|
|
|
|
|
This project was spawned by a larger initiative in the school district, Community-Based Technology Planning. In an effort to extend the resources within our district schools and also to incorporate the resources available within the community, it is necessary to make community connections that are somewhat technologically based. Extending the learning of 7th grade students beyond the school and classroom walls and making a direct link to an important community resource, namely the library, is vital to the future of these students. The curricular areas to be addressed are initially in the Language Arts and Literature veins, however, Mathematics and Social Studies activities can be explored to expand on this inital topic. The length of the unit is initally approximately 3 to 4 weeks, however, it is our best hopes that this unit will be an ongoing part of the overall language arts and literature curriculum. We hope to establish an on-going connection to the community library.
Beginning/Getting Started
7th Graders have been invited to visit the local library and take a tour of the facilitites. This has come about with the realization that many students have never been to the local library, and may not even possess a library card. An arrangement has been made with the children's librarian for the 7th grade students in Mrs. Dranter's Literature/Language Arts classes to attend and be given a tour of the facilitites. These activities are in conjunction with National Library's Week across the country.
Upon arriving at the library, the children's librarian has arranged a nicely guided tour of the facilities, along with a visit to the library's conference room for a short talk. The children's librarian is eliciting questions from the students regarding the facilities, resources, etc. When the initial session is complete, the librarian tells the students that the library is starting a 'Community Outreach' program in order to provide a better facility for the students in the community. As part of National Library's Week, the library wishes to start exploring additional resources for students in the community. The library would like to receive input from local students as to their choices in what the library should offer. What resources will students planning for the future need in a community library? Should the library expand on choices for resources? Since the Internet has provided a 'world wide' library from the convenience of one's own home, how can a community library be made more inviting? Might the students in this community explore the vast resources, and recommend a direction for the local community library to take for future resources?
Middle/In Progress
Students are taken back to their classroom and a brief
review of the project challenge is given. The teacher asks the students to think
about the task they were given by the community librarian. Together with students
the task at hand is summarized, and questions generated.
Summary of the problem
presented by Librarian:
1. Library has noticed a decline
in student attendance, and wondering why? How
can we be of assistance to our community library?
2. Library's funding is in danger of being cut for lack of student interest.
What is the librarian asking us to consider?
3. Library asked for your help in making the library a place that students would
like to use.What resources are available to
us to use in helping the community?
4. They also need your help in determining the kinds of books kids really like
to read. How might we organize this project
to help them out?
How might we bring others into this project to help us out?
The next day in language class, a general discussion will begin and everyone in the class participates in it. The teacher begins by asking the class the first question they were to consider, "How can we be of assistance to our community library?" One student offers the idea of planning for the future..."It seems like the library is not in the 21st century. Why are we only looking at the printed materials? Why are we not looking at all the available resources that a library can and should offer?" Now the conversation begins on the various other resources that are made available in other libraries, and might be considered by our community library.
Another student offers, "But we must look at the biggest resource the library offers, books. It seems that we can present choices for books based upon our opinions, " one student presents to the group. "The library wants our opinion, and the opinion of other students our age", responds another.
The teacher interjects, "How might, what we learn and do in our class, help them out?"
"Well, we do literature reviews, could we not do them for the library also?" asks another student. Yes, they have a real need for knowing our choices. They are a 'community' library and will want input from all over the community.
How might we do that? Maybe we can contact other schools?
Yes, St. Cyril's could help us out. Maybe we could even ask other students via
email to help us out.
Well, we first need to format a plan of attack, pipes in the teacher. How might
we do that?
We can make a list of types of books, and we can make a timeline, so we can figure out when we could present our products to the library in timely fashion. Yes, and we can make a list of the various ways we can share our findings. We might divide the list up according to groups.
So students are split up into groups, choosing to participate in one of the areas mentioned in brainstorming ways to outline the project. Student volunteers from each group make lists. The groups are exploring genres of books to review, as well as various other types of resources the library might offer. Timely events and dates to consider, and products to be generated to help the library are also planned for.
In the midst of their brainstorming, one students asks the teacher, "Might we not consider the cost of books? Maybe we can help them budget for the selection of books that we want them to offer?"
The teacher asks the entire group, "How would we go about doing that?" We might explore the cost of books and come up with a budget. Yes, we could explore different vendors and advise of which one to purchase from. There's Barnes & Noble, Borders, & Amazon.com to consider. Ok, some of you can break off into a budget groups, to explore ways of investigating that area.
At the end of these brainstorming, planning sessions, it seems that students are gravitating towards exploring resources for a 'library of the future', expanded book resources, and budgeting for resources. Students are also exploring ways of using the Internet and tele-communications to survey other communities, libraries, and schools.
Daily assessment sheets and journals will be kept for each student in this project. These sheets will be used to keep track of and help the teacher to monitor and facilitate the project. Each student's assessment sheet will contain the particular job that was done for that day, where the student worked, what information was generated from the day's work. Did the student e-mail another school and/or class, did the student work on researching a particular resource to be made available? or did the student work on updating the data base of information? These daily assessments will determine the future focus of the project and if any changes will be necessary. Another important part of this process is for daily group coming together to share what everyone else has found. Questions arise from these daily discussions which will determine the direction for finding possible solutions to the problem. The students will spend the first 7 weeks (or so) doing the gathering, data processing, and research. Once a sufficient amount of information has been generated the whole group needs to come together again to talk about the progress of the research and the direction we need to go next. (This coming together may happen at other points in the project as a way of refocusing, if necessary.) Toward the end...A sufficient amount of time must be set aside for the development of the final product, and presentation of the overall project and generation of products. Examples of choices to be made for the final product are as follows: web pages, multimedia presentations, and/or printed materials, i.e. manuals, brouchures. Examples of choices to be made for presenting the reviews generated are: article in the newspaper, power point or hyperstudio presentation, posters, etc. This presentation of the entire project will outline the primary parts of this project and offer the various book reviews as products. The presentation will be presented to the library board of directors for them to consider in solving the problem of making the library richer and more accessible for the community. Planning for the future will be emphasized. The presentation will highlight innovative ways for the library to consider in planning for the future.
Created for the Fermilab
LInC program sponsored by Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory Education
Office and Friends
of Fermilab, and funded by United
States Department of Energy, Illinois
State Board of Education, North
Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium which
is operated by North Central Regional
Educational Laboratory (NCREL), and the National
Science Foundation.
Author(s): Names of all authors (with e-mail address links)
School: Name of School, City, State
Created: February 15, 2001 - Updated: April 18, 2001
URL: http://www-ed.fnal.gov/lincon/w01/projects/yourfoldername/scenario.html