Project Planning Page:  Life Cycle Exchange

(this project was completed for a class and is not yet open for participation)

 

Topic/description:  A culminating project for a Life Science unit of study.  Our kindergarten class is seeking a K or First grade class to connect with and exchange our knowledge of life cycles.  Host and receiving class will each choose a different organism (i.e. butterfly, frog, chick, bean plant).  They will then research and present their organism to the other class in a 45 minute one-to-one connection with a question and answer session at the end.  Presentation format to be decided on by participating teachers.

 

Project time frame:  a few class sessions prior to connection to research and prepare presentations and a 45 minute video conference

Videoconference to be held in spring, contact for availability

 

Preparation:  research your own class’ organism and develop a presentation of that organism’s life cycle.  Ideas include a skit, power point of time lapsed photos of organism, poster story boards made by students.  Life cycle could be presented in more than one format.

 

Read several books (both fiction and non-fiction) about the other class’ organism in order to generate questions.

 

Prepare 1-2 minute introduction of your class/school.

 

Learner Outcomes:  Students will learn how to be active listeners, generate questions and make a thoughtful presentation.  Students will also demonstrate knowledge of life cycles.

 

Methods and Activities:  classroom to classroom interaction, research, question and answer session, presentation of life cycle (determined by participating teachers) e-mail phone contact between teachers prior to connection

 

Materials:  agendas via e-mail, any materials needed for individual presentations, prepared questions

 

Students will do:  much as described above, research their own organism’s life cycle and other class’ organism.  Develop presentation of your organism’s life cycle.  Generate questions for the other class.

e-mail after connection to provide feedback

 

Teachers will do:  contact each other via e-mail or phone to decide which organisms each class will present, arrange time frame, decide on presentation format, etc.  Help classes e-mail each other after connection to de-brief

Host teacher will be time keeper for the VC

 

Agenda: 

§         Introductions: 2-4 minutes per class to introduce themselves and their school, be creative!

 

§         Host class presentation: 10 minutes to present their organism and life cycle

§         Receiving class presentation: 10 minutes to present their organism and life cycle

§         Host class Q and A: 5-7 minutes

§         Receiving class Q and A: 5-7 minutes

§         Host class sign-off and thank-you 2 minutes

 

Who may participate:  K-1^st grade class on first come first served basis, one-to-one connection

 

Type of connections:  IP is preferred

 

Extension idea:  classes may wish to arrange another VC to have a quiz bowl type session about organism characteristics and survival needs, keep it simple with only two classes. 

 

Credit: format for an exchange VC is credited to Janine Lim from MACUL Journal article “Connecting to Learning: Videoconference Projects you can do Part II”

 

 

Credit: This project was written for the class Planning Interactive Curriculum Connections.

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