2
Kathryn Gomard
ILS 511 – Materials and Services for Children
Assignment Three - Collaborative Curriculum Unit
Dr. Nancy Disbrow
November 27, 2006
Program for Children
Following is the outline of the program designed for children to be presented by the Library Media Specialist (LMS). It is to be a collaborative effort between the LMS and 4th grade teachers on curriculum unit “Explorers of the New World”. The goal of the LMS for this project is to help further students’ confidence in researching and problem solving. Using the Big 6 model, students working in groups will learn how to answer questions about an explorer of the 15th and 16th century. A graphic organizer will be used to gather information using designated print and non-print resources. Online resources have been screened for appropriateness. Consideration was given to offering a variety of resources and encouragement will be given to all students to sample information from printed material, search engine, and organized website. Print resources will be put on reserve for purposes of this project and only to be used in the media center.
Since information will be compiled outside of the media center, the LMS will evaluate the success of the program through a practice exercise in the library. Assisting students while they research also provides opportunity to observe application of skills. She will confer with classroom teachers during and after the project to determine the effectiveness of the approach. In order to plan for the next collaborative project for a given school year, she will determine and make note of what skills need reinforcement and review.
European Explorers of the New World
Curriculum Objectives
To learn about European explorers of the 15th and 16 centuries and what effect their expeditions to the New World had on civilization.
Media Specialist Objective
Teach students about the Big 6 model and how to use it for their project. In collaboration with classroom teachers, create a graphic organizer for students to use for their research.
Target Audience – 4th Grade
Project
Create a page about the explorer for the class “Discovering Explorers” notebook. Use the graphic organizer to collect information about an explorer using the resources below. Find important dates about the explorer to add to the class explorer timeline.
Media Center Lessons
Use the Big 6 model to help students plan, execute and review their project. This will be done in 2-one hour sessions over a 2 week time period. LMS will also assist students during research time in the media center and computer lab for two ? hour sessions over this same time period.
1) First one hour session
a) Review the steps of the Big 6. Give real life example, i.e. buying a new backpack.
b) Separate students into designated groups. Give them a question that they must find the answer to in the library using a Big 6 organizer worksheet. Emphasize teamwork.
c) To assess students’ understanding of Big 6, have each group report on what they learned to answer their question.
2) Second one hour session
a) Go through the graphic organizer to see what kind of information needs to be found. Stress the importance of dividing up work among group members.
b) Review effective note taking to find the answers for the questions on the graphic organizer. Emphasize using their own words to present information.
c) Look at the list of resources provided on the assignment sheet. Point out their virtues, i.e. where to find maps and portraits.
d) Review location of resources, including recommended linked websites from media center desktops. Briefly highlight the value of encyclopedias.
Materials Needed
- Note cards of practice questions for each group
- Copies of Graphic organizer for each student
- Overhead projector and screen
- Transparency of Big 6 and graphic organizer for demonstration
- Resource List
- Icon on media center desktops linking to recommended websites
Print Resources Available in the Media Center
Alter, Judy. (2001). Extraordinary Explorers and Adventurers. New York: Children’s
Press.
Felicity, Everett. (1991). Explorers: From Columbus to Armstrong . United Kingdom:
Usborne Books.
Harris, Laurie Lanzen (Ed.). (2003). Biography for Beginners: World Explorers. Michigan:
Favorable Impressions.
Starkey, Dinah. (1994). Scholastic Atlas of Exploration. New York: Scholastic Reference.
The World Book Encyclopedia. (1995). Chicago: World Book.
Non-Print Resources Available on Media Center C omputers
Explo r er Websites - See icon on Media Center desktops. Contains the following links.
Age of Exploration: Biographies of Explorers and Associated People – Click on “more” for full information and portraits. iner.org/educationalad/ageofex/biographies.php
Encyclopedia Search – Search engine ooligans.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/index
Explorers – a timeline with information about individual explorers. .k12tn.net/explorers/explorers.htm
World Book Encyclopedia – online version. Includes biographical information and printable maps. ldbook.com/wb/Browse?id=ency
Worldmap.com – a printable map of the world
ldatlas.com/aatlas/printpage/worldant.htm
Zoom Explorers – an alphabetical list of explorers. Includes maps and portraits. hantedlearning.com/explorers/indexv.shtml
References
The Big 6. Retrieved November 23, 2006 from 6.com/kids/3-6.htm.
Connecticut State Department of Education, Division of Teaching and Learning. SOCIAL
STUDIES CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK. Retrieved November 12, 2006 from
te.ct.us/sde/dtl/curriculum/frsocst.pdf.
Discoverers Web. Retrieved November 19, 2006 from
.tue.nl/cs/fm/engels/discovery/.
Education World. “Across the Sea: Europeans Explore the New World ”. Retrieved November
15, 2006 from cationworld.com/a_curr/curr095.shtml.
Enchanted Learning. Zoom Explorers. Retrieved November 18, 2006 from
hantedlearning.com/explorers/indexv.shtml.
European Explorers Theme Page. Retrieved November 15, 2006 from
mnet.nf.ca/CITE/explorer.htm.
Island Avenue Elementary School. Grade 4 Curriculum. Retrieved November 15, 2006 from
andavenue.org/curriculum_gr4.htm.
McKenzie, Jamie, and the Bellingham Public Schools. The Biography Maker. Retrieved
November 18, 2006 from m.wednet.edu/BIO/Biomaker.htm.