It’s all within your reach…

Serves double duty: This is the letter than you give the students to explain the parameters of your assignment. This is also the task description that you use to decorate the bulletin board.

DEFINITION:MY EXAMPLE:  Goals are, well GOALS! What do you want students to produce by the end of this assignment?  To create an ABC book and video that teaches young children about the school community, the seasons, and change.

DEFINITION:EXAMPLE:  The role is what “part” you want students to play. What is their job? How are you going to frame this project to immerse your students in learning?  The student will play the role of an author on a team that is working to create an ABC book and accompanying video that teaches children about the seasons, school community and change.

DEFINITION:EXAMPLE:  This is who you want the students to write for. You want them to understand that they are a community of learners, and that they are not just writing for the teacher.  The target audience is children between the ages of 3-5. This ABC book and video will be shown to the incoming kindergarteners and their parents.

DEFINITION:EXAMPLE:  These are the circumstances surrounding this assignment. How do students fit into their roles? What is a practical application for what you are teaching the children?  The class is working collaboratively to create an ABC book and video for incoming kindergarteners and their parents.

DEFINITION:EXAMPLE:  This is the reason you are asking students to do this work. What is the academic purpose of this assignment? What is the educational value?  The purpose of this project is to assess students’ understanding of letters, their school community and change over time, and their ability to express themselves.

DEFINITIONEXAMPLE  These are the concepts that the state requires you to teach. You already know these, and use them in your plans. . The project will be graded on the following:  Book  Each page must include a correctly formed capital and lowercase letter  Each page includes a picture of an object that starts with the assigned letter  Each picture must be labeled with a correctly spelled word that identifies the picture  Each word and picture must demonstrate what children have learned about the school community, trees, or the seasons  All writing must be neat, legible, and with correctly formed letters  All pictures must be neat and colorful (no wrinkled pages or cross-outs)   Video  The student must answer the unit’s essential question as it relates to their picture  The student will speak at an appropriate volume and pace  The student will speak with expression

GRASPLETTER  Date: ___________________________________________   Dear Sumerian Real Estate Agents:   We need to get with modernization! We are trying to get our people out of the caves and into the cities. The closer we will all be to each other, the easier our way of life will be.   Your job is to sell the apartments of Ur to the nomads. In order to convince your prospective buyers, you will need to  Write an advertisement and a power point sales presentation that lets your clients know:  Why the geography of the land is so great  What grows on the land, and what profits people can make from living there  Why city life is better than wandering  What the houses look like and what they are made of  All the structures is inside the town  How people work together as a community   You must also include a detailed map of the city, and a drawing of the inside and the outside of the house.   Good luck! I know that you will get the right people to join us!   Thank you,   Stony Enterprises

You grasped the GRASP! The power is in your hands… Now go off and create your own GRASP!