General Information Project Overview Curriculum Connections Learning Outcomes Resource Connections Evaluation

  General Information

  Project Overview

Project Groundhog involves kindergarten children keeping track of the weather for six weeks following Groundhog Day to see if the groundhog was indeed accurate in predicting the weather.

1. Students will do indepth research into the groundhog and will learn how to use basic statistical techniques such as recording, charting and graphing in their analysis of the weather.
2. Students will establish contact with other kindergarten children throughout the province, country and also the United States in their sharing of information.
3. Students will add to the national Project Groundhog homepage, information as it relates to Helen Tulk Elementary.

  Curriculum Connections

Social Studies

The Kindergarteners will learn about other students their age, in other schools across the province, across the country and even in the United States. The curriculm guides specify that the students should be given every opportunity to compare and contrast themselves with other communitys and that they develop skills in social and group participations, map and globe skills, tables and graphs. Project Groundhog provides an excellent opportunity to help develop such skills.

Language Arts

The Kindergarten Language Arts program centers around increasing the childrens' power over the language process of listening, speaking, writing and reading. Project Groundhog helps to develop these skills and motivates the children as they communicate with others.

Science

The students will learn about the weather and will use statistical techniques (measuring, charting, and graphing) in their record keeping. They will also conduct research into the Groundhog compiling their information from a variety of resources - books, computers, encyclopedias and magazines.

Mathematics

Besides numeration, addition and subtraction, and basic problem solving, students will also see the value of producing charts and graphs as an important means of studying and interpreting the weather.

  Learning Outcomes

Students will:

1. Learn about the groundhog.
2. Investigate it's relationship to our cultural heritage and will develop an appreciation of our rich folklore roots.
3. Learn about the weather.
4. Learn research skills in collecting and presenting information.
5. Prepare maps, charts and graphs.
6. Become more aware of our global community.

  Resource Connections

The Stellar Schools Internet connection is essential to the success of our participation in this project. Right now only one person can get connected to the Internet and this is very time consuming. We do have a networked computer labratory with 26 computers, one printer, one scanner and one modem. Other resources include our library which is adjacant to the computer room.

  Evaluation

Students will be evaluated on the Learning Outcomes listed above, from anecdotal records and observations by the teachers involved.

We believe that this project will add to the students' awareness of the importance of technology in communications and research.