Project Narrative

There are a few questions that we want the students and us teachers to question during

this project. These questions are meant to help guide this project and the learning goals and

outcomes as well. The driving question that will be asked to the students will be “How do we

express selflessness?”. By asking them this question, there are so many different variations of

follow up questions they can provide. They must dive deep into this concept and determine on

their own what they believe selflessness means to them.

As for the students, they also will take on various roles. They will be an empowered

learner, because they will take it upon themselves to utilize their resources and learn for

themselves. Because this project is very sensitive, they must become a digital citizen which

means that whatever project they choose to create or the projects asked of them to do, they must

do it ethically, legally, and safely. They will become a knowledge constructor for they will be

find a connection within the project and make it meaningful not only for them for but others. It is

being asked for them to find new and creative ways to help with the community and through

their actions, they will follow the steps in being a innovative designer. And of course, they will

take on the roles of global collaborator and creative communicator. Overall, the students will

satisfy almost all of the ISTE standards for students.

Here are a few of the learning goals and outcomes and how it correlates with the standard

given below:

● Recognize the importance between the concept of selflessness and selfishness. (Organize
concepts)
● Analyze different readings, articles and media. (Use strategies and develop topic with
relevant facts)
● Apply their findings through various actions.
CCSS: ​6.RI.7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Integrate information presented in different

media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent

understanding of a topic or issue.

CCSS: ​6.SL.1 Comprehension and Collaboration: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative

discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics,

texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

d. Review the key ideas expressed, draw conclusions, and demonstrate understanding of multiple

perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing.

CCSS: ​6.W.2​ ​Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas,

concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

a. Introduce a topic; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as

definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g.,

headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other

information and examples.

c. Use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

e. Establish and maintain a formal style.

f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the information or explanation

presented.

This project is all about collaboration, research, communication, creativity, and

innovation. The students get to collaborate with one another in finding different solutions.

Collaboration is essential in a learning environment for it pushes for growth among others.

Research is going to be heavily involved through different mediums. They must communicate to

teachers, fellow classmates, the community, and any other group involved with the project. And

they must creatively design their own course of action that is innovative and beneficial to all the

stakeholders.  

Description of Project-Based Learning Unit Activities

As mentioned before, the overall duration of the project will be a quarter long. .

Therefore, each of the project based learning activities will be spaced out. The plan is to have

them do specific research on the community they live in. It can be for various things, but overall

they must find information that will help them for their final project. In the research found, they

must highlight the important information they found essential and write a quick summary of it.

They will be provided them with a portfolio (i.e binders) that they will have to keep their work

in. Some of the activities will be: analyzing information, identifying key information and

formulating questions/theories. There is not right or wrong version of it as long is it follows the

criteria. After each activity, they will write a reflection on the experience and how it made them

feel, what questions they have, etc.

Accommodation

To accommodate for students, they would be provided various strategies that would

heighten this project. Every student is different and therefore needs to be given different ways to

work and learn. Cooperative learning is important in the classrooms and it would allow my

students to work cooperatively with their peers to accomplish this project. It can be

overwhelming if done by themselves, so giving them an opportunity to work within a small

group will be beneficial for them. The final project/assessment will be a bit more challenging for

some students, so finding a way to accommodate to their needs and making it less stressful will

be important. For example, they will be given a checklist that they must work through in a set

time frame. This way they will stay on task and focused during the final quarter.

Assessment

A few of the formative assessment strategies that will be used to measure the daily

learning goals and objectives will be by asking them questions that involve them using higher

order thinking. There won’t necessarily be in tests or large scale essays they have to write, but it

is highly important for them to write reflections after the days in which they are doing something

new or based off the information they discovered recently. By having them write reflections, it

will be a clear indication if any input needs to be given or more time given to work on things.

For their end product, which is creating their own community service plan, they will write a short

proposal to the city council explaining/informing them of their service and why it is impactful to

the community.

Technology Support
 Research is going to be heavily used in this project and with that, access to the internet is

going to be needed. The students are going to need to find some sort of computer easily

accessible to them. There will be some work done in class and some outside of class. From my

understanding, I’d hope that my school will provide me with C.O.W. (Computers On Wheels).

We do have this available in our school, but the access is very limited for there aren’t enough to

share with the whole campus.

As the creator of this project, I don’t want this to be a once in a lifetime event. The

benefits this would have on the school should be a clear sign that this should happen every

school year. Each year there could be something new added in to make it interesting for the

students. If by chance the school district is on board, I’d hope to make the outcome of the project

a sort of program for students in the National Honors Society. It’s a great way to receive the

necessary hours of community service while still making a difference to the community.

Despite the length of the project, the students will appreciate how open it is. Allowing

them to be innovative by creating their own unique community service is the main purpose. We

believe innovation and creativity is important for student rather than just receiving lectures and

assessments. They thinking more complexly which is helping in finding connections with the

material for when it does come down to the assessment, they feel more confident. Being hands

on with lessons in the past has shown me great results, so this project will help expand my

teaching and their learning more effectively. There is nothing better than transforming the

classroom to something better than it was before.