Academic Challenge
Deb Kardane
Barns of Today and Long Ago: An Academic Challenge
Grade 3: History
Background:
This challenge will be a part of a study of life in the early 1900s in Vermont. We will
have already focused on families, children, clothing, and other details of daily life. This may
actually be a segue activity into a larger study of structures and structure building if the children
show an interest.
This will probably be one of the class’s first challenges, so there will be a good deal of
structure and guidance through-out the process. Roles will be clearly outlined during the first
week. The class will help to establish roles for the following week (creation of the mural) with
the teacher’s help through a brainstorming process.
There will also be a certain level of structure around time management. Tasks will be
divided into two week-long sections. However, within these weeks, the students will be
responsible for managing their time completely on their own. Hopefully, for a beginning
challenge, this will be sufficient structure to support the students without being too rigid or open
ended.
Time of year- Early October
Group size- 4-5 children depending on class size
Group composition- Groups will be assigned by the teacher. (again, due to the level of problem
solving experience of the class at this time of year).
Resources- Due to the lack of availability of resources, the teacher will stock the classroom with
appropriate materials for research including magazines, newspapers and resource books. Internet
access will be available and instruction on how to utilize this resource will be part of the research
process.
Standards- :Research
1.19 Students use organizational systems to obtain information from various sources (including
libraries and the Internet). This is evident when students:
a. Recognize and define their need for information;
b. Develop an effective search strategy to satisfy their informational needs;
c. Conduct effective searches for information and ideas;
d. Evaluate information for timeliness, relevance, bias, accuracy, quality, and accessibility;
e. Synthesize and organize information
f. Present information in appropriate formats;
Communication of Data
Students use graphs, charts, and other visual presentations to communicate data accurately and
appropriately.
Historical Connections
6.4a. Students identify major historical eras and analyze periods of transition in various times
in their local community, in Vermont, in the United States, and in various locations world
wide, to interpret the influence of the past on the present. This is evident when students:
6.4.b. Examine local history by reading historical narratives and documents, investigating
artifacts, architecture, and other resources that illustrate key periods in local history (e.g.,
investigate local town's history and establish its connection/place with Vermont and other
cultures);
6.4.d. Identify and sequence patterns of change and compare historical data from Vermont, the
U.S. and the world by examining:
VERMONT
-family and community
-the people, events,
life now and in the
problems and ideas
past;
that created Vermont
Barns of Today and Long Ago
We live in a state, which is rich in history. We can see this all around us, especially in the
architecture (buildings). In our town there are many examples of farms, some that were built
recently and some that were built 100 years ago. We will research these two groups of structures
and compare them to discover how farms have changed over the last 100 years.
Challenge:
Your challenge is to create two murals, which will transform our classroom into a display
of the inside and outside of a barn from long ago. You will have two full walls to devote to your
murals. You will first need to break into 2 groups- (The Outties and the Innies) Within these
groups you will want to share the research, so you will divide again into researchers of long ago
and researchers of present day barns. Each research team will consist of five people.
During your research you will need to choose a specific role from the following list.
Each day of the week you will rotate through a different role so that everyone has a chance to try
each job:
Recorder- responsible for taking notes for the group and organizing the information
Materials Collector- responsible for gathering any materials (including resource books)
which will be needed as well as returning them at the end of each work session
Researcher- read through the research and inform the group of important facts which are
found
Artist- develop plan for and create picture for presentation of how the mural will appear
Facilitator- oversee all activity of the group and keep things running smoothly- help
anyone in need
Outties- The wall in the hallway should clearly illustrate the outside of your barn, with 5 distinct
characteristics you have found in your research. You will also need to find a way to include in
your display how these characteristics have changed in modern barns.
Innies- The wall on the inside of our classroom should show 5 distinct characteristics of the
inside of the barn from long ago. You will also need to include in your display how these
characteristics have changed in modern barns.
MaterialsResources- Magazines and resource books will be on hand in our classroom, as this is a difficult
subject to research in our school library. We will also be learning how to research a topic using
the Internet.
Murals- Markers, paint, unusual papers, string, glue, collage materials are all available. The sky
is the limit! Just ask! Chances are if you find you need something that is not in our classroom,
we can search elsewhere and find it!
Week 1- Gather research and plan for the mural. On Friday, you will share with the class a
picture of how your mural will look and a description of what your 5 characteristics will be. You
may also want to share any other interesting facts you came upon during your research. These
could be included in your mural as well.
Week 2- Creation of your mural! We will allow another week to complete the mural so that we
may add many layers of work to create a beautiful display for the whole school to see! On
Friday of this week, we will present our projects to our classmates and learn some barn dances to
celebrate the new look of our classroom!
GoalsYou should learn:
Some details about barns and farming of modern times
Some details about barns and farming of long ago
How they have changed and stayed the same
How to research a topic using the Internet
You should practice:
Clear communication with your research team
Organizing your time in a productive manner
Problem solving in a fair and supportive way
Mural AssessmentExceeded
Expectations
Met Expectations
______
______
The mural was exceptional! It was artistically profound.
The information that it contained was flawlessly organized
and extremely interesting to read. There was many clear
distinctions as well as connections between farms today
and long ago.
The mural was very well done. It was pleasing to look at.
The information that it contained was nicely organized.
There was a clear distinction between farms today and long
ago.
Did not meet
Expectations
_______
The mural was similar to the one described above, but with
a few aspects which were not quite as well done.
_______
The mural was similar to the one described below, but with
a few aspects which were done well.
_______
The mural fell below the expectations for the class.
The information needed some level of organization. It
would have been more attractive if the art work was
carefully done. The mural needed to portray some
distinctions between farms today and long ago.