Growth+Culminating+Project

The students of Class 401 will be improving environments! Over the next few weeks you will be learning about plants and animals in their environment as well as the industrial revolution and immigration. You will also be studying the work of John Muir, and other conservationists, to help inspire you in creating your own animated documentary. You will work in groups to look at how some animals and plants are able to survive despite changes to their environment while others die or must move to new environments. Similarly, you will look at how some people prospered during the industrial revolution, while others had to move and immigrate in order to survive and thrive. You will be asked to choose an animal or immigrant group that was endangered due to conditions caused by the industrial revolution (tenement housing, hazardous working conditions, child labor, animals now endangered due to industrialization and advances in technology). You will research the conditions that caused the environments to change and come up with ways to improve the conditions in which these animals or immigrant groups live or work. Students will present their improvements through an animated documentary. You will take on the role of a conservationist/documentary maker with the purpose of educating the Harlem community on how they can use  the problems from the past to become conservationists themselves and solve the problems of the future.
 * Ask: How were people and the environment affected by growth and expansion? What problems did it cause for certain immigrant groups, plants and animals?
 * Imagine you are a conservationist who must help solve some of the problems caused by industrialization and expansion.
 * Create a plan to improve conditions for an immigrant group or endangered species
 * Evaluate your plan based on feedback from peers and teacher
 * Improve your plan by applying feedback