K-9's ocean adventure: An integrated MST unit

Ever wonder what really lies beneath the ocean; well my class found out. When deciding on what unit to pick for my thesis research, I chose an ocean unit since my school's topic for the MST fair is oceans. The school where this unit was taught is in an urban area that is densely populated. In the class there are twenty-five kindergarteners and are all ELL learners. I was hoping with the use of hands-on activities my students would learn about oceans and apply their new knowledge to building a design project of a 3-D ocean scene.;Some content goals that I wanted my students to learn are: that there are different levels of the ocean; seashore, coral reef, open sea, and deep sea; and that different sea creatures live at different depths of the ocean. They would learn this information through a series of hands-on activities and writing. The students made collages of the four levels in order to better understand which creature lived where. At the end of the unit I gave my students a design challenge, which required them to use the knowledge they gained. My students picked a level of the ocean and built an ocean scene with sea creatures and plant life that would be found there. The first challenge was to take their sketch from their portfolio and copy it into their model. This would show how well they could take a 2-D model and make it 3-D. The next challenge was to use materials given to them to create the scene. They had to use their creativity in order to come up with ways to make the ocean come alive. Their models will be displayed outside the classroom during the fair to show all the information they have learned.;The attitude goals I wanted to my students to achieve were working independently and working in a group cooperatively. I followed five students for four weeks to see if they improved. In one case I wanted a couple of students to work on their sharing capabilities. In the beginning these students would fight over materials and hoard them, but by the end of the unit they had started understanding how important sharing actually was. Another aspect of my goals was proximity; I always had to be with certain students for them to finish a given task. One student would not work without me sitting next to him and telling him what to do step-by-step. After careful thought, I gave him a paper to copy from instead of having to look at the easel. I no longer have to sit with him every step of the way. I was impressed by the way my students are now able to work independently and rely more on their group mates for needed help instead of relying solely on me.;As the unit went on I observed my students learning information that they have never even heard before. The students looked forward to science and could not wait to learn about a new sea creature or ocean level. My students worked very hard on their "All About" books, which showed not only the new information they learned but also that they were able to use it during Writers Workshop. At the beginning of the unit my students knew very little about the ocean. The post-assessment at the end showed that my students made great progress. For example, the pre-assessment showed that not many students knew what part of the ocean certain creatures lived. But after the post-assessment it is apparent that my students know where each creature lives.;By the end of the unit my students have learned a great deal about oceans and have improved their vocabulary. They have also learned how to work cooperatively in their groups and even work by themselves when needed. With a class full of ELL learners, I think the use of hands-on assessments and the design project, allowed my students to succeed.