Project Title
Where's Walden and Why Henry?
 
Project Designers
Marcia Marlow
Michael Rinaldi

Grade Level
Sixth grade
Heterogeneous grouping
English Language Arts
Educational Technology

 

Subject and topic areas
English language arts
 
Educational technology

School
John Glenn Middle School
Bedford MA 01730

Time Frame
Fall 2000 and spring 2001
 

I. Enduring Understandings

    Focus questions
What impact does man have on this kilometer?
What did you observe today that you had never noticed before? Find a familiar object and describe it in a new way.
How does a sound map make you more observant?
What effect has the environment (including people) had on the plants around the school?
What are two or three of the most surprising changes you have observed in the environment over the past two months?
What have you learned about your relationship to the environment by keeping a journal?

II. Acceptable Evidence or Assessment

A. Performance tasks

III. Content Standards-English Language Arts Curriculum Frameworks

A. Language strand 2.4
Synthesize relevant information gathered from group discussions and interviews

B. Reading and Literature strand 9.5
Make supportable connections between a text and other works:
comparative narrative, non fiction, or poetic treatment of same subjects

C. Composition strand 23.3
Generate questions, take notes from multiple sources, and use a variety of ways to organize information to enhance understanding

D. Media strand 27.3
Create a media production using effective images, text, music, sound effects, or graphics

Knowledge and Skills
Biographies
    Students will read and discuss aspects of Thoreau's life using several
biographical sources: Henry Hikes to Fitchburg   by Donald Johnson, To a Different Drummer by Charles Norman,
Henry David Thoreau;  A Neighbor to Nature by Catherine Reef,  Video by David
Bartos   ..Myself at Walden

    Thoreau's writings
    Students will read, discuss and reflect upon a multitude of quotes from Thoreau's work
Thoreau Institute web site
    Students will read and discuss and draw connections with quotes from a number of scholars, writers and political leaders to Thoreau's way of thinking

    Poetry
    Students will be introduced to poems about nature
        Mary Oliver, David McCord, William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Haiku, Cinquain
    Students will learn literary terms used in writing poetry and be required to create original poems incorporating the different terms.


    Composition
        Students will be asked to maintain a reflective journal throughout the unit
        Students will create work to be published in the local newspaper and the Middle School Newsletter.

Media Technology
    Students will create web pages using the information, images, maps and reflections from the journals

Contents Standards Science/Technology Curriculum Frameworks
Technology strand 3
Understanding and using Technology in Society

National Technology standards
Science/Technology standards

Observing
"Unfortunately, many things have been omitted which should have been
 recorded in our journal; for though we made it a rule to set down all our experiences
 therein, yet such a resolution is very hard to keep, for the important experience rarely
 allows us to remember such obligations, and so indifferent things get recorded, while
 that is frequently neglected. It is not easy to write in a journal what interests us at any
 time, because to write it is not what interests us."
Henry Thoreau "The Concord and the Merrimack"

Selected School Site
To the south of the school beyond the athletic fields is a wooded area and an old railroad grade.  This will be the nature study area.
 It is on Bedford Conservation Commission's lands  in the Elm Brook Conservation area

"I seek the darkest wood, the thickest and most interminable,  and to the citizen,  most dismal swamp." Walking

The Physical Terrain

Recording observations
The purple Grass is now in the height of its beauty.  I remember still when I first noticed this grass particularly .. On going to and examining it found it to be a kind of grass in bloom. hardly a foot high. with but a few green blades and a fine spreading panicle of purple flowers,..  Autumnal Tints Evaluating
I was the more surprised and charmed because the grass is commonly of a sober and humble color. Autumnal Tints
Sample Rubrics for Nature Activity Journal
Outcome Exemplary 5 Good 4 3. Satisfactory 2. Not Acceptable
Mapping
Uses symbols and legends to create an accurate map from the data		 Uses symbols and legends 
Map is inaccurate
Map is out of scale 
limited symbols  		 Doesn't use symbols or legends 
map is innaccurate
Surveying Uses a compass and tools to layout a 10x10foot square to 90% accurately   Corners within 10 degrees of square
sides within 6"		 Out of square by more than 10 degrees
sides within 6"		 Cannot layout a square to 70% accuraacy
Effective Visual Communication
effectively uses images		 Crisp images/photographs unmistakably understood Images lack detail but convey the idea 50% of the images good quality Image poorly composed 
Contributing Citizen
Shows care and sensitivity for the nature		 Improves the natural  environment of the site as an extracurricular activity Improves the site during class No noticeable impact on the environment Leaves traces of presence
Self Directed Learning
Identifies a topic for the journal and develops it independently		 Organized day by day, easy to follow and easily understood Some difficult to understand Difficult to understand
Problem Solving
Identifies problems and successfully solves them 		 modifies and improves graphic and visual designs without assistance Basically self sufficient but asks for some help. Is unable to modify or change designs and doesn't ask for help
Effective Written Communication. 
Uses written word, maps, photographs and images successfully 		 Descriptive written journal with effective graphics Acceptable written journal   Unacceptably written journal
Technical Knowledge 
Uses technology  to create edit and publish.		 Consistently and successfully creates using technology for all applicapable journal work  Creates all required journal work using technology with  help  Some successful journal work done using technology with help. Doesn't include technology 
Understanding Thoreau the naturalist. Includes at least 4 different relevant Thoreau references in the journal  Includes two or more 
Thoreau references in the journal		 Less than 2 references of Thoreau or irrelevant references 
Research Uses references and field guides effectively to identify all observed species Identfies 80% of the species using references and field guides Identifies less than 80% of the species

Reporting
I formerly thought that it would be worth the while to get a specimen leaf from each changing tree. shrub. and herbaceous plant. when it had acquired its brightest characteristic color in its transition from the green to the brown state. outline it, and copy its color exactly, with paint in a book. which should be entitled. " October. or Autumnal Tints" -but I have endeavored. instead. to describe all these bright tints in the order in which they present themselves. Autumnal Tints




Action Plan
But special I remember thee Wachusett, who like me standest alone without society.  A Walk to Wachusett
 
  • Connecting with the community
    • Students' civic action opportunities
    At Home
    Explore and record  the hidden world of the back yard.

    Needed resources
    North American guides to wild flowers/birds/trees
    Compasses
    Measuring tapes
    Surveying Instuments
    loupes
    speakers - artist, poets, naturalists

    Journals

    Each student will explore a natural area adjacent to the old Bedford/Concord railroad bed, the Elm Brook Conservation Area.

    Activities will include:
    Two or more  field observations

    1. Identify where your 10 square foot area is in relation to a known landmark.
    2. Carefully examine  the 10 foot square area.
    3. Look and listen quietly for 5 minutes; then for the next 5 minutes record your findings
    4. Establish your exact location with a compass bearing - (altitude, latitude)
    5. List on paper an inventory of your finds.  This could include  trees - bushes grasses shrubs, manmade materials insects birds animals - be careful not to disturb the area just observe! You will have a second opportunity to revisit the area with the class and you can go back on your own time with your parents. You may go back on your own time to take pictures or continue drawing.
    You may take a leaf of a plant you can't identify -  check to make sure it isn't poison ivy!
    6. Draw a map
    7. Read your Thoreau quote and write your impression of it at this time.
    8. If time allows collect data for journal.
    9. Create a sound map of the area.
    Describe the experience  in a paragraph or two while at the site.  Be as descriptive as you can be!  Be creative! Let Thoreau's writings be an inspiration
    Back at the classroom.
    Locate and mark your area on the large map.
     

    Responsibility

    The team will work collaboratively on the following tasks