Subject: Social Studies/Technology
Grade Level: 2nd Grade
Materials: Digital camera, computer, photoshop software, chart paper, markers
About: Students learn eabout people and places in their community while, at the same time, exploring digital photography.
Students learn how to customize their photography on hp image zone software and post their pictures on our on-line art gallery. Parents and teachers will be able to purchasethese pictures. Money earned will go to the school arts program. This is a perfect way to end a community project with civic participation.
Students should pair up throughout the entire project. Students will learn to cooperate with one another.
| Students will explore their community and neighborhood. |
| Students will learn about the various responsibilities they have in their community. |
| Students will learn to abide by the rules and regulations that are part of being citizens in our commmunity. |
| Students will learn to take pictures from their cameras and upload them onto the computer. |
| Students will learn to take those uploaded pictures and change their size and color, or add any other imagery to the picture. Students will be familiar with new words such as sepia, crop, black and white, litho, customize, and solarize. |
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| Students post their digital photographs on this on-line gallery for everyone to view. |
| www.artsonia.com |
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| www.newyorknoir.com/ |
| This site has black and white pictures from famous photojournalists, including photographs of New York City that we will be focusing on. |
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| Students gather and organize information about the traditions transmitted by various groups living in their neighborhood and community. |
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| Social Studies |
| Students explore different experiences, beliefs, motives, and traditions of people living in their neighborhoods, communities, and state. |
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| Social Studies |
| Students locate places within the local community. |
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| Students understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning. |
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| Mathematics, Science, and Technology |
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| Day 1: The Community and Neighborhood that We Live In |
| The teacher will describe to the class the goals of this project: That not only will they be learning about their community and the people in their community, they will also have the opportunity to take pictures outside and learn to upload the pictures onto the computer and then upload them onto an online gallery. They will also have the opportunity to speak with community workers and find out what their roles are in their neigborhood. |
| Students will share ideas about their community and neighborhood and the teacher will jot down their ideas on a large piece of paper. |
| Students will create a web and jot down some characteristics of their neighborhhod. Explain to the students that we all live in differnt kinds of neighborhoods and homes. |
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| Large paper, marker |
| Web for each student |
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| Explain to the students that they will have the opportunity to participate in an exciting unit on community where they will be intergrating their new technology skills. They will also have the opportunity to speak with community members and eventually conduct interviews to discover their roles in their community. |
| Ask the students to brainstorm ideas about the community they live in. Who do we see in our community and what do we see? Have a large piece of paper readily available to jot down their ideas. |
| Students go off to the seats and create a web describing their neighborhood. Explain that everyone lives in different kinds of neighborhoods and homes. The students will have the opportunity to share with their classmates their ideas. |
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| Students write a short essay on what they would love to change about their neighorhood. |
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| As the children are working independently on their web, jot down any observations. |
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| Day 2: People in My Community |
| Who are the people in my comunity and how is their job important? |
| Tolearn how to use a digital camera. |
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| Book on community helpers |
| Digital camera |
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| Teacher reads a book on community helpers. Explain that these people are important because they support our community in many ways. Write a list of community helpers on a large paper and discuss with their major responsibilities in our society. |
| Explain to students that today they will walk around the school building and take pictures of school helpers. Let students know that without these people, our school building will not function properly. After this discussion, explain the major functions and buttons needed to take pictures on a digital camera. After students have learned the basics, go around the building and ask students who they think has a major reponsibility in their school. |
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| Tell students to ask their parents or guardian what their major resposibility is in their community. |
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| Teacher should assess if students are able to identify school helpers and their major responsibilities. |
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| Day 3: Rules and their Consequences |
| Students will learn that just like a classroom, a community also has rules. |
| Students will be able to explain what would happen in their community if there were no rules. |
| Students will be able to identify the consequences for breaking rules. |
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| Chart paper, marker |
| Digital camera |
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| Have children repeat the rules in our classroom and explain why we have these rules. Tell students that just as students in a class have to follow rules, so do adults in a community. Read the first few pages of the Community Rules by Jake Miller. Make a list of rules that adults have to follow in a community. Students should be able to tell about traffic rules and the purposes of community signs. |
| Students should be able to tell you how would our society look like if there were no rules. Make a list of these ideas on chart paper. |
| After your class has this discussion, ask students if they know what would happen if they did not follow these rules. Explain the purpose of tickets from poilce officers, etc. |
| Teacher and students will go outside and take pictures of signs that show us to follow a specific rule. The class will have a discussion on these observations. |
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| Students draw pictures of different traffic signs and explain the purpose of them. |
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| Observe the discussions you have with your students and jot down any meaningful explanations. |
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| Day 4: Uploading Pictures |
| Students will learn to upload pictures onto a photo software, such as iPhoto. |
| Students will learn to alter the image of the picture. |
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| Computer with Windows XP and photo software (like hp image zone or iPhoto), digital camera with USB cable |
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| With a digital camera and Windows XP, it's easy to download pictures from your camera to your computer. Connect your camera to your computer using a USB cable. Windows XP will detect the connection and ask if you want to launch the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard. This wizard shows you thumbnails of your pictures, helps you name them and choose a storage location for them on your hard disk drive, and lets you specify which ones to download. Click OK to launch the wizard and then follow the steps on the screen. |
| Using your photo software, students will be able to change their photograph to black and white or sepia, crop, or add any text onto their picture. |
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| Students will write a "how to" on uploading a picture to a computer from a digital camera. |
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| Help children upload pictures and observe how they use their creativity when altering an image. |
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| Day 5: Photography Art Galleries |
| What is a photography gallery? |
| We will notice famous photojournalists and their photographs of New York City. |
| Students will upload their completed photos onto our online art gallery, www.artsonia.com |
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| computer, SMARTboard, Internet access, website http://newyorknoir.com/ |
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| Explain to students that today they will notice community photographs taken by famous photojournalists. Explain that when photojournalists take pictures, there pictures tell a story. |
| Using your SMARTboard with Internet access, go to http://newyorknoir.com and show photographs of NYC taken by famous photojournalists. As you go through each photograph, ask students what they think the photojournalist was thinking when he/she took the picture. What do they see when looking at the photograph? |
| Students go to their computer and upload their completed pictures onto their online gallery at www.artsonia.com. Anyone will be able to purchase these photographs and the money will go to the school's arts program. |
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Evangelia Dounis
edounis@schools.nyc.gov
P.S. 222Q
86-15 37th Avenue
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Evangelia has had the opportunity to work at P.S. 222Q, F.F. Christopher A. Santora Elementary School for five years. She has been a kindergarten teacher for six years and a second grade teacher for three years. Being part of the School Enrichment Model in her school has taught her ways to make learