Final Project

Real World Informative Writing

For their final project, all 1st graders will be creating a piece of informative writing in a product which could be used for audiences outside of the classroom setting. With parent's and the teacher's guidance, students will become an expert on a chosen topic (see below) and produce a public service announcement (PBA), an interview segment, or a brochure to exhibit their verbal, research, creative, and possibly, speaking skills.

Students will chose a topic/essential question from the following disciplines/areas of study:

• Health Science: example essential questions: 
• How can smoking affect your health?
• Why is exercise an important part of a healthy lifestyle?
• Earth Science and Conservation: example essential questions:
• What can families do to reduce air pollution in their community?
• How do shopping choices impact the environment?

In order to facilitate the process in the classroom, parents should discuss the areas of study with their child in order to find an area of interest within the topic. Once the topic has been decided, work with your child to develop an essential question. Have your child write the question down and return it to class. Students should also start to think about what they would like their final product to be. Research materials may also be located with family assistance and brought to class. If necessary, research materials will be provided by the teacher.

In the classroom, students will develop a topic sentence based on their essential question. They will review the research materials to write details to support the topic sentence. Finally, they will write a conclusion based on what they have learned. Information on the grade level reading and writing standards for this project can be found on pages 7 and 14 of this document.

Please have topics chosen and returned to the classroom as soon as possible so that research materials may be gathered.

Information on the environment and conservation can be found here. Information on 1st grade Health Science standards can be found on pages 7-9 of this document. Information on fitness, nutrition and health can be found on this Webpage.