Your child should have brought home information for a project on the countries of Europe.
This is an extensive project that will require many hours to complete. It
consists of six parts- a tri-fold board, a project packet, a 3-paragraph essay,
the 3-5 minute presentation, a visual aid, and a reflection paragraph. There
will be a copy for you to keep as well.
The research guide explains,
in detail, all of the facets of the project.
The
fourth grade team realizes that the Biome Project is still being completed, but
we wanted students to have the benefit of an extra weekend to potentially begin
work on this major project. This is especially true for gathering the needed
books. We also wanted the due date to be
before the last weekend before the holidays, as many of you will need that
weekend to prepare for trips, incoming guests, or your own vacations.
Originally the Biome Project was due this Thursday, but we felt an additional
week would be helpful. The overlap is purposeful, but in a helpful way. The
thought is the more time for each, the better. And, to reiterate, the Biome
Project is not meant to be a major undertaking.
It
has been tradition, at other academies, to assign this as a "Winter
Break" project, normally assigned the Friday before break, and due the day
back. We have always found that to be unfair. This year, we are allowing
students more time to complete the project than we have in years past. The
project is due Thursday, December 14th. This allows students five full
weeks, and five full weekends to complete the project. There will be in-class
work days as well.
Your child should have received the following:
-Project
packet
-Project timeline- this is not a
mandatory due date list. This is simply a guide.
-Poster requirement sheet- This
lays out the requirements for the poster portion of the project.
One of the requirements is that
students choose one of these three things:
-make food from that country.
-create
an architectural model or model of a landmark from that country.
hey
may do more than one, but must do one minimally. Please remember that students
are responsible for the safe-keeping of all materials during the five-week
period.
Mr.
Posner tells me he has seen some crazy, elaborate projects, e.g., Eiffel Towers
with mechanical parts, lights, and moving people; a Tower of London, complete
with moving clock parts. These were amazing, but....obviously not created by a
10-year-old. While I expect parental assistance and guidance, there is
something to be said for work mostly completed by the student. I simply do not
want you, as parents, to feel as though you have a project to
complete.
Project
presentation day is Friday, December 15th. I will send out the presentation
schedule at a later date. Parents are welcome, and encouraged, to come in and
watch their child present.
Thank
you, and as always, please contact me with any questions you have once you see
the information.
