Capstone Presentation

Ashley BollingerEDAM 5039Dr. HiltAugust 3, 2009

Project AbstractAfter reading Homer’s “The Odyssey”…

students will complete a project that encompasses not only their knowledge of who the characters are, but how the characters are important to the epic and what their purpose is

students will write a script about the character

students will utilize a Web 2.0 tool, www.blabberize.com, to upload photos of the characters and record their scripts

students will present projects to the class

RationaleCan the students identify a character’s

purpose and importance in “The Odyssey”?

Through this project, I hope students will be able to identify how and why the character was important to the epic. I want them to know the history of the character as well because that sometimes ties in with why the character was in the epic and what its purpose was. All in all, this project will address my question through researching and taking on the part of the character through the scripting.

What Are the Objectives?

Student-centered Students will be able to create a

project that focuses on them doing the work rather than me doing everything for them. Yes, I will help them, but they will need to figure out how to navigate the Web 2.0 tool and decide what information deems important and should be included in the project. This project will be mostly student centered.

Learning and Doing

Students will be able to learn and do. They will learn how to use the Web 2.0 tool and then will complete the project.

Using Information Students will be able to use

information they already know to complete some of this project. They will obviously already know the description of the character from reading the epic.

They will then have to go further and research its history and then find its purpose and importance for being in the epic.

Facilitator Students will be able to work on the

project and complete it with little help from me.

I will be the facilitator that will tell them what I expect at the beginning of the project and will walk around and monitor and jump in if there are major problems, however, the students need to work together and figure things out on their own or with help from their peers.

Higher-order thinking skills Students will be able to use higher-

order thinking skills to complete this project. They will need to research and find the history of the character they choose, but then they need to take that information and based on it, figure out the purpose and importance the character had to the epic. Why was the character important? Why did the character need to be in the epic?

Interdisciplinary Students will be able to study Greek

mythology as well as utilizing English skills. They will not be restrained to just one discipline.

Because “The Odyssey” is written by Homer and is based on the aftermath of the Trojan War, the characters they will research are Greek gods and goddesses and supernatural beings.

Collaboration Students will be able to collaborate

with peers throughout the project. They can ask their peers for help and advice.

Also, they will be required to share their project with a peer first, then the class. Furthermore, the project will be saved on that website under their class period, so the projects can be seen from anywhere and could be shown to other classes or even the school.

Performance-based assessments

Students will be assessed based on their performance rather than a test.

Students will have a traditional test at the end of this unit; however, they will not be tested on the characters because they will be completing this project instead.

Multiple Sources of Information Including Technology

Students will be able to use multiple sources of information, including technology. Not only will they use computers and the Web 2.0 tool, www.blabberize.com, to complete this project, but they will also need to use their books, websites that specialize in Greek mythology, and their peers.

Technology Integration in the Classroom

Students will be able to use technology as it will be fully integrated into the classroom. I use technology almost daily in my classroom, so the students will already be familiar with it and will already know that I introduce a Web 2.0 tool to them and then they must figure out the rest.

Using a Variety of Information to Complete Authentic Projects Students will be able to use a variety of

types of information to complete authentic projects. The students will need to use Google images to find pictures of the characters first.

They will then research and use the

information they find on that character to write a script. They will also need to use information they know from reading the epic to complete the project. They will be using information about the history of the character as well as the purpose and importance it had to the epic.

Students Acting as Professionals in the Discipline

Students will be able to act as a professional in the discipline. When they present their project to the class, they will be talking as if they are the character and thus, be confident that what they are saying is 100% true. They will be experts in the discipline and be teaching the class.

So, how long is this going to take?

6 weeks in length

Week 1: introduce “The Odyssey” Background of the Trojan War Characters Brief overview of plot

Weeks 2 – 4: Read “The Odyssey”

Timeline Continued

Week 5: Introduce and begin final project Blabber

Week 6: Finish projects, present, and take final exam

What is this project going to entail?

Technology

With the incorporation of this project, I plan to accomplish many tasks. First, my students will become familiar with a Web 2.0 tool that will be new to them at first. They will be continuing their quest to becoming technology savvy.

Inquiry Also, they will use their researching

skills to find information on the history of the character. Based on the history, they will have to inquire why the character is important and what its purpose was in the epic. Many of the characters’ descriptions have a direct correlation as to why they were in the story and had the purpose they did.

