Minnesota Piecing It Together Mini Project Unit 1

Minnesota – Piecing it Together Mini Project – Unit 1 return to Unit Outline

WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO? There are 26 parts to our Minnesota Puzzle. Each of you will be given a puzzle piece and assigned to work with one partner to complete this activity. You and your partner will:

A. GATHER FACTS ABOUT YOUR AREA OF MINNESOTA B. DESIGN/DECORATE/COLOR YOUR PUZZLE PIECE C. PRESENT YOUR INFORMATION TO THE CLASS D. HANG YOUR PIECE IN THE PUZZLE TO HELP CREATE A LARGE CLASS MAP OF MINNESOTA

WHERE DO WE FIND OUR FACTS? Use your new Minnesota textbook and classroom library books during class to find your information. If you have internet access at home or at a local library dig as deep as you would like for additional facts.

WHAT FACTS MUST WE INCLUDE ON OUR PUZZLE PIECE? (all of the following need to be written inside the border of your puzzle piece) o Title of your region o Two town/city names from your region o Two lakes and/or rivers (in the right place – can we piece together the rivers?) o One landmark from this region - tourist attraction or historic marker o Symbol that identifies the biome (vegetation - trees, plants, etc) o An animal from the region (mammal, bird, amphibian/reptile) o One more fact or interesting thing you learned about the region

WHERE SHOULD I LOOK ON THE INTERNET? o One silly tourist thing from this region (see http://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/mn.html) o Symbol(s) that identify the biome(s) http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/biomes/comparison.html) o Recreational activities (see http://www.exploreminnesota.com/destinations/) o Bird (see: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/animals/index.html) o Mammal (see: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/animals/index.html) o Reptile/Amphibian (see: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/animals/index.html) o Tree (see: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/animals/index.html) o Plant (see: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/animals/index.html) o historic attraction (see some here: http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/)

WHEN WILL WE DO THIS WORK? You will have plenty of time during class if you and your partner stay focused on your job. WHAT MUST OUR PRESENTATION INCLUDE? A.Hang your puzzle piece on the board. B.Introduce yourselves to the class C.Tell us the title of your region D.Explain to us what you found out about your region (what are the facts about your region) E. Finish by saying, "We are ready for comments and questions" F. Call on audience members who have their hands raised. G.When there are no more hands up, say "Thank you."

HOW WILL OUR WORK BE GRADED?

Name(s)______Date: ______Period: ______Piecing It together Grading Rubric

Excellent Advanced Satisfactory Incomplete Pts Total  Title of region Most of required facts Some of required Few of required  2 cities/towns facts facts  2 lakes/rivers t

n  1 landmark e t

n  1symbol of 20 o

C vegetation  1 animal  1 additional fact y c a

r Some facts are Many incorrect

u All facts are correct Most facts are correct 10 c correct facts c A

 Writing/printin g is neat/messy  Writing is  Writing/printing is  Writing/printing is in places sloppy y

t very neat pretty neat i l  Several spelling  Spelling is poor a  Spelling is correct  Few spelling errors 10 u errors  Drawing is Q  Colorful  Drawing is neat  Drawing is a bit messy  Easy to read messy at times

 Introduced selves  Most of the time  Sometimes hard  Spoke loudly & spoke loudly and to hear  Very hard to n

o clearly i clearly  Sometimes hard understand t a t  Each student spoke  Each student spoke to understand  Little explained n 10 e

s  Spoke respectfully  Spoke w/ audience  Only shared  No audience e r w/ audience 

P Explained what you part of what interaction  Explained what you learned they learned learned

Total Score (40 pts) / Comments