explainhowthetopicthey
havechosenwillaffect,
apply,ormakechangesto
theirlocalcommunity
Worktogetheroralone
Completeresearchin

teacher

showcasingtheir
learningusing
technologyof
theirchoice
theymustuseat
leastthree
electronic
mediums(2of
choiceand1
NOVAvideo)to
workontheir
project(NOVA
videoand
website,web
searchandsiteof
choice,
government
website
[USGSgov,
NPS.gov,
READY.gov
etc],BrainPop,
UnitedStreaming,
oranyother
relevantelectronic
source

class,afterschool,during
lunch,andathome
Usethe1:1computers
Sharetheirfinalproduct

NETS
(Students):
Simplyreferencethenumberandletter(e.g.,2c)

Creativity&Innovation

1a,b,c,d

Communication&Collaboration

2a

Research&InformationFluency

3a,b,c,d

CriticalThinking,ProblemSolving&DecisionMaking

4b

DigitalCitizenship

5a,b,c

TechnologyOperations

6b

NETS
(Teachers):
Simplyreferencethenumberandletter(e.g.,2c)

Facilitate&InspireStudentLearning&Creativity

1a,b,c,d

Design&DevelopDigitalAgeLearningExperiences&Assessments

2a,b,c

ModelDigitalAgeWork&Learning

3b,c

Promote&ModelDigitalAgeCitizenship&Responsibility

4a,b

EngageinProfessionalGrowthandLeadership

AssessmentEvidence

PerformanceTasks:
SelfAssessments:
Studentswillselfselectatopicof GoogleFormSurvey33%
interestfromthePBSNOVA
videosandlessons.Theywill
thenhavetorelatewhatthey
learnedfromthevideotothe
CoachellaValley.Theymust
adapttheirlearningandcomplete
furtherresearchonhowthelocal
PalmSpringsareaappliestothe
topicofchoice.Studentsmust
showaconnectiontotheNGSS
standardsandpresenttheir
findingsinamediaformatoftheir
choice.

OtherEvidence:
PeerGoogleFormSurvey33%
TeacherEvaluation33%

LearningPlan

InquiryHook:
ThestudentswillwatchthetrailerforeachofthePBSNOVAvideoslistedbelow.Theywillthenbeasked
howcouldeachtopicberelatedtotheCoachellaValleyandhowcantheyconductfurtherresearchto
applyittotheirownlives.
PBSNOVA:
JapansKillerQuake
MountStHelens:BackFromtheDead
Venom:NaturesKiller
Audible:NOVAVideoofYourChoice

ActivityProcedure:
Theteacherwill:
PlaythetrailerforthePBSNOVAvideosthataretiedtowhattheyarestudyingintheirscience
classes
Reviewthetechnologynetiquettelessonandclassnorms(taughtpreviouslyCommonSense
Media)
Remindstudentsofplagiarismlesson(taughtpreviouslyCommonSenseMedia)
Theteacherwillask:
HowwouldthesetopicsberelatedtooraffecttheCoachellaValley?
Howwouldyouconductfurtherresearchtoapplyittoyourowncommunity?
Thestudentwill:
Selfselectatopictolearnabout
TheymustwatchaPBSNOVAdocumentaryandextractappropriatenotes
ResearchhowthatvideocanbetiedintoandappliedtotheCoachellaValley
Createatechnologyrichproductshowingunderstandingofthetopicandhowitllbeappliedto
theirowncommunity
Begiven10classperiodstoconducttheirresearchandputtogethertheproject
Answerwhattheywouldliketoknowiftheyconductedfurtherresearch
Completeaselfassessment
Presenttheprojecttotheclassandreceivepeerfeedback

ReflectionMethods:
SelfEvaluation
PeerEvaluation
TeacherEvaluation

Materials

Facilities:
Workwillbedoneintheschool
classroom,unlessastudent
choosestoworkonproject
outsideofschool

Equipment(nontech):
LibraryResearch
Notebook&Pencil
Headphones
THINKposter

Equipment(tech):
Macbooks
Projector

StudentSample
Insertlinkto,orimage(s)of,studentsamplesbelow.

SeeaFullStudentProjectUploadedontheWeeblyPage
ThisparticularstudenttooktheVenom:NaturesKillervideoandappliedittoourlocalenvironmentby
researchingandlearningtoidentifythelocalfloraandfauna.Shethencompiledtheinformationintothe
formofasurvivalfieldguidetosharewithhercolleagues,sinceweweregoingtobecampinginthelocal
mountainsforafieldtrip.Shewantedeveryonetobewellprepared.
(Note:Thecoverpagewasremoved
toprotectstudentsidentity.)
Afewscreenshotshavebeenprovidedbelow: