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SIFT Action Plan – 2003 Summer
Compehensive Health Services – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Brooks R. Kimmel
Bayside High School Science Instructor

Background Information:
When people realize that I am a teacher in a public school, the most frequently asked question of me is, “What can you do to get today’s kids to learn anything?”  At first, my response was very defensive; assuming they were somehow questioning my ability to teach.  But, over time, I came to understand that they were genuinely curious about how I attempted to grab the attention of a generation with poor reading skills, work ethics and vision for their futures.

I have concluded that the primary goal for any teacher at any level of any topic in any setting is to motivate the student to want to learn.  With no motivation, there is no learning.  Therefore, the goal of this action plan is to MOTIVATE my students to learn at higher levels.

What I will do:
I have designed a Career Project that will allow students to do basic research on several science related careers and then to do an intensive research on the one career that interests them most.  My hope is that as my students begin to see the exciting careers available (as well as lucrative) and what it takes to acquire such jobs, that they will be motivated to apply themselves better in the classroom.

Correlation to my SIFT Experience:
As I walked onto the KSC campus, I assumed I knew a lot about the area.  I quickly realized that I knew very little about the jobs people do at KSC.  I have been exposed to science related careers that I didn’t even know existed.  I have worked with Industrial Hygienists, Health Physicists, Environmental Health Professionals, and every kind of engineer you can imagine.  This experience has motivated me to learn more about what they do and what education I would have needed had I chosen to follow that career path when I was in school.

Implementation:
This project will be semester long.  It will incorporate an integration of learning styles and subject areas.  Below is an outline of how this will be accomplished.  Details of each assignment will appear in the following section.

Week 1: Introduce the entire Career Project
Week 2: Assign part 1, 5 x 5 – Due Week 4
Week 3: Assign part 2, Essay, Guest Speakers from KSC –Due Week 3
Week 4: Assign part 3, Complete a Q&A on chosen career field – Due Week 6
Week 6: Assign part 4, Interview a Professional – Due week 9
Week 9: Assign part 5, Report – Due week 15
Week 15: Assign part 6, Mock classified ad, resume’ and cover letter – Due week 16
Week 16: Assign part 7, Career Presentation – Due week 18

Implementation details:
Part 1, 5x5 - The students will need to do basic research on 5 potential careers that interest them and write 1 paragraph on describing each of the 5 careers.  The paragraph’s each must include the career name and basic job description.  A list of over 100 science related careers will be provided and briefly described or they may choose other approved options to research.

Part 2, Essay – The class will hear career information from a variety of KSC employees as well as other science professionals.  They will write a 5 paragraph summary of the presentations based on KWL strategies.  They will express what they knew, what they wanted to learn and what they learned.

Part 3, Q&A – This part of the project is designed to help them dig deeper into their chosen career field.  Question will include: career name, sub titles given, work environment, job description, responsibilities, certification requirements, educational requirements, schools that provide the needed educational requirements, requirements to enter the school for higher education or training, how they plan to pay for higher education or training, career path (how long it takes to reach career goal), benefits offered in field, employers for this field, history of career field (why it was first started and how it has developed or changed over the years), why this field is attractive to you and what will you do to reach your goal of working in this field.

Part 4, Interview – The idea behind this part is to encourage the student to think about questions they have about the “real world” elements of this career.  They will be required to develop 10 questions for the interviewee.  The format for the interview will be that of a news article.  They will need to call a company that employs people in the field they have chosen and ask permission to interview someone in that field. 

Part 5, Report – They will need to go to a media source to identify a book or (3) articles from newspapers or magazines which highlights, explains or describes the career they have chosen.  The 1000 word report should summarize the material read and should properly site all sources using MLA standards.

Part 6, Mock ad, resume’ and cover letter – Now it is time to begin to put it all together.  With the knowledge the student has procured about their career, they will create an advertisement (for television, radio or newspaper), write their resume’ and an appropriate cover letter to secure the job they advertised.  The resume’ and cover may be written in future fictitious form if it follows the goals they established in the Q&A part of the project.

Part 7, Presentation – The final phase of the project will be a Career Presentation.  The student will be expected to present the career field they have studied.  It should include a summary of the information from Part 3 of the project.  The student should dress the part, employ a visual presentation (i.e. science board, poster, object, power point, brochure, etc) and be prepared to answer questions classmates may ask.

Tools/Materials/Experiences Incorporated into the plan:
During the introduction phase, I will describe what I did this summer at CHS.  I will share the field studies, tours, labs, interviews and information gathered, etc…  I will also make use of videos and brochures about the EH&S field.  Finally, I will bring contacts I have made at KSC into the classroom.

Expected Learning Outcomes:
As stated in the opening paragraph, my desire is for my students to be motivated to learn about science.  I will determine the success of this action plan by three methods:

1)      Pre-program survey of science interest and post survey.

2)      Compare science grades from previous year to this year.

3)      Compare percent of work turned in from beginning to end of semester.

Sunshine State Standards for Science Grades 9-12

The Nature of Science

Standard 1:
The student uses the scientific processes and habits of mind to solve problems. (SC.H.1.4)
7. understands the importance of a sense of responsibility, a commitment to peer review, truthful reporting of the methods and outcomes of investigations, and making the public aware of the findings.

Standard 2:
The student understands that most natural events occur in comprehensible, consistent patterns. (SC.H.2.4)
1. knows that scientists assume that the universe is a vast system in which basic rules exist that may range from very simple to extremely complex, but that scientists operate on the belief that the rules can be discovered by careful, systemic study.

Standard 3:
The student understands that science, technology, and society are interwoven and interdependent. (SC.H.3.4)
3. knows that scientists can bring information, insights, and analytical skills to matters of public concern and help people understand the possible causes and effects of events.

4. knows that funds for science research come from federal government agencies, industry, and private foundations and that this funding often influences the areas of discovery.

5. knows that the value of a technology may differ for different people and at different times.

SIFT 2003 Action Plan
Dynamac Corporation
Thomas Fritz
Eau Gallie High School

Goal: To guide students as they follow the Standard Scientific Lab Method Experiment Guide© in order to determine the appropriate Ammonia additions for the classroom hydroponics equipment.

Correlation to Summer Experience:
During this summer coworkers and myself processed over 2000 samples of Indian River Lagoon water and made low range measurements of the Ammonia ( NH4+  ) ion.  These measurements involved the use of a spectrophotometer which measured the development of a blue color in the presence of NH4+ .  This equipment is not available in the classroom however, less sensitive tests using similar methods are available and inexpensive.

How it will be accomplished:
Students will be divided into 6 teams, corresponding to the 6 hydroponics units that are in the class. 

Each team will hypothesize an appropriate addition level of an aqueous ammonia solution.

Students will follow the Standard Scientific Lab Method Experiment Guide©  to design and conduct a test which will determine appropriate levels of ammonia additions which acts as a fertilizer and promotes maximal growth of plants in the hydroponics units.  Suggested methods will involve using lettuce seeds placed in petri dishes containing a control and 5 different concentrations of ammonia.

Experimental method will be something like what follows;
Control or 0.0% = dechlorinated tap water.  (Allow to sit overnight in a bucket.)

Stock solution of ammonia - add plain household ammonia to tap water. Allow to sit in an open container (and out of reach of kids looking for a drink) for a full 24 hours.  Recommended fertilizer ratio’s ranged between 2.5 and 3.75mL / L.   These are usage values that should be applied to the plants so you want the students to end up with at least one solution around this range. 

I would recommend the following:
Dilute the stock solution 50:50 household ammonia and tap or DI water.

It is suggested to conduct the experiment with one of the following two concentrations of the stock solution as shown in the following table.

You will also, of course, need a control at 0.0 or pure water.

These values nicely bracket the recommended values for using household ammonia as a fertilizer.  The highest values should definitely show some negative results, the lowest should be close to the control.

Tools / Materials Needed:
Petri Dishes and clean paper towels or sand.  (6 dishes per group.)
Standard Scientific Lab Method Experiment Guide©  sheet.
Catalog #: 2428733 Test Kit Nitrogen Ammonia, NI-SA, Mid Range 0 to 2.5 mg/L, Color Disc, 100 tests
Catalog #: 2429900 Additional test reagents- Nitrogen-Ammonia Set, 0-2.5 mg/L as NH3N, 10 mL sample, 100 tests
Clear household Ammonia (5 to 10% NH3 on average) sufficient for entire unit, start to finish.  No brand changes of over the counter products as concentrations are variable.  It may be useful to issue each of the 6 teams with a different brand or concentration of a stock solution.  In this way each team’s data will remain unique and have value only to the team using that stock solution.

Expected Learning Outcomes:
The students will make independent use of the scientific method in order to determine an appropriate dosage to maximize growth in hydroponically-cultured plants.  Students will calculate concentrations, design a test which will produce an appropriate range, apply the data to a new problem and measure the success of the application.              

S.I.F.T. 2003 Action Plan
Wuesthoff Medical Center
Shannon Johnson
Merritt Island High School

Objective:  For students to research and report on current high demand careers that require advanced concepts of mathematics.

Materials:  art supplies, computer access

Procedures

1.      First, students must be randomly placed into small groups with three or four students per group.  

2.      Each group is to create a company within a randomly assigned industry of which they are the marketing team in charge of promoting a specific position of their choosing.

§         Space industry – astronaut, aeronautical engineer, etc.

§         Airline industry – pilot, air traffic controller, etc.

§         Healthcare industry – doctor, nurse, etc.

§         Hotel industry – hotel manager

§         Service Industry – electrician, auto mechanic, etc.

* Position selected must be approved.

3.      Each group is to create an original one week local ad campaign that will focus on recruiting high school students for high demand jobs within their given industry.  The campaign is to enlighten students about the details of the jobs, such as full job description and salary range.  Also, information regarding educational requirements necessary to obtain these jobs should be addressed, such as college degree programs and any additional training that might be needed.  Emphasis should be placed on the math requirements.  In addition, the everyday use of math in that job should be included. 

4.  Campaign requirements:

§         Original company name, logo, and slogan.

§         Minimum of two different major media advertisements:

TV – video recording required

Radio – audio recording required

Newspaper or magazine – copy of article/advertisement layout required

§         Minimum of one type of print media – brochures, flyers, direct mail-out – sample required

§         Minimum of three promotional items – one sample of each required

§         Interview of someone currently working in the field that you are promoting – audio or video recording or email printout of interview required

Interview questions should center around childhood career goals, educational background, work history, current job description.  Emphasis should be placed on mathematics when possible.

§         Poster-board display of all of the above items for participation in job fair.

* Choices should be made in an attempt to reach as many young adults as possible.

5.      A written report is due at the conclusion of the project.  The report should include the rationale of all decisions made in completing the project.

Questions that should be answered:

Is there any significance to the company name and logo/slogan that you chose?

I you chose a TV commercial, what channels would you target?  Why?  What time of day?  Why?  Would a celebrity be used?  Who and why?

If you chose a radio commercial, what stations?  Why?  How did you strive to get the audience’s attention with sound only?

If you chose newspaper or magazine, which publications did you choose?  Why? 

Explain the reasoning for your choice of brochure, flyer, or direct mail-out.

Explain your choices of promotional items.  Is there any connection between the job/company and the promotional items? 

What was the most surprising thing you learned from your interview?  Did the person know early in life that this is the job that they would be doing now?

2003 SIFT Action Plan
Jenny Woods
Computer Sciences Raytheon
Astronaut High School

Action Plan

My Summer Work Experience:  My summer SIFT experience was with Computer Sciences Raytheon where I was sent to teach Basic Computer Skills, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint classes to personnel downrange at Antigua and Ascension Islands.

What will I do:  Because of their limited experiences, students frequently have difficulty understanding that foreign currency is not equally transferred one to one into US Dollars (USD).  In our currency chapter, my students will track and monitor the changes in currency rates for a particular Spanish Speaking country.  After tracking the changes, they will create a spreadsheet with the data and also create a chart using the Chart Wizard to illustrate the information.  In addition, they will learn how to convert foreign prices into USD.

How will I do it:  I have devised a unit called Currency Comprehension.  The outline is as follows:

Two days before lesson:  Assign students to acquire the currency chart from the local newspaper and bring in on day one of Currency Comprehension. Students will also be required to bring a calculator. 

Day 1  Introduce students to different types of foreign currency.  This will be done utilizing my collection of currency that I have obtained through my travels abroad.  Students will use the currency chart from the newspaper to determine the exchange of one USD to the aforementioned currencies.  This will turn into a realization that the chart is not detailed enough and will now require Internet research.

Day 2   Students will use a list of the 18 Spanish-speaking countries and research the type of currency for each using our laptop laboratory. Students will search the Internet for currency conversion sites.  They will mark a specific site and begin documenting the exchange rates for each currency compared to one USD.

Day 3-6   Students will track all 18 countries for the next 4 days and note the exchange rates for each day and how they fluctuate.

Day 3-4   Students will use their textbooks and learn the capital cities of each of the 18 Spanish speaking countries.  They will then be given mathematical word problems in Spanish demonstrating purchasing of goods and souvenirs in each country.  They will have to convert the foreign currency into dollars and determine if they are getting a good deal.

Day 5   Students will be tested on their comprehension of conversion, mathematical applications and Spanish

Day 6-7   Students will enter the data into a spreadsheet using their laptops and will create a chart from one country in particular showing the fluctuation of the exchange rates.  Students will print out their spreadsheets and charts and will be graded according to a rubric.

Materials Necessary:  Laptop computers, Internet access, current newspapers, Foreign Currency, Spreadsheet program, Printers, Ink

Experience I will use:  I will utilize my teaching experience of Microsoft Excel in order to teach my students how to create a spreadsheet.  I will also use my personal experiences of foreign travel and knowledge acquired through these experiences to relate practical applications of global currency exchange problems.

Expected Learning Outcomes of Students:   Students will acquire a greater understanding of the importance of mathematics and technology through cultural enhancement and real world experiences.

SIFT 2003 Action Plan
United States Air Force, 45th Space Wing
Glen Webb
Clearlake Middle School

The 45th Space Wing Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) was developed to provide detailed guidelines for natural resource management of United States Air Force - 45th Space Wing (USAF–45SW) assets in Florida.  (45th Space Wing Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan 2001-2006, 18 Sept 2001; sec 1.1)  The INRMP employs an interdisciplinary approach to ecosystem management that ties management activities to monitoring programs.  The goal of this approach is to fully understand the relationships between activities and impacts.

I intend to utilize this interdisciplinary approach to revise existing lessons that I teach in my ecology unit.  Revisions to the “Impacts on the Environment” lessons will meet Sunshine State Standards (SSS) and Grade Level Expectations (GLE) appropriate for my grade level.  The philosophy of this approach leads to the integration of management activities with on-going scientific monitoring to identify trends and causal relationships (INRMP; sec 1.2).  Recognition of these patterns is a critical thinking process that is essential to student development of scientific knowledge, processes, and methods.  Additionally, this type of scientific skill is a primary focus of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).

Some of the programs I was associated with while working with the USAF-45SW were sea turtle nesting surveys, sea turtle stranding and salvage activities, sea turtle hatchling orientation surveys, and exotic, invasive, and nuisance species removal and control programs.

Lesson objectives are as follows:

·        Conservation – Students will analyze a threatened coastal community (beach dune) that is experiencing degradation due to casual foot traffic over the dunes to gain access to the beach.  They will determine that the degradation is harmful to the habitat but that the resource should be available for public use. 

·        Teamwork and Cooperative Learning - Students will design a public use facility that allows public access to the beach while limiting impacts to the beach dune habitat.

·        Content Areas – Lessons will address SSS in the areas of Processes of Life, How Living Things Interact with Their Environment, and The Nature of Science.

·        Scientific Skills – Emphasis will be placed on skills such as measuring and recording data, designing data tables, making observations, making inferences, hypothesizing, and recognizing patterns and causal relationships.

·        Career Education and Work Skills Development – Students will experience activities directly related to career options including but not limited to landscape architecture, planning, engineering, ecology, biology, and field research. 

Action Plan –SIFT Program 2003
Computer Sciences Raytheon
Matthew DeNote
Divine Mercy School

What I did:  This summer I worked for Computer Sciences Raytheon in the Communications Engineering and Support group located in the XY building of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. I worked for Ms. Catherine McCarthy and my direct supervisor was Mr. William Trump.  My primary task was to create an internal web site that would allow the Communication Engineers to find information that they use on a day-to-day basis.  The network structure is an often-changing environment of shared drives and lost links to valuable information.   The goal was to make it as easy as possible for people who need the information to find what they were looking for.  The hope is that with the web page we will be able to keep track of the links more easily.

                A secondary task that I was also able to accomplish was creating a link to a plotter, which had for some time been disconnected from the network.  The plotter had been an expensive purchase and due to a recent move, was unavailable to the group.  Through some patience and research on my part and the others that I worked with, it has now become available to anybody in the XY building (or on the network if they desire).  While I am excited about the web page creation, I am equally excited about the ability to bring the printer “back to life” and make it available to the engineers and drafters once again.

Classroom Implementation:  There were some tangible lessons that I had reinforced during my summer experience.  Working together as a part of a group was one of them.  I worked very closely with a number of people to get the website created and posted in the seven weeks I was here.  All of the work that is accomplished in the Communication Group is definitely a team effort.  Another lesson learned would be that of “Never Stop Learning.”  There were all kinds of people I was introduced to with all kinds of education levels.  Even those who did not have a lot of formal schooling in their younger years, had in some cases gone back and gotten their diplomas.  Some had gone to vocational school or had gotten different certifications on the Internet.  Whatever the case may be, they were still learning throughout their lives.

How am I going to bring in my summer experience into the classroom is a question that was answered very early on for me.  One of my responsibilities at my school is that of web master.  This means I am in charge of the school’s website that is available on the Internet (www.dmccs.org).  For the 2002-2003 school year, I had a student who helped me with the layout and page creation.  My plan for this year is to have more students get involved with the web page.  I am going to have each grade create its own grade specific web page that will be linked from the home page.  The teacher can have space to give updates for their grades and the students can discuss what they are doing in the classroom.  The students will have access to a scanner and digital camera so they can use these resources to show student-created work.

                I will have each grade “map” to my web server so they can dynamically update the page at their own convenience (and not be dependent on me) taking into consideration some of the security issues that this process entails.  I will link information from the home page to anything special that is going on in a grade (i.e. K and 1st grade’s 100 day celebration, etiquette day in 4th grade, graduation information in 8th grade, etc) with a link to find out more on their particular page.

            I am going to use the “buddy system” which we already have in place at the school to help with this process.  Our 8th and 7th graders have Kindergarten and Pre-K buddies (respectively) that they work with throughout the year.  These older students will be responsible for getting the information from the younger grades to help post on the site.  The older students can do any scanning or picture taking so there will be less danger of the students breaking the equipment.

Cross-Curricular:  How will this impact the students across the curriculum?  All grades will be involved with my web page allowing them to have more ownership in the school’s website.  An attempt will be made to rotate the student’s material that is available for viewing on the Internet by family and friends.  This will be an extra incentive to the students to work hard on their assignments.

The older students (grades 7 and 8) will be learning about working in groups and working on their skills with their younger counterparts (grades Pre-K and K).  The younger students will get to spend more time with their buddy while they are working on the pages.  This will help with school unity and school pride. 

Also, Grammar and English skills across the grades will be improved upon since all the posted information will have to be checked and correct.

Magdalena Molledo

DeLaura Middle School

SIFT Action Plan

2003

Comprehensive Health Services

Environmental Health

This is what I will do:

q       I will place more emphasis on data analysis with all lab experiments in my classroom.  Currently I incorporate many lab experiences in my 7th grade science classes. My students use the scientific method in their explorations from physical properties of matter, chemistry, life sciences and more, however not to the extent that I would like.  Students currently are required to record data and form a conclusion based on their data but now I will be requiring more data, more controls and more analysis.

This is the correlation to my summer experience:

q       My project this summer involved database design. At CHS/EH they monitor all environmental testing involving water quality, air quality, soil quality, etc. This data must be reviewed in many different formats for creation of reports, projects, recommendations and more. The database is extensive and is used by dozens of people each day.  There still are some problems with accessing the data and that is where my job came in.

q                   My job was to find ways to pull only certain data together.  Most of the testing is done at outside lab facilities.  These labs are given a report request, samples are collected and then tested.  I had to link this information into the database so that there could be some easy cost analysis, easy data transfer from one format to the other and more.  This was a lot harder than it seems as the intricate system of the database was very cumbersome to work through. 

q       Some of the data seemed redundant but was actually vitally important.  For my classroom project I will focus on data consistency and accuracy.  One experience I participated in was the weekly anthrax testing. CHS has selected high vulnerability areas at KSC for a possible anthrax attack.  These sites are swabbed weekly and the samples are sent to our lab for testing.  I was able to see the precision in which the tests were done.  In every sample they created 2 identical samples from the original, keeping the original swab in case it was needed for further verification.  Then the process was followed, exactly according to the rules of the procedure.  The computer analyzed the final results by use of fluorescence 45 times (there was a process of cooling and heating that would speed up the bacteria growth). After every cooling and heating cycle the computer analyzed the count.  There was a guideline on what the reading should be under.  Anything over that number came up as a warning.  There were 2 warnings but instead of becoming alarmed the technician was able to review the data to see why the reading was high.  Because everything was done according to procedure and an identical test was done, we were able to discount the reading.  If the reading came up unusually high they must repeat the process again.  There is a very set protocol to follow.

q       What amazed me in this process is how important it is to get many readings and not to rely only on the numbers but on the entire process. 

q       Another important facet I observed was the proper procedure for handling of the samples.  Everything had to be done using a specific method.  Every step of the process was to be followed identically to make the data as accurate as possible.  If any variation was used in collecting the samples it is possible the sample data might not be accurate.

This is how I will do it: 

q                   When working on labs students tend to focus on the numbers only and don’t really know what the numbers mean.  They only look for the highest or lowest numbers and never the “why?”  I want to have them really pay attention to their results to analyze what happened.  Why did you have readings that varied so?  What could you do to get regular stable readings?  They need to run positive and negative controls every time to compare against the standard results.  Hopefully this will lead to them developing better control of their variables in testing.  The more trials conducted the better it is to weed out problem data or to definitively rule on a conclusion.

q                   Specific labs used in this action plan will be:

q       Determining the freezing point and boiling point of water

q       pH testing of various solutions

q       Density experiments using various substances

q       Nitrate testing of water samples

q       Phosphate testing of water samples

q       Measuring the acceleration rate of falling objects

q       Within each of these labs the following activities will be included:

q       Students will calibrate all measurement tools before testing

q       Students will test multiple times

q       Students will include a control in all tests

q       Students will record all data onto a spreadsheet both manually and through the use of digital sensors connected directly to software that logs many points of data per second.

q       Students will formulate a conclusion only after multiple trials involving all class data for a larger sample.

q       Students must explain any variations in results for the various trials.

q       Students will discuss future testing procedures to eliminate variations in results if at all possible.

These are the tools/materials/experiences I will use:

q                   Computers

q                   Excel spreadsheets/Access database

q                   Digital Probes (thermometer, pH meter, motion sensor, light meter)

q                   Balances (triple beam and digital scales)

q                   Water samples from nearby groundwater sources

q                   Various chemical substances for density tests

q                   Water testing lab kits

 These are the expected learning outcomes by students:

q       Students will be able to explain their results with more understanding of all of the factors involved in an experiment.

q       Students will improve graphing and data entry skills using Excel

q       Students will become more adept at following correct laboratory activities.

q       Students will become independent critical thinkers.

q       Students will appreciate the true nature of science as the proving of a hypothesis without a doubt.

q       Specific Science Sunshine State Standards for Middle School Students:

q       Standards labeled “SCA” involve properties of matter in science:

q       SCA131 identify ways in which matter differs

q       SCA132 differences between weight and mass

q       SCA133 temperature measures average energy of motion

q       SCA135 difference between physical and chemical changes

q       SCA136 equal volumes of different substances may have different masses

q       Standards labeled “SCH” involve process skills in science:

q       SCH132                          SCH133

q       SCH134                          SCH135

q       SCH137                          SCH337

2003 S.I.F.T.Action Plan
United Space Alliance
Larry Malta
Jefferson Middle School

            I intend to incorporate a database development project into the curriculum of my Eighth Grade American History Classes in the upcoming school year. The students will learn to use the Microsoft Access Program to build and utilize tables which will compile data on famous people and events in U.S. History from Colonial days through Reconstruction following the Civil War. This information will be obtained from internet sites. This is a combined learning and computer skills activity.

          The correlation to my summer experience is simple; I developed and populated an Access database to allocate a variety of components used on the Solid Rocket Boosters which propel the Space Shuttles into orbit. My computer skills were expanded and exercised in order to keep track of the hundreds of different parts, particularly in the pyrotechnic areas. Students will be required to use historic data in their projects in order to fulfill our history curriculum requirements, while honing their computer skills.

My plan follows:

Great Americans and Events Database

Overview:

             In this activity, groups of students will develop a series of tables, organizing data they will obtain from research on the Internet regarding famous Americans and events. Each group will conduct internet research to find the information they need to acquire on five Americans and five significant events in our History.

Student Outcome:

• A table/database regarding famous Americans and events will be compiled and used for studying.
• The various groups will present and share their findings with others.

Learning Objectives:

• Conduct Internet research
• Identify significant people and events in U.S. History
• Learn how to develop an Access table and populate the database

Sunshine State Education Standards Addressed:

• Historical thinking – chronological thinking
• Historical analysis and interpretation
• Historical figures and events

Time Requirements:

• About two class periods for orientation
• About two computer lab sessions to get students on track
• Two weeks will be allocated for students to complete project as homework

Activity Internet Sites: (will vary with students’ Internet search results)

• Suggested search Keywords: Specific names of famous Americans and events (i.e. George Washington; Civil War)

Materials:

Computer(s) with Internet access
Microsoft Access instructions

Focus:

Ask students:
“Who were the five most significant Americans that contributed to our Country’s heritage between 1700 and 1877?”
”What events occurred between 1700 and 1877 which shaped our history in an important way?”

Tell students that they need not agree on the individuals or events, and there are no right or wrong answers. Their objective is to find data which supports their hypothesis on the five top choices they make.

Introduce the topic and purpose of exercise:

Tell students they will be divided into groups of four and will develop a consensus within their groups on their top five people and events.

They will strive to complete five fields of information about each of their five people and events:

Name                                                   Event

            Birthplace                                             Place

Dates lived                                           Dates

Position(s)                                            Significance in history

Accomplishments                                  Key player(s)

Utilizing the Internet, they will complete their research on their top five, compiling notes on their findings on a worksheet.

They will then compile this data into Access tables, following instructions on how to use Access.

Students will first write down their individuals top choices, in order to gain some ownership and prevent “groupthink.”

After a reasonable timeframe (perhaps ½ class period, or as homework), students will meet in their groups of four and come to a consensus on their groups’ top five people and events.

Instruction:

1. Distribute a project description, summarizing the objectives, timeframes, Access instructions, and “How to research” instructions. Answer any questions.
2. Circulate among groups, asking questions and providing guidance.
3. As groups come to consensus, schedule a session in the computer lab to get them started on their research. They may work outside of class as well.

Discuss and Conclude:

Have a representative from each group share the results of their work. We will then compile the groups work into a class, anthology, arranging the tables so the pages can be used for reference all year long.

S.I.F.T. 2003 Action Plan
Percepta, Inc.
Kathleen Emily Huggard McKinney, Ed.D.
Tropical Elementary School

Introduction

I am the Teacher Technology Specialist at Tropical Elementary School, Merritt Island.

I worked this summer at Percepta, Inc., Training Department in Melbourne, Florida. The training manuals I published and worked on influenced my action plan. During the seven weeks at Percepta:

• I created FrontPage training modules for Percepta and trained employees on FrontPage for 10 hours over four days.

·        I co-authored an updated Management Development Training Coaching Workshop manual for Percepta.

• I co-authored an updated Management Development Training Business Letter Writing Module for Percepta management
• I worked on the design one of the training department’s Intranet Web Page using FrontPage.
• Helped with editing several other training modules for training workshops.

Overview of Three-Part Action Plan

My FrontPage and coaching experiences influenced my decision for my Three-Part Action Plan. The three parts to my Action Plan are:

 For the School

Being the school’s Web Master, I use FrontPage to design and edit my school’s Web site.  I will update and redesign my school’s Web site, beginning in late July and ending by winter break 2003. I will use what I learned from creating the three FrontPage training module manuals and training Percepta, Inc. employees on FrontPage to guide me in this upgrade and redesign effort.

For the Student Crewmembers

I have over thirty-five Tropical Trailblazer Television (WTTT) crewmembers and six student producers. I will ask for a minimum of six to ten volunteers to work on the Technology section of the school Web site. Having worked on the Netg/Percepta Intranet Web page and FrontPage training will provide experience for me to pass along to my students.

For Brevard Teachers

Along with a first grade teacher at my school, we plan to offer coaching and mentoring to teacher-candidates for the National Board Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification program and 2003-2004 Clinical Educator Training (CET) and manual. These in turn will assist me with coaching and mentoring NBPTS teacher candidates.

The Plans

For the School

As the school technology specialist, I am the school Web site Web Master. The Web site was designed several years ago and needs to be revised and updated. I learned a great deal on good Web design while writing the FrontPage training manual for Percepta. I also incorporated some of those good design elements on the training department’s Web page.

The objectives for upgrading and redesigning the schools Web site are:

• Set up a template for all pages within the Tropical Web site, cascading style sheets and guidelines for the general appearance.

·        Redesign the Web Pages by using more tables, invisible tables, and a specific, professional color scheme of blues, grays, and white throughout the Web site. Blue and white are the school colors.

·        Make pages more consistent by using tables, invisible tables, and nesting tables and tables with borders.

• Make photos/images small so that the pages will load more quickly.
• Check all links.
• Update and continue to incorporate the current information on the School Web site.
• View the redesigned Web site with the Netscape and Explorer browsers.
• Encourage student participation.

The Assessment will be to have Louise Conoscenti, Instructional Designer, Percepta, Inc., review the redesigned and updated Web site and provide suggestions and comments. She oversees, maintains, and designed the of the Percepta, Inc. Intranet Web Site.

Involvement of Student Crew Members

I plan to select 6-10 WTTT crewmembers to work on this project. Crewmembers may volunteer for the project if they can (1) stay after school to work on the Web site or (2) leave class during the day when I have time available to work with the students.

All of the design objectives were covered in the Percepta training modules I created.

The objectives for the students are to:

·                    Redesign and upgrade the Technology Pages, changing them into four sections

Þ    The television production studio that includes the WTTT Crew and School Store staff members

Þ    The computer lab for grades K-2, also known as the foreign language lab

Þ    The two-room computer lab for grades 3-6

Þ    Live, interactive, global videoconferencing, mostly with Nova Southeastern’s SAXophone project involving participants around the world.

·                    Utilize invisible tables, nested tables, and some tables with borders to make texts clearer

·                    Make the pages consistent by using cascading style sheets for easy Web administration.

·        Conform to blue, gray, and white color scheme

·        Utilize the Sony Mavica with CD digital camera

·        Make photos and images small so that the pages will load more quickly.

·        View the new design using Netscape and Explorer so that the Web pages appear consistent in appearance

The Florida State Standards covered for this activity are:

• Writing (LA.B.1.)  Students draft and revise writing that is focused, purposeful, and reflects insight into the writing situation; conveys a sense of completeness and wholeness with adherence to the main idea; have an organizational pattern that provides for a logical progression of ideas; have support that is substantial, specific, relevant… and produce final documents that have been edited for correct spelling; correct punctuation…correct capitalization; effective sentence structure; correct common usage…
• Language Std. 2 (LA.D.2.3) – Students understand the power of language…uses literary devices and techniques in the comprehension and creation of written, oral, and visual communication; understands that laws exist that govern what can and cannot be done with mass media.

• Visual Arts (VA.A1.3) – The student understands and applies media, techniques, and processes…understands what makes various organizational elements and principles of design effective and ineffective in the communication of ideas.
• Visual Arts, Creation and Communication Std. 1 (VA.B.1.3) – The student creates and communicates a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas using knowledge of structures and functions of visual arts…knows and uses the interrelated elements of art and the principles of design to improve the communication of ideas.
• National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) from International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) #6 – Design, develop, publish, and present products (e.g. Web pages) using technology resources that demonstrate and communicate curriculum concepts to audiences inside and outside of the classroom.
• NETS from ISTE #8 – Select and use appropriate tools and technology resources to accomplish a variety of tasks and solve problems.

The Assessment of the final product that is to be completed no later than the end of January 2004, will be reviewed by Mrs. Conoscenti, Instructional Designer, Percepta. She will make suggestions and comments to the students via E-mail and a phone conference.

Coaching and Mentoring NBPTS Teacher Candidates

I plan to use what I learned from co-authoring the Percepta Management Development Training Coaching Workshop manual during my S.I.F.T. employment. I have also had the state coaching in-service workshop for teachers who want to mentor new teachers and “Train the Trainer” state-sponsored coaching workshop in 2002. With these three major training opportunities, I plan to mentor National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) 2003-2004 certification candidates.  My goal is to mentor a minimum of 96 hours during the 2003-2004 school year.  

A first grade teacher and I plan to conduct monthly workshops, one evening and one Saturday morning, each month, over a seven-month period, September-March. I plan to design our mentoring and individual mentoring workshops from what I learned about coaching at Percepta and the workshops I attended.

Objectives for this part of the Action Plan are:

• Conduct monthly, scheduled workshops for NBPTS teacher candidates.

·        Conduct the workshops during one week each month on a Tuesday evening and Saturday morning.

• Candidates may come to either or both monthly sessions.
• Each session will be geared to a specific topic related to the required four Portfolio Entries and video requirements.
• During the seven-month period, September –March, mentor individual teacher candidates and review their portfolios with them.
• This mentoring will enhance the candidate’s teaching effectiveness.
• The last session will be on hints for packing all required materials and using the correct NBPTS labels for each item.

I plan to work with individuals reviewing their portfolios and providing assistance as needed. The following are tentative workshop dates. All but one session will be conducted on Tuesday evenings, one Wednesday evening, and Saturdays.

Sept. 9             Attend the district NBPTS candidate/mentor meeting

Sept. 16           5-8 PM Conduct first workshop on getting started

Sept 20            8-11 AM Conduct first workshop on getting started

Oct. 21                        Second workshop on Entry 1, discuss Entry 4

Oct. 25                        Second workshop on Entry 1, discuss Entry 4

Nov. 18           Third workshop on Entry 2, Review Entry 1 and 4

Nov. 22           Third workshop on Entry 2, Review Entry 1 and 4

Dec. 2              Fourth workshop on Entry 3, Review Entries 1, 2, & 4

Dec. 6              Fourth workshop on Entry 3, Review Entries 1, 2, & 4

Jan. 7 W          Fifth workshop on Entry 4, Review Entries 1-3

Jan. 10             Fifth workshop on Entry 4, Review Entries 1-3

Feb. 17            Sixth workshop on finalizing all entries

Feb. 21            Sixth workshop on finalizing all entries

Mar. 16            Final workshop on packing and shipping all portfolios and

                        arranging for test date.

Mar. 20            Final workshop on packing and shipping all portfolios and

                        arranging for test date.

v     Tuesday or Wednesday sessions will be 5-8 PM.

v     Saturday sessions will be held 8-11AM

The Assessment for this third part of my action plan will be the NVPTS teacher candidate attendance. A second part will be the reaching the goal of a minimum of 96 mentoring hours for the seventh month period, September 2003-March 2004.

The three-part Action Plan is based on my S.I.F.T. experiences at Percepta, Inc. in the Training Department.  The Design Instructor and Intranet Developer, Louise Conoscenti, at Percepta, Inc., Melbourne, will act as an advisor and assessor for two of the three parts of my Action Plan.

Summer 2003 Florida SIFT Action Plan
William F. Hausmann
Edgewood Middle School of Choice
Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program
Brevard County Parks and Recreation
Kit Van Wagner, EELs Education Coordinator

My proposed action plan is to use GPS technology to implement a campus-wide project that simulates the process used by the EELs land managers to locate, map and remove the exotic invasive plants that we have on our campus. 

In the course of preparing students for this project, the EELs land managers will be invited to share their various fields of expertise with the students as guest speakers as well as advisors on the technical aspects of exotic removal.  This will include topics such as prescribed burns, habitat restoration, and maintenance of endangered lands as well as exotic invasive control.  This action plan will be implemented throughout the school year, with the goal of having a voluntary exotic removal project one weekend in the spring. 

Attached is the year’s syllabus for the Accelerated Comprehensive Science II and III class and the integration of this action plan into the school year.  The highlighted items are the points at which the following activities will be implemented.

#1:  Sometime early in the first grading period a member of the EELS staff will be a guest speaker on the topic of the Scientific Method and how it is employed by the EELS program to scientifically restore, maintain and manage their sanctuaries.

#2:  In conjunction with our studies of space science I will implement a unit of the use of GPS technology.  A member of the EELS staff will give a presentation on their GIS system and how it is used in the EELS program.

#3:  When we study plants and animals a member of the EELS staff will give a presentation on biodiversity and how the EELS program helps to maintain biodiversity through its system of sanctuaries throughout Brevard County.  This will be followed by a field trip to the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary near Titusville, Florida so that the students can see first-hand the management practices in use.

#4:  Toward to end of our study of plants and animals a member of the EELS staff will present the students with a program that explains exactly how exotic invasive organisms affect biodiversity and how the EELS program is involved in their removal. 

#5:  Then, using GPS and GIS techniques, students will map the exotic invasives on our campus.  This will be followed by a voluntary, week-end “Pepper Bust” in which students and parents will actually remove the identified exotics according to the techniques used by EELS volunteers and staff.

#6:  Toward the end of the school year the classes will visit Sebastian Inlet State Recreation area.  Among other topics included in this trip will be a hike through a recently restored area in which exotics have been removed and native plants have been planted.  It will be an opportunity for students to see a large-scale project of land management in progress.  It will also illustrate to the students what volunteers and government agencies can do when they work together.

S.I.F.T. 2003 Action Plan
BCC Aerospace
Steve Mehok
Madison Middle School

SIFT Employment Experience

My employment experience through the SIFT program was with BCC Aerospace at Kennedy Space Center.  I worked in the Center for Space Education with one other SIFT teacher.  Together we restructured Aerospace Technology classroom lab books and student study guides.  Some of the Aerospace workbooks included: Introduction to the Aerospace Workplace, Test and Measurement, Materials and Processes I & II, and Structural Fabrication I & II.

Education Relevance

During my SIFT experience at BCC Aerospace I realized how much information is available for educators that is related to Aerospace Technology.  I plan on doing an “Aerospace Technology” unit with my students to help them develop an understanding of the different aspects related to Aerospace Technology and what careers are available to them.

Student Objectives

Students will learn about human exploration and space development.

·        Human space flight.

Students will learn about earth science.

·        Earth from space research.

Students will learn about aerospace technology.

·        Aviation and space transportation research and development.

Students will learn about space science.

·        Exploration of our solar system and the universe.

Students will learn about biological and physical research.

·         Life science and microgravity science research.

Activities

Guest speaker

·         In learning about the different resources available through aerospace education service program, I will have a guest speaker present information about aerospace technology training and resources.  Students will have the opportunity to ask questions to increase their awareness in aerospace technology.

Topic areas to be covered (examples)

Activity—Air Engines

·        Students will observe how unequal pressure creates power.

·        Students will learn that air power can help airplanes fly.

·        Students will construct a working model of an air engine.

Activity—Making Time Fly

• Students will identify and research aviation events.
• Students will create a time line of aviation events.
• Students will analyze information to interpret changes in aviation.
• Students will develop a presentation based on historical events in history.

Expected outcome

Students will have a better understanding of the history of aviation.  Through research activities students will have a new respect for the incredible gains made in aviation over the last 100 years.  Students will also have the opportunity to collect and interpret data that will give them a real-world feeling of possible career choices in the field of aviation and aerospace technology.

Sunshine State Standards:

The activities previously outlined are prepared in consideration of the following Sunshine State Standards for seventh and eight grade students:

Mathematics

MA.A. 1.3   The students understand the different ways numbers are represented and used in the real world.

MA.B.1.3   The student measure quantities in the real world and uses the measures to solve problems.

MA.C.1.3   The student describes, draws, identifies, and analyzes two and three dimensional shapes.

MA.D.1.3   The student describes, analyzes, and generalizes a wide variety of patterns, relations, and functions.

MA.E. 1.3   The students understand and use the tools of data analysis for managing information.

Science

SC.A. 1.3   The student understands that all matter has observable, measurable properties.

SC.C. 1.3   The student understands that types of motion may be described, measure, and predicted.

SC.D. 1.3   The student recognizes that process in the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere interact to shape earth.

SC.F. 1.3   The student describes patterns of structure and function in living things.

SC.G. 1.3   The students understand the competitive, interdependent, cyclic nature of living things in the environment.

SC.H. 1.3   The student uses the scientific processes and habits of mind to solve problems.

SIFT ACTION PLAN - 2003
Ruth Owens
Florida Space Research Institute
DeLaura Middle School

What I Will Do:

            The first phase of my action plan includes rethinking how I include space science in my curriculum.  I have learned too much space science to use in a two-week unit; however, many Sunshine State Standards can be taught using space science materials and topics.  Therefore, instead of limiting space science topics to a two-week unit, I intend to incorporate activities throughout the year, emphasizing space science skills or content areas in many parts of the curriculum.

           The second phase of my action plan includes incorporating more technology into class products, particularly student use of Excel spreadsheets to record and analyze data from their investigations.

            The third phase of my action plan is the use of the ALE to introduce space science to my gifted science students.

Correlation to My Summer Experience:

During the summer of 2003 I participated as a SIFT Fellow at FSRI, located at the Center for Space Education, KSC.  I had several areas of responsibility at FSRI.  I reviewed modules for Yes Teach! and composed an Excel document of a lab component for the Space Science Course.  Both of these on-line courses are available through the Advanced Learning Environment (ALE), produced by FSRI and co-funded by NASA.  I worked with two other SIFT Fellows identifying NASA materials which could be used as stand-alone activities to teach FCAT math standards.  I also attended a Mars Explorer workshop offered by Arizona State University and the NASA Education office.   It is my intention to incorporate several of these experiences in my SIFT Action Plan for my 8th grade science class this next school year.

How I Will Do It:

Incorporate space science throughout the curriculum: 

When the class studies measurement, the Solar System Bead Activity, using astronomical units (from the Mars Exploration workshop), can be included, thus meeting two SSS Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) at the same time.  While doing instruction on inquiry science or during the life science unit, several ideas come to mind for student inquiry activities, such as the Earth, Moon, Mars balloon activity for size and distance, or Is There Life on Mars?, a NASA activity found in the Unmanned Exploratory Spacecraft booklet.  Obviously, I can include several NASA activities from their Rockets booklet when we are studying Newton’s Laws, and doing Mars Explorer activities will help students prepare for the landings (hopefully) of the MERs in January, 2004.

Use Excel and Other Technology to Record and Analyze Data:

This summer I used Microsoft Excel to produce both the NASA education activities document and the ALE Space Science Lab Component.  Because I realize that my skills are limited in Excel, I signed up for a course available through Brevard County Schools so I can get a better idea of how to help students use this tool during science class.  Our school has just received two sets of wireless laptop computers (24 total), probeware, and digital cameras and projectors for use in our science department, so I am excited about students using these tools to record and analyze data and produce presentations of their results.  I have tried to use computer presentations in the past, but look forward to having more access to the types of hardware and software needed to make quality products.

Use ALE to Introduce Gifted Students to Space Science:

            I was able to get permission from the ALE administrator at FSRI to allow students to use my personal ALE subscription.  The Space Science course is an on-line course intended for use at the high school level, but may also be appropriate for gifted middle school students.  Since I am one of the 8th grade gifted science teachers at DeLaura Middle School, I will make this opportunity available to the gifted students in my classes.  I will use the pretests and posttests available in the course to assess students, but will need to make hard copies of them, instead of allowing students to take them on-line.  Students can work through the modules at their own pace, which is very helpful in a gifted classroom.

Tools/Materials/Experiences I Will Use:

            I will use many of the NASA materials available on-line at http://spacelink.nasa.gov for the space science activities students will do during the school year.  During the Mars Exploration Workshop, I received several great handouts and other materials from Arizona State University, and will use those as well as others available on their web site http://researchnet.asu.edu/asu_nasa/solarsystem.html.   I was also able to have a class set of their magazine, Chain Reaction, sent to my school, to be used as a resource during the planetary science unit.

            Thankfully, I will have the use of the new wireless laptop computers, probeware, digital cameras and digital projectors to provide the technology necessary to this project.  I will be using the software provided with these items in addition to that which is available through our school (Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.).  I will also use the Space Science on-line course available through FSRI’s ALE.

            I will be able to show students the video and a PowerPoint presentation I produced of a “tour” given by a SIFT fellow of the SRB retrieval ships.  I sat in on a statewide meeting of museum directors, college and university professors, and Florida DOE administrators discussing space science integration throughout the K-20 educational system in Florida.  I participated in a focus group who met at the Astronaut Memorial Foundation to view and discuss ideas for the new Challenger/Columbia license plate.  I had an opportunity to view the Columbia debris hanger.  I reviewed many NASA educational materials which will be useful in planning lessons.  These and other experiences I gained from this SIFT fellowship will be useful during the next and succeeding school years.  

Expected Outcomes

            This Action Plan will address many Florida State Sunshine Standards.  Specifically, these standards are included in expected outcomes:

The Nature of Matter

Standard SC.A.1.3: The student understands that all matter has observable, measurable properties.

Energy

Standard SC.B.1.3:  The student recognizes that energy may be changed in form with varying efficiency.

Standard SC.B.2.3:  The student understands the interaction of matter and energy.

Force and Motion

Standard SC.C.1.3:  The student understands that types of motion may be described, measured, and predicted.

Standard SC.C.2.3:  The student understands that the types of force that act on an object and the effect of that force can be described, measured, and predicted.

Processes that Shape the Earth

Standard SC.D.1.3.5:  The student understands concepts of time an size relating to the interaction of Earth’s processes (e.g… distance between atoms measured in Angstrom units as opposed to distance between stars measured in light-years).

Earth and Space

Standard SC.E.1.3:  The student understands the interaction and organization in the Solar System and the universe and how this affects life on Earth.

Standard SC.E.2.3:  The student recognizes the vastness of the universe and the Earth’s place in it.

The Nature of Science

Standard SC.H.1.3:  The student uses the scientific processes and habits of mind to solve problems.

Standard SC.H.2.3:  The student understands that most natural events occur in comprehensible, consistent patterns.

Standard SC.H.3.3:  The student understands that science, technology, and society are interwoven and interdependent.

Students are given a pre-test and post test during the measurement unit.  I expect that students will improve their scores following the activities which address these standards.  I will also administer a pre- and post-test for the space science unit of the ALE for those students who complete it, expecting improvement to be evident.  Additionally, inquiry activities spread throughout the year will emphasize inquiry and technology skills which will be assessed using rubrics for each project.

2003 SIFT Action Plan
Space Gateway Support
Jennifer Shytle
Williams Elementary School

Job Description:

I worked with the GIS (Geographic Information System) software and databases. I began by taking some online courses to familiarize myself with the software that I would be working with, ArcGIS. Then I began combining metadata (Metadata is the information that cannot be shown pictorially on a map.) from one geographical database (SDS FMS ) into the ArcCatalog database. The metadata was for the Spaceport’s utilities. During my seven weeks I also intermittently was able to go out to different facilities on KSC and AF properties to inventory them. For the inventories, we had to take measurements of the buildings, note fire safety systems and other equipment, and look for any changes to the building since the last inventory was done.

Student Action Plan Objectives:

            My second graders will be split into cooperative groups to complete maps of sections of our elementary school (in scale). Once completed, the groups will present their maps and the information (metadata) they have gathered for them. As a class, the students will come to a consensus on which “metadata” they want to use for the culminating activity.  The culmination of this project will be putting all the sections together to create one large (scale) site map of the school. I hope to extend this project into a lesson on our school community and the concept of interdependence in communities. I would also like to complete an enrichment technology activity by having the children create a database of the “metadata” that they have gathered for their maps.  

Correlation to Summer Experience:

My students will be gathering information (metadata) on their assigned section of the school (I gathered information on the facilities at KSC and CCAFS). They will use this information to create a site map of the school as a whole. The people that work in the GIS section of Space Gateway Support also do this. Having my second graders create a database of the information that they gather for their maps will be the most direct correlation to my summer experience. It also will be the most challenging one since second graders computer skills are very limited.

Future Implementation:

1. Split class into cooperative groups of 3.
2. Assign sections of school to groups.
3. Students will take measurements of individual parts of their sections such as classrooms, halls, outdoor areas, parking lots, etc.
4. They will then convert the measurements to scale in customary and metric units (feet to inches, meters to centimeters).
5. Students in groups will discuss and agree to the best symbols to use for their legends on their maps and the metadata that they want to include in their database about their section of the school.
6. Then they will sketch out their maps and illustrate them.
7. Presentation by groups of maps.
8. Class connection of maps to create site map of whole school. Discussion on school community (as well as other communities) and the interdependence they have.
9. Creation of databases (to enrich and extend the maps) of metadata gathered by groups.

Required Tools and Materials:

• Sheets of bulletin board paper.
• Measuring tools such as rulers, measuring tapes, and meter sticks.
• Computer program Excel.
• Art supplies.
• Scratch paper for conversions.
• Conversion chart for customary and metric units.

Student Expected Learning Outcomes:

The Grade Level Expectations (Sunshine State Standards) that will be addressed in this project are:

Language Arts

·        Listens for information and pleasure.

·        Uses strategies to contribute to group conversations.

·        Understands the main idea or common theme in a nonprint communication.

·        Uses oral communication to clarify understanding of a topic or ideas.

·        Speaks for different purposes.

Math

·        Understands and uses ordinal numbers.

·        Represents real-world applications of whole numbers, to 1000 or more, using concrete materials, drawings, and symbols.

·        Demonstrates an understanding of customary and metric measurement of length and distance, selecting appropriate units of measurement.

·        Measures length, weight, and capacity of objects using standard and nonstandard units.

·        Estimates, measures, and compares distances.

Science

·        Uses a variety of tools to observe, measure, analyze and predict changes in size, mass, temperature, color, position, quantity, sound, and movement.

·        Analyzes information to make predictions, makes sketches and diagrams to explain ideas, and draws conclusions using information and prior knowledge.

Social Studies

·        Knows map legends, coordinates, key symbols, and cardinal and intermediate directions to read simple maps.

·        Understands that people in different places around the world depend on each other for the exchange of goods and services.