Project Ideas 3-5
State Research

State Research

Each student is assigned a state or territory which they research for items of interest. Facts could include land area, population, customs, economics, landforms, landmarks, famous people, major immigrant groups, vegetation, major cities, and others depending on the focus of instruction.

Activities/Resources	TEKS
Data can be obtained from CD or web sources. Review any necessary technology and content vocabulary (i.e. -- landmark) and remind students of acceptable use policies and intellectual property. Data from different sources should be compared to validate information. http://www.50states.com http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/pubs.html	TA (3-5) 1A 2A 3AB 4AB 5A 6A 7A LA 5.8C 9E 10I 11D 13CE 19I 21C SC 5.4A SS 5.7ABC 25A 26A 27A
Student may need to define unfamiliar terms they find in their research. Students may also find additional areas for research.	TA (3-5) 5B LA 5.6C 13AH
Each student sends a small school mascot to a school in their assigned state with a word processed letter asking questions such as, "What would (name of mascot) see if it came to your school?" Remind students of proper keyboarding techniques.	TA (3-5) 2ABCDE LA 5.15B 22B
Numeric data collected by students is entered into a class spreadsheet. Calculate highs, lows, and averages. Graphs are created to compare data.	TA (3-5) 7B MA 5.1A 5B 6 13BC 14BD 15A 16A SC 5.2A SS 5. 25BCG
All information is entered into a class database to compare and contrast differences between states.	TA (3-5) 7B MA 5.1A 5B 13BC 14BD 15A 16A SC 5.2A SS 5.25BCG
Images that will enhance the final report/presentation should be collected with proper citations. Graphics could include landforms, landmarks, famous residents, graphs created from spreadsheets, etc. Students should select images that will best enhance their final presentation.	TA (3-5) 2A 3B 5A 6BC 7C LA 5.13F 21D 23B 25A
Information and images selected by students can be combined into a class multimedia, hypermedia, or web presentation to be displayed to other classes or parents.	TA (3-5) 1D 6C  7C LA 5.19F 21E 22A 25B SS 5.26 D 27AB
Each student presents his/her state to the class. Students listen for facts and opinions, ask questions as needed for clarification, compare information presented to the state they studied, etc.	LA 5.1B 2CD 4A 5BDF 13G SS 5.26C 27AB
Evaluation could include content, relevance to assignment, use of media, and language use. The class may want to create a timeline with self evaluations and a final rubric for overall assessment.	TA (3-5) 2E 6C 9B 12BC LA 5.20A 21F SS 5.27AB

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