Design for Deeper Learning

We investigate how ice can be falling from the sky on a warm day, how clouds form, why some clouds produce storms with large amounts of precipitation and others don’t, and how all that water gets into the air in the first place. Also trying to figure out what could be causing such a large-scale storm and why it would end up affecting a different part of the country a day later. Finally we apply our understanding to develop an explanation for why South America has a tropical rainforest in one part of the continent and temperate rainforest in another part of the continent, despite having some of the driest places on Earth relatively close to both.

Problem / Challenge: : We live in climate challenged times where using water wisely and being aware of its importance to our world is vital to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Project Summary: : Students will look at water uses at school, in their homes, and in the community as well as exploring water in different forms and states. Through observations, data collection, and hands-on experiments students will engage with water and its various properties. The results of our work will generate ideas and suggestions to use water more mindfully. Driving Question: "How can we help our school use water wisely so there is plenty of it for plants and animals including people?"

fear frequencies, science board

Biology lesson on a marthon. Part of a unit on Marathin runners

2nd grade enrichment

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I'd like to create a project where students study the California CADA standards for student leadership, different leadership styles, and the qualities of effective leaders, and then choose leaders in their community, interview them, look at evidence in their work, and present their findings to the class in a manner that makes sense to them.