The Zombie Project-A Study of California Counties

Inciting Incident

pROJECT vOCABULARY

Driving Question: How can we as researchers, help the FBI find the safest county in California in order to save the human species from the zombie apocalypse?
Project explanation:This project is an in depth study of the counties of California: Student pairs will look at topography/elevation, agricultural resources, water resources, animal migration, climate/temperatures, highways, building materials, cities and towns, population density, earthquakes/seismic activity, volcanoes, vegetation, exports/services etc. in order to determine the safest counties in California in the event of a zombie apocalypse.
Other skills: Students will also develop map reading skills, including locating latitude and longitude lines.
Final Project: Students will present findings to the FBI in a variety of formats.
A Note to Parents/Guardians: This project is not meant to be scary. Students are empowered by saving the world. One year, I changed the threat to global warming/climate change. I found that project much more scary and much less engaging than the Zombie Project.
Key Standards:
4.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the physical and human geographic features that define places and regions in California.

1. Explain and use the coordinate grid system of latitude and longitude to determine the absolute locations of places in California and on Earth.
2. Distinguish between the North and South Poles; the equator and the prime meridian; the tropics; and the hemispheres, using coordinates to plot locations.
3. Identify the state capital and describe the various regions of California, including how their characteristics and physical environments (e.g., water, land forms, vegetation, climate) affect human activity.
4.  Identify the locations of the Pacific Ocean, rivers, valleys, and mountain passes and explain their effects on the growth of towns.
5.  Use maps, charts, and pictures to describe how communities in California vary in land use, vegetation, wildlife, climate, population density, architecture, services, and transportation.
6. Trace the evolution of California’s water system into a network of dams, aqueducts, and reservoirs.
7. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.4
   Report on a topic in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace
   CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.2
   Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
   CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.5
   Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
   CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.3.C
   Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English and situations where informal discourse is appropriate 
   CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.4.C
   Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.
   
   
   

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