C ulminating A ctivity

The culminating activity that students will be completing at the conclusion of this unit
includes participating in Life of Pi Day! The theme of the collaborative unit is based on Yann
Martels novel Life of Pi, and promotes cultural acceptance, text-to-world connections, and
positive attitudes. Students will have completed neat assignments in the different content areas.
In language arts, students will be exploring the challenging vocabulary words found in Life of Pi.
In science, students will be introduced to basic ideas related to biological evolution, in which
natural selection is the main focus. They will be composing research on their favorite organism
in the novel Life of Pi throughout the unit, which will ultimately serve as a purpose in the
performance task given at the end. In math, students will be applying the concept of Pi ( ), the
ratio of circumference to the diameter of a circle, to find the volumes of cones, cylinders, and
spheres in real-world problems. Students will be using prior acquired skills such as reading,
writing, and researching, as well as prior content knowledge during the thematic learning
experience. A wide variety of instructional methods will be used to ensure all individuals in the
classroom have the opportunity to be successful. Engaging activities, experiments, discussions,
and technology will be implemented to enhance understanding of the instructional concepts
being taught. Most importantly, various methods of assessments (Pre-assessment, formative
assessment, summative assessment) will be given to measure student learning and help guide
future instruction.
Life of Pi Day will be held on a Monday and will last the entire school day. Parents will
receive an invitation to this event, and are encouraged to attend. They will be invited to eat lunch

at the school at 11:30 with events following. Students will be displaying most of theirwork from
the unit in the auditorium on Life of Pi Day, and it will be set up as a gallery walk. This will be a
good motivator for students to work hard during the thematic unit. The activity will only be for
the eighth graders, but some of the other grade level teachers want to bring some of their classes
through the gallery walk to see the students work.
The gallery walk event will start at 12:30 and last until 2:30. Payment will be collected at
the door, and will be in the form of canned good items. Extra canned good items will be provided
for those who forgot to bring one. We will also be serving different slices of pie for $1.00 or one
canned good item. All of the canned good items and money received will be donated to the local
food bank at the conclusion of the days festivities. There will also be fun games set up around
the event.

Life of Pi Day Schedule:

8:00-9:00
walk event

- Students and teachers will set up for the gallery

9:10-11:20
- Students will watch the film Life of Pi and get
popcorn for a treat
11:30-12:30
arriving
12:30-2:30
2:30-3:00

- Students will eat lunch, Parents will start

- Gallery walk event
- Cleanup