REALMS Magnet School
An EL Education Credentialing Portfolio
High Quality Work - Claim 3
Authenticity: Ryan Ranch
7th Grade Ryan Ranch
Centered around 4 days in the field at Ryan Ranch Meadow, students delve deep into one case study that features two disciplines, Science and Math, with additional opportunities for reflective writing and art. Students start by building scientific background knowledge through topic readings and text dependent questions. They then go into the field for an inquiry day, during which they become familiar with the place, procedures, and plants. Next, students work in teams to learn and practice data collection methods, first on campus, then use them in the field to properly collect and record data. Once back in the classrooms (science and math) students organize, analyze, and interpret the date to prepare for their final product: a roundtable presentation at the Watershed Summit with an authentic audience of Central Oregon students and experts.
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Below are samples of student work that exemplify how students at REALMS apply their deep understanding of content to real world issues and then complete authentic work that holds meaning and value beyond the school community, including video of the actual presentations.
Click on "image" to see the whole document.
Presentation Preparation
After presenting data in graphs in their math class and building sufficient science background in science, students work in small teams (2-3) to interpret the trends in our data, and to make connections between different types of data that they all collected in the field. The students answer a series of questions that, together, help the students develop scientific reasoning and use evidence to support statements about the interactions between the living and non-living components of the ecosystem at Ryan Ranch.
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Click on "image" to see the whole document.
Presentation Preparation
In math class, students study measures of center and learn how mathemeticians use graphical representations of data to present, inform and persuade others about different types of data. In the field, students have collected several types of forest data (soil moisture, canopy cover, ground cover, tree density, and more) and have collected this data along 6 different transects. In the math classroom back at school they determine what is the bext type of graph to display their particular data set and work to organize and present their data while learning about scale, measures of center and other statistics related learning targets.
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A Small Sampling of Student Graphs:
Click to download the table questions that REALMS students use to facilitate dialog
The Watershed Summit Presentation
Each year the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council organizes a Watershed Summit, in which students from schools throughout the region gather together with local experts, agencies and other interested stakeholders to share learning gleaned from student-run fieldwork projects in and around local watersheds. REALMS students have, in the past few years, led roundtable discussions with their peers as their contribution to the Summit. This interactive format requires our students to be experts in their topic and to summon the confidence to speak and facilitate in front of their peers (older and younger) from other schools. It is an excellent format for exploring the data they have collected at Ryan Ranch Meadow and helping other students learn from their experiences in the field. Students use their preparation as notes and evidence along with the questions (below) to facilitate more learning through sharing, listening and engaging in discourse.
Students Share Data and Facilitate Roundtable Discussions at the Watershed Summit
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See the "story" of a year long fieldwork project from start to finish!