Students in grade levels 3rd-8th participate in a challenging and investigative problem based learning (PBL) program. These students learn to discover new concepts and develop ideas through the means of problem solving. Thus setting up student members of SOS TAG to become life long learners invested in their current and future education.
Project Description
Invent a Country: Do some research on how the United States in fact became a country. Was it always called the United States, or is it a country created from combining many countries? Who created the US national flag and why is English our native language…etc? Next you need create a new country all your own. Name your new discovered country along with creating a national flag, animal, tree, symbol, food dish, 20 words in a new language, a government/leaders, national treasure or landmark, and a new map/globe that shows where in the world your new country will be located. Now create a brochure that will advertise why people should visit your new country. Next develop a survey with at least 6 questions such as (On a scale from 1-10 how excited would you be to live my new country?) Give your brochure to at least 10 students for review. After they have had a chance to view your country have the test subjects take your survey. Chart your data findings. Next cook and create your new national dish and bring it for your TAG classmates to sample. Develop a second shorter survey with 3 questions concerning your national food. Give one of these short surveys to all your TAG classmates’ after they sample your dish. Chart these results as well. Finally create a board or an electronic presentation showing your research & thought process along with photos of all your steps. Present all your work and research at the Spring TAG EXPO.
Click on the download below to view an example country brochure.
4th Grade TAG Develop a NEW Comic Character & Create a Comic Book
Create a “New Comic Character”: Research the history of comics, comic books, and graphic novels. What was the first comic character and who created this character? Who are some of the most famous comic book artists and writers throughout history, and what comics did they develop? How much did comic books cost when they were first made and how much do they cost now? Next develop your own comic character. What will their super power be and what is their super weakness? Where did they come from and where do they live? What is their purpose…do they save kittens, or crush buildings? Next illustrate and write a rough draft of at least 20 pages for a comic book/graphic novel. Once approved create enough copies for at least 10 people to read and review your work. Gather data on how much it costs to print and bind your book as well has how much effort you put into creating the book. Now develop a price which will be fitting for consumers, but also generate a profit. Create a survey of at least 6 questions such as (On a scale from 1-10 how much did you enjoy my project?) Now have students or adults rate your book by completing a survey commenting on what they enjoyed, or what could be improved. Then document and record your results. Based on these results should you try to sell your book to a plushier as is or should you make revisions? Create a board or an electronic presentation showing your research & thought process along with photos of all your steps. Present all your work and research at the Spring TAG EXPO.
Click on the download below to view the 4th grade student TAG contract and PBL project choices.