| Kristine Olquin is a gifted facilitator in California, and I’ve enjoyed following her on Instagram @gatescholars! She shares many engaging activities and projects with photos of student work. This post features a photo of one of her students’ projects. Thank you, Kris, for giving us all the details on this project! |
This project caught my eye for several reasons. I could immediately see how many tools of Depth and Complexity might be used in a TIMELINE PROJECT, beyond the obvious CHANGE OVER TIME. So, I asked ChatGPT to create a graphic.
Students must do a great deal of analytical and evaluative thinking in completing this type of project before they even get to the creation stage. The decision-making required in choosing which details are most important is similar to the analysis that is done in a ranking activity.
The final products make it evident that students discovered historical events from a different perspective, too. They saw how their topics fit into world history with technological changes and the effects of world events. Kris’s students chose some interesting topics, and it’s easy to imagine the engagement and discussions that happened throughout the time spent doing these projects.
SCROLL THROUGH SAMPLE STUDENT PROJECTS
THE PROJECT
Kris allowed her sixth graders to choose a topic of interest (person, object, game, sport, etc.) and create a visual timeline of the topic with just ten significant events. Students had to think about which ten events to include, write descriptions, and include an explanation of why each event matters.
Download the Project
DEPTH and CONNECTIONS
Kris said that when the projects were completed, “students shared in groups, and then we did a gallery walk. There were some amazing topics: History of Movies, History of Thrill Innovation, Dance, Pokémon, History of Theatre Production… The academic discourse and the connections students made were more than I expected.”
Here are some additional ideas that will encourage deeper thinking!
- During sharing or a gallery walk, have students add signed sticky notes to any project that connects to theirs in some way (e.g., an event, a technological change, a similar trend).
- Have each student share something about their topic that they did NOT include on their timeline and explain why it was not included.
- Have a debate about which timeline shows the greatest transformation from the beginning event to the final one.
- Have students write a generalization (BIG IDEA) about their project. “My timeline shows that over time, __________.”
- If you had to remove one event, which one would you remove? Why is it less essential to understanding the story than the others?
- Identify a pattern on a timeline (e.g., – RULES changing; adaptation or expansion)
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Understanding Time: A Timeline Lesson (3rd – 8th)
Deeper Reading Activities (Part Two)