Shannon Camodeca

Warren G. Harding Middle School, Des Moines, IA

NEA Student Achievement Grant

Summary
Provide a summary of 100 words or less describing your proposed work. Please write in a
manner in which you would be comfortable allowing the NEA Foundation to use on its
website to describe your project.

Mrs. Camodeca is an 8th grade literacy teacher for an inner city school located in Des Moines,
Iowa. Through the Student Achievement Grant Mrs. Camodeca was able to develop cross-
curricular units between Literacy-Science and Literacy-Math with the help of HP Revolve
Laptops. These laptops allowed students to master research skills, writing skills, use hands-on
manipulation in Math, and create connections between mathematical equations and science
experiments to literacy and the world beyond the walls of Harding Middle School. HP
Revolve opened the doors to create authentic learning for more than 150 eighth grade
students.

Goals
Describe your project, including goals for student learning and how you will measure each outcome. Be
sure to include the standards with which you will be linking your work.

Increase use of technology on a daily basis

o Will be measured by the teachers lesson plan incorporation of
technology.
o Will be measured by using the Rocket Science 101 app
Prepare students for a 21st century education and work place
o Will be measured by student understanding of math, science, and
literacy skills
Will be measured by formative and summative
assessments
Formative: daily check points, exit slips, bell ringers,
teacher-student data logs
Summative: rocket launch, newspaper articles, math
mathematical equation final assessment
o Will be measured by the students abilities to use Microsoft Word,
Excel, Rocket Science 101, and interpersonal communication skills
Improve the rigor of science & math curriculum
o Cross-curricular unit will increase the expectations of students
because it is being used in multiple classrooms
o Teachers will plan unit together
o Collaborative grade assessments so each teacher understands
expectations of students clearly
o Designed using Iowa Core Standards
Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects
RST.68.7
Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that
information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
RST.68.8
Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.

Reading Standards for Informational Texts

RI.8.8
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is
sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Science Standards for Solar Systems

S.68.ES.5
Essential Concept and/or Skill: Understand and apply knowledge of the components of our solar system

Math Standards for Functions & Data Plotting

8.SP.A.1
Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data to investigate patterns of association
between two quantities. Describe patterns such as clustering, outliers, positive or negative association,
linear association, and nonlinear association.
8.F.B.4
Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities. Determine the rate of change
and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from two (x, y) values, including
reading these from a table or from a graph. Interpret the rate of change and initial value of a linear
function in terms of the situation it models, and in terms of its graph or a table of values.

Sustainability
Describe how this project will be sustained beyond the grant period and/or how it provides a model that
can be used by other educators.
After the grant period runs out, this project will be sustained by already having the necessary technology
purchased. The Science department is willing to budget in the price of materials for rockets with the help
and support of the Math department. With the cooperation between these two contents, materials will be
purchased at the beginning of every year for students to create their rockets in the spring. If any remaining
items for rocket building and launching need to be purchased, they will be purchased through Hardings
Turn Around Arts Program fund.
By creating this unit to be multi-curricular it supports integrated learning and it follows best teaching
practices. According to the NMSA, fifty years of research and more than 80 studies reveal that students
in interdisciplinary programs do as well, and often better, on standardized tests when compared with those
in the usual separate-subject programs (Vars, 1993).
Student need
Describe the student need for this work. In addressing student need, focus first on academic need and
then describe sociological, economic, emotional, and/or cultural issues.

Academic Need

Harding Middle School was consistently rated a low-achieving school which resulted in being put on the
PLAS list. After being on this list for several years, Harding was recognized as a Federal Turn-Around
School. Since the reconstitution, student test scores have risen and a more positive and welcoming
environment has been created. However, since losing that grant Harding has plateaued and needs a new
push to increase the rigor in a variety of ways. By incorporated cross-curricular and integrated lessons,
students will be able to make cross-content connections that relate to the real world. According to Iowa
assessments, Harding is still growing academically but has slowed significantly in gains made. Student
performance on the most recent standardized test in Iowa is as follows:

Cultural Issues
Student demographics show Harding consists of an extremely diverse group of students. The school
stands with 857 students, 30% African American, 30% Caucasian, 30% Hispanic, and 10% Asian/Pacific
Islander. The school receives federal assistance because 96% of the students qualify for free and reduced
meals. The neighborhood surrounding the school consists of a wide range of SES families, from a variety
of cultures and religions. The neighborhoods also divide different gang lines, forcing students to be
riddled with fear and a misconceived notion of what life is like outside their neighborhood.

Activities
Describe the activities in which you and your students will engage to reach your stated goals. In this
description, address how the activities will engage students in critical thinking and problem solving.

With the help of an HP Revolve Laptop cart (15 computers) students will be working in a cross-curricular
unit that combines Math, Science, and Literacy. Students will be researching space, building and
launching rockets, and creating a newspaper article about the launches.
Students will first need to research former space launches and compare and contrast good and bad
launches, along with study things that worked well and things that caused catastrophes. The information
found will help students prepare for their own launch. Students will be using hands-on building after
designing their rockets via HP-Revolve design programs, like Rocket Science 101. Students will have to
use a variety of mathematical equations to make sure they build the most effective and powerful rocket.
Students will run mock launches on the iPad app and have to measure the height, angle of curve, and
trajectory of their launches. They will do this is in multiple phases. They will create hypotheses and test
their theories. They will use the data collected to design plot maps and compare their date to their peers,
as well as to assist in building their rocket to scale based off of their best Rocket Science 101 design.
After launching their rockets, students will take all the data collected from the research, simulations, and
actual launches and write newspaper or magazine articles designed for space enthusiasts. These articles
will need to reflective of realistic launches while using the information for their specific rockets.
By creating this crossing curricular unit, students will be able to see the connections between various
skills and contents. Students also create critical thinking skills by having to apply what they learn in one
class, to what they are doing in another class. Students will be developing their problem-solving skills by
having to use the data collected and tracked to build the best possible model of rocket for their group.

Budget
Provide a line item budget for the proposed work. Your request must total either $2,000 or $5,000.
Identify any additional support (cash or in-kind) that will be provided by other sources, including those
provided by your school/district/college/university. Your budget must be in the form of a Word, Excel, or
PDF document. The NEA Foundation suggests that your budget be as cost-efficient as possible. Please
ensure that all items are directly related to your proposed work, as your budget will be assessed by how
realistic, clear, and frugal it is.

Purchased Items using NEA funds:

Refurbished HP Revolve Laptops (15 at $300/per unit): $4,500
Individual Rocket Engines (150): $383.83
Reusable Launch Systems (10): $59.98

Purchased Items through DMPS funds:

Laptop & Charging Cart (1): $299.95
Harding Technology Coordinator Resources (TLC grant)