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My Neighborhood: A Webquest
How did you modify this unit for use in your own classroom?: I modified this unit by having the students research their school community instead of their neighborhood. Students visited various rooms and areas of the school including the kitchen and basement to learn about these "unknown" places as well. Students interviewed various staff members, created maps and took photographs of their school for the purpose of teaching others through a class made book about P.S 124. This unit tied into our non-fiction unit because it allowed the students to research and create their own form of a non-fiction book.
List your primary instructional objectives for your students.
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Students will have an understanding of who and what is needed to make up a school community. |
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Students will be able to write about and teach others about the school through obeservation and questioning. |
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Students will be able to select areas of the school to photograph and research based on its importance to the school community. |
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What role did technology play in this curriculum unit?: Students used a digital camera to take photographs. They also used microsoft word when typing out their writing.
How did you assess and evaluate student performance?: I assessed students through writing conferences and observations. Students were also given planning sheets throughout this project which allowed me to observe and analyze their work.
Please tell us briefly about your background & teaching experience: This is currently my sixth year teaching and my fifth year at P.S 124. I have taught second grade for four years and this is my second year teaching first grade.
What are your recommendations for other teachers interested in adapting this unit?: This unit can be easily adapted depending on your area of study. The final project can be a variety of different things. I chose to make a class non-fiction book, others may choose to let students make their own individual books, posters, even slide show. This unit can also be adapted depending on what the class is learning. If you are studying the supermarket, students can research and take photographs of different sections of the supermarket to teach others all about it.
Samples of Student Projects
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The flollowing photo is a student working on a map. The map is of a specific room in the school that the student is researching. |
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The following photo is some of the students with Mr. Steve, our head custodian. He gave us a tour of the basement and taught us a lot about what happens in the basement of our school. |
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This is the first planning sheet the students used after they chose the part of the school they wanted to study. I was unable to scan one of the students completed planning sheets tonight, though I can send it separately tomorrow. |
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school+community+sheet.doc |
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