Assignment #1 EPSE 408

Completed by Samantha Epp

February 25, 2015
Introduction
This grade 5 humanities unit would be focused around the topic of civilizations using
the framework of project-based learning. The basic unit question is: How have the
civilizations of the past affected and influenced the world we live in today? The big
idea questions of the unit are: Considering civilizations of the past and life today,
what does an ideal civilization look like? Is it possible for such a utopia to exist?
This unit would be taught to a general education class with gifted students. The
unit question listed above would be the same for all students in the class but the big
idea question listed above would only be applicable to the gifted students. The
students who are not gifted would be assigned the following big idea question:
Which civilization was the most successful? Which civilization contributed the most
to the way we live today?
Rationale
One thing that has stuck with me since reading it was the three main characteristics
of gifted learners that were identified in the Van Tassel-Baksa article. Those three
characteristics of gifted learners are precocity, intensity, and complexity. In picking
a curriculum model, I kept these characteristics in mind to ensure that whatever
model I chose would appeal to those particular characteristics.
Coming from a Humanities background, I chose to do a project on civilizations
because I think there is a plethora of information available to research on this topic
and I believe that all students would be able to find a civilization that is of interest
to them. Putting the Project-Based Design model and the topic of civilizations
together, I decided to frame a research project around the question: How have
civilizations of the past affected and influenced the world we live in today? From
here, I adapted the project to be more challenging for gifted students by assigning a
more thought-provoking and challenging big idea question to address (Considering
civilizations of the past and life today, what does an ideal civilization look like? Is it
possible for such a utopia to exist?).
I believe that a project based upon these questions would be able to appeal to all
three characteristics of the gifted learner. First, this question can satisfy the
precocity characteristic as they are far deeper questions than the gifted student is
likely to have encountered in a previous Social Studies class. Furthermore, there is
no right answer but a multitude of possible ideas that could satisfy the topic.

Second, this project can appeal to a gifted learners intensity as the project will
require a great amount of work and thoughtfulness in order to be successful. A
student would have to gather a large amount of research, process the information,
and figure out a way to present it all which is no small feat. As the whole class
would be completing this unit through the project-based learning design, an ample
amount of class time and support would be given to all students to properly
complete this project but the project easily allows for students to put in extra time,
effort, and thought if they wish to.
Finally, the gathering of information would appeal to a gifted learners complexity.
The student would need to figure out what information they are searching for and
how to tie all of the pieces together. Overall, I think a unit based upon a civilizations
research project could be good for the development of gifted students.
The reason that I chose this topic for this age level (grade 5) is that I think learning
about civilizations would be of interest to that age level which is important in order
to have a successful unit. Students will work hard if they are excited and interested
in learning about a topic. Furthermore, I created the big idea question for the gifted
learners thinking of what type of question I would expect a grade 7 or 8 student to
be able to answer thoughtfully.
Unit Plan
The entry event for this project would be a lesson based around brainstorming.
Students would be put into groups (gifted students can be put into one group) and
asked to think of what is important to our world. For example, they could say food,
cell phones, and cars. Once students think of these items, each group can share
their thoughts with the class and groups can add anything they may have forgotten
to their lists if they wish. Following this discussion, ask students to think about how
we came to use these things. For example, where does food come from? A farm.
How long have farms been around for? How did we begin farming? How do we farm?
Students will try to create a brainstorm map listing where and when these things
came from including questions if they arent sure of somethings origins. Following
this brainstorm time, the whole class will discuss where these important items came
from which will lead into the idea that many important things in our lives came from
past civilizations. Introduce the students to the unit question of this project and
explain that they will be researching past civilizations in order to respond to a
comparative question about past civilizations and the present. Emphasize how
learning about the past can help us to better understand our world in the present.
Ultimately, the students will be hosting a civilizations fair to show off their work to
the school community so the projects that students produce will be on display.
Following this introduction to the civilizations project, students need to begin their
research on past civilizations. The teacher will need to provide structure and
lessons on how to conduct research and keep track of information. Students will be

