San Jose Then and Now

San Jose Then and Now

Third Grade Social Studies/Computer Technology project

Invitation

Using iPhoto and iMovie, students merge past and present images and information in the study of San Jose’s historical and geographical changes. Students gain perspective on the history of where they live. The class researches the historical record of their community

·  Acquire historical knowledge about their local community.

·  Compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.

Tasks

Geography, the changes in transportation, culture and community, San Jose at work, at play, and home life will combine to create an iMovie about San Jose then and now. Each pair or team of three is provided with a chapter of preset questions. They are also provided with a library of resources to import into iPhoto and may choose to research, adding to the iPhoto library. Students create their iMovie project, importing the old and new images, creating transitions between them and record narrations about their findings. They learn the impact of change in their community.

Standards

Social Studies standards include Continuity and Change. Students learn about connections to the past and the ways in which our local history and traditions have developed and left their marks on current society, providing common memories.

·  3.1 Students describe the physical and human geography in spatial context

·  3.2 Students describe San Jose’s American Indian history

·  3.3 Students draw from historical and community resources of local historical events

·  3.4 Students understand the rules and laws in our daily lives and the basic structure of the U.S. government

·  3.5 Students demonstrate basic economic reasoning skills and an understanding of the economy of the local region.

The student will use a variety of technologies to improve classroom learning, increase productivity, and support creativity. He student will use technology as a tool to conduct and evaluate research and to communicate effectively information and ideas.

·  1b. Students will create original works as a means of personal or group expression

·  2a. Students will interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital environments and media

·  3c. Students evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based o the appropriateness to specific tasks.

·  4b. Students plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.

·  5b. Students exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.

Interactions

Students work in pars of 2 or 3, on each chapter of an iMovie. Each iMovie (San Jose Then and Now) has 5 chapters (Changes of San Jose, Geography of San Jose, San Jose at Home, San Jose at Play and San Jose at Work)

Situations

·  If the students are not familiar with downloading images or using iLife, allow for one extra class period to give a quick overview of the program.

·  Assuming that class periods are 45 minutes each, this project will take approximately 6 periods to complete. One period is used for preplanning and assignment expectations. Three to four periods are used to import images into iPhoto, transitions and text to create individual chapters for the iMovie project. One or Two periods are needed to add additional resources and to combine chapters, and background music/sound. (You may want to add an additional day to learn and play with iTunes)

Assessment

·  Watch the final iMovies created by students to assess whether or not students have communicated the preset questions.

·  Students can be evaluated using a teacher-created rubric.

·  Students can critique each other’s historical and modern-day chapters.

·  Have students share their finished movies with the whole class.

Tools

·  Macintosh computers (one computer with a CD burner or SuperDrive computer with built-in microphone or external USB microphone), Internet connection, Appleworks software program, iLife series.

·  Digital camera

·  Scanner

·  A resource photo library will be provided.

·  The iMovie projects are exported to QuickTime and burned on CD’s or saved in iDVD and burned on DVD’s.

·  Flash Drives (one per team)