The theme for this semester is ‘Great Explorations’. We will be focusing on those who explored Florida, their reasons and the consequences. This will incorporate social studies, reading, writing, and many other skills besides.

While we will be focusing mainly on Florida, this is your opportunity to “explore” some explorers yourself. You are to research a specific explorer and create a project based around them. You will have some time in class, but you must manage yourself to meet the deadline. The due date for this project is:

WEDNESDAY 14TH OCTOBER.

*You will receive a social studies grade for this project.

Your project must include all of the following components:

Presentation

You must present what you have found to the class. Your presentation must last between two and three minutes, and must answer the following information:

Who were they? Where were they from? Why are they significant? What were their greatest achievements? Are they still alive? Along with any other relevant information you think is important.

You will need to hand in a copy of your presentation with your project.

Creative component

Here, you need to design a creative device (this could be a power point, diorama, poster, cake- anything your brain can think of!) which highlights the explorers major achievements, and represents the major area they explored! Get creative!

Remember, you are going to show everyone just how hard you have worked. You should have a polished final piece, of which you are very proud! Make sure you enjoy finding out about your explorer and have fun.

If you have ANY questions during this project, please make sure you ask Miss Gerding. 

5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Presentation / Presentation lasts between 2-3 minutes. The speaker is clear and concise and engages the audience. They use volume and tone to emphasize key points. Rarely uses notes for support / Presentation lasts between 2-3 minutes. The speaker is engaging and clear. They refer to their notes only on a few occasions / Presentation lasts between 2-3 minutes. The speaker tries to engage with the audience through eye contact. Relies heavily on notes The voice is uneven or little inflections / Presentation lasts between 2-3 minutes. Displays minimal engagement with the audience, and continues to read off notes. Voice is difficult to understand. / Presentation does not meet time criteria
Information / The presentation answers all of the questions and gives great depth. Presentation goes further than is required. The information is from several sources and shows care in selecting material / The presentation answers all of the questions in detail. The presenter has tried to add extra information and is from more than one source. / The presentation answers all of the questions, although not all in great depth. The information comes from more than one source. / The presentation gives limited information on all of the questions. The information may come from only one source. / The presentation does not answer the key questions.
Creative element / The piece shows great care and thought. The piece adds to the understanding of the explorer. / The piece shows a good understanding of the explorer and relates well to the presentation. / The piece adds to the understanding of the explorer, although is limited. / Little time or care has been taken and the piece adds little to the final project. / There is no creative element
Language / There are no major spelling, capitalization or grammar errors in the work. / There are one or two errors in the presentation, but they do not take away from the understanding. / There are several errors throughout the project. More care was needed. / Errors make some understanding difficult, they are consistent throughout the project. / There are frequent errors throughout the project making it difficult to read and understand.

Project Guidelines

Always refer to the rubric as you are working on your project! If you need another paper copy, please let me know. Also, there is a copy of all of this information on our website.

Your presentation should answer most or all of the following questions:

  • Who were they?
  • Where were they from?
  • What was life like for them?
  • Why did they explore?
  • Why are they significant?
  • What were their greatest achievements?
  • Are they still alive?

The guidelines mention that students need to hand-in a copy of their presentation. This could be notecards, a printout of PowerPoint, or any written parts of the presentation. You will be sharing your answers to the above questions, therefore there will need to be a written component to turn in. The format is up to you!

Ideas for presentations…

Adobe Spark, PowerPoint, create a play/skit, iMovie, build a sculpture or diorama, Prezi (prezi.com), create an animation on PowToon, create a website, write a newspaper article, make a timeline or a map, and many more! The possibilities are endless!

Check out this link for more online presentation ideas:

Projects are due October 14th. 