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4 Grade Showcase Project

General Information
You will be compiling an artifact collection that showcases fourth grade curriculum. Your project is
due on Tuesday during the week of Open House. Projects will not be accepted earlier than this date,
and late projects will have points deducted.
The artifact collection will be worth 200 points.
The project should take a minimum of 20 hours.
o This works out to approximately 2 hours per made object plus the time it takes to write
the sentence labels and to put together the display at the end
o It should be clear that approximately 2 hours was used for each artifact based on the
amount of effort that is evident in the finished product
The finished project must include a display box of some type and a name plate that includes
a title and your name.
Each artifact will be displayed with a complex sentence that explains how it reflects the 4th
grade curriculum.
The project is expected to be student-designed and student-made. It is expected that the project
will look like it was made by a fourth-grader!
There will be no class time given to work on the artifacts.
Students WILL be given time in class to write his/her complex sentences. The teacher will
assist with the editing of these sentences, but the student is responsible to use the editing
comments to rewrite the sentences into a final draft on his/her own time. These sentences will
be given a separate language grade worth 100 points total.
Showcasing 4th Grade Curriculum
The artifact collection project asks you to showcase 4th grade curriculum in 8 ways. 4th grade
curriculum is everything weve learned this year and some stuff we havent even gotten to yet!
You must include:
Four (4) social studies areas
o Regions, Native Americans, Missions, Pioneers
One (2) science area
o Environments, Rocks & Minerals
One (1) language arts area
o Island of the Blue Dolphins
One (1) math area
o Possible choices: Addition, subtraction, equations, multiplication, division, graphing, decimals,
fractions, measurement
Grading/Points
Points are earned for:
amount of time & effort put into creating the project
neatness of project, including the method artifacts are displayed
whether parameters of the project requirements were carefully followed
all required elements turned in
accuracy of the information presented
knowledge of information relevant to the project
creativity & originality

Points will be automatically deducted for:

turned in late
no name on project
missing or incorrect elements
artifacts do not clearly appear to be student generated
lack of effort or accuracy
poorly written sentence labels
less than eight artifacts
Artifact Collection Details
Make and find a variety of artifacts that showcase fourth grade curriculum and organize them as a
collection.
Minimum Requirements:
8 artifacts
All 8 must be homemade (not purchased)
Miniature size is REQUIRED for all artifacts
All artifacts must be 3-Dimensional
Artifact Sentences (one sentence per artifact, so youll have 8 total)
Typed
Each sentence should be a complete, well-constructed complex sentence
Must explain what the artifact is, how it ties into fourth grade curriculum, and give
some information about it.
Example sentence for a mini beach (representing coast region of California):

The four regions in California (desert, mountain, valley, and coast) are
defined according to land and climate characteristics; the coast has sandy
beaches in the south and rocky beaches in the north.
Example sentence for a bead necklace (representing the necklace Karana made in
The Island of the Blue Dolphins):

Karana, the girl stranded on the island in Scott ODells book, Island of
the Blue Dolphins, is very lonely until Tutok (an Aleut girl visiting the
island) gives her a black stone necklace as a sign of friendship.
Display
Must fit on school desk (20 by 15) and be able to stand alone on desk
Shadow/Display box OR be creative and think up another fun way to display your
artifacts (a flat poster type display is NOT permitted)
Refer to the pictures on the website for a myriad of ideas
The display can be purchased or homemade