Dynamic, flexible grouping For this project, I plan to group the

students by partners to begin. They will work with someone to help each other figure out the Web 2.0 tool and to help each other research and find pictures. Once they are finished, I will put them into groups of 4 or 5 so they can share their projects with a small group or students before having to share it with the entire class. This way, they can get feedback (positive and/or negative) and make any changes they would like before they present to the class.

Authentic Teaching and Learning Experiences

Authentic teaching will definitely take place because the students will be using technology which will prepare them better for the 21st Century workplace. Also, they will be completing a project that will push them to use higher-order thinking skills and thus, help them remember and internalize the information, rather than memorize and regurgitate it on a test.

Rubric This project will be scored on six

domains – script, picture of character, history of character, purpose of character, presentation length, and voice. Each category will be worth six points, and I will double whatever the student earns to make the project worth 72 points total.

 

Teacher Comments:

Name: ________________________ Teacher: Miss Bollinger

Date Submitted: ____________ Title of Work: Odyssey Project

  Criteria Points

6 4 2 0  

ScriptScript is typed and

includes history and purpose of character.

Script is typed and includes either history or purpose, not both.

Script not typed. Does not include

history or purpose of character.

No script turned in. ____

Picture of CharacterPicture of character is present and relevant.

Picture of character is present, but not

relevant.

Picture is too small to be seen.

No picture or picture is incorrect.

____

History of CharacterHistory of character is

explained in great detail.History of character is explained somewhat.

History of character is explained minimally.

History of character is not explained.

____

Purpose of Character

Purpose of character is explained in great detail.

Purposed of character is explained somewhat.

Purpose of character is explained minimally.

Purpose of character is not explained.

____

Presentation Length 2:00 minutes or longer 1:30-1:59 1:00-1:29 Less than 1:29 ____

VoiceUse of fluid speech and inflection maintains the

interest of the audience.

Satisfactory use of inflection, but does not consistently use

fluid speech.

Displays some level of inflection

throughout delivery.

Consistently uses a monotone voice.

____

        Total-- ____

Standards (Reading)

1.3.11 Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature A. Read and understand works of

literature.

Standards (Writing) 1.5.11 Quality of Writing

A. Write with a sharp, distinct focus.• Identify topic, task and audience.• Establish and maintain a single point of view.

B. Write using well-developed content appropriate for the topic.• Gather, determine validity and reliability of, analyze and organize information.• Employ the most effective format for purpose and audience.• Write fully developed paragraphs that have details and information specific to the topic and relevant to the focus.

C. Write with controlled and/or subtle organization.• Sustain a logical order throughout the piece.• Include an effective introduction and conclusion

E. Revise writing to improve style, word choice, sentence variety and subtlety of meaning after rethinking how questions of purpose, audience and genre have been addressed.

F. Edit writing using the conventions of language.• Spell all words correctly.• Use capital letters correctly.• Punctuate correctly (periods, exclamation points, question marks, commas, quotation marks, apostrophes, colons, semicolons, parentheses, hyphens, brackets, ellipses).• Use nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections properly.

Standards (Speaking and Listening) 1.6.11 Speaking and Listening

C. Speak using skills appropriate to formal speech situations.• Use a variety of sentence structures to add interest to a presentation.• Pace the presentation according to audience and

purpose.• Adjust stress, volume, and inflection to provide emphasis to ideas or to influence the audience.

F. Use media for learning purposes.• Use various forms of media to elicit information, to make a student presentation and to complete class assignments and projects.• Evaluate the role of media in focusing attention.

Learning Targets Students will be able to read and interpret an

epic. (1.3.11 A)

Students will be able to create a blabber using the Web 2.0 tool www.blabberize.com. (1.6.11 F)

Students will be able to write a script that will include the history and purpose of the character in “The Odyssey”. (1.5.11 A; 1.5.11 B; 1.5.11 C)

Students will be able to collaborate with peers to gain feedback and improve projects before presenting. (1.5.11 E; 1.5.11 F)

Students will be able to present the projects to the class. (1.6.11 C)

Resources Computers – available daily in my

classroom Textbooks – distributed to the

students in the fall Classmates - can utilize them in and

outside of class as the projects will be posted on the web and they can access them anywhere

Desired Outcomes I hope that by the end of this

project, I will be able to see that students understand the importance and purpose of the characters better because that essentially will help them understand the epic better. I do not want them to just know the characters’ descriptions, but to look deeper and see what else there is to know about the character and its relationship to the epic.