expected to research a variety of civilizations and then pick one or a few

civilizations to focus on once they begin formulating a response to the big idea
questions. There will be check-ins with the teacher to ensure that all students are
on track and gathering information that will contribute to the creation of their final
project.
Once students have a sufficient amount of information, they will begin work on
interpreting and synthesizing their information and ideas to address the big idea
questions of the unit. The students will be expected to give a sufficient amount of
information on past civilizations to be able to explain why it was the most successful
and how it contributed to todays world (non-gifted students) or provide evidence
from past civilizations to prove a students ideas on what an ideal civilization would
be (gifted students).
Students will be given ideas on how they can present their information but are
allowed to present their information in their own way with the support and
permission of the teacher. For example, students could do a video project where
they do a show on the history of popular items in todays world where they trace
back the history of certain objects to past civilizations or a student may create a
board game that demonstrates different factors that makes civilizations ideal or not
ideal (ie. what the peasant character may see as ideal could differ from the king
character which may help to prove a students idea that a utopia is impossible to
achieve).
The presentation of a students knowledge, ideas, and understanding will be a great
place for gifted students to shine and show off their expertise. While many students
may create poster boards that are fairly simple, a gifted student may create a more
complex project that could even incorporate understanding from other subjects. In
cases where gifted students are creating more complex projects, accommodations
may have to be made to provide them with extra time to work on their projects.
The teacher will have to be aware of times when a student may be able to work on
their civilizations project instead of another lesson.
Although I believe it is good to give students creative freedom to decide how they
present their information, it is also important to give students clear criteria to follow
so that they know what they need to include in their project to demonstrate their
understanding of the big idea. Following the idea presented in Module 6, I would
provide the gifted students with their own rubric that only shows how they can meet
or exceed expectations and that specifically states their big idea questions. More
specifically, these are the criteria that would be listed on the rubric:

The project demonstrates understanding of big idea

o The ideas of the student are stated clearly
o The students ideas show a strong connection to the research that
was completed on past civilizations

o There is sufficient evidence to support the students ideas

o The students ideas are interesting, unique, and/or stimulating
The project is completely thoughtfully
o The project is well-put together and it is evident that a lot of time and
effort have gone into creating the project
o The way in which the student chose to demonstrate their project is
interesting, unique, and/or stimulating
o All writing components are completed with correct spelling,
grammar, and punctuations usage

Prior to their final submission of their projects, students will be given preassessments to see where they should revise their work in order to improve the
quality of their project. Once the students have completed their projects to the best
of their ability, the class will organize a civilizations fair that shows off their projects
to their parents and the rest of the school community.
Furthermore, it is important to note that there will be several check-in points
throughout the completion of this project where students will be expected to have
completed a certain type of work that is necessary for the project. There will also
be lessons, assignments, and activities sprinkled throughout to help teach students
the skills they will need to properly complete their projects (ie. how to take notes
effectively, persuasive writing techniques, a field trip to a larger city or university
library, a field trip to a museum with a civilizations exhibit).
Conclusion
Overall, I feel that it would be a great experience to teach a civilizations unit using
project-based learning and that project-based learning would be a good way of
meeting the needs of both gifted and non-gifted learners. The project presented in
this assignment could allow a gifted student to flourish and be challenged. As noted
at the beginning, this project would be a lot of work for all students in the class but I
ultimately think it would be an extremely rewarding endeavor for everyone involved
to see the amazing projects that the students end up producing. I hope that one
day I will get to teach a class where I can bring this unit to life.
Special Notes
Much of my knowledge on project-based learning was based on workshop presented
by Shaun Fraser on February 20, 2015 in Richmond, B.C.
Other information referenced in this assignment comes from the Modules 5 & 6 in
the UBC course EPSE 408.
Reference

VanTassel-Baska, J. (1995). The development of talent through curriculum . Roeper

Review, (18)2. 98 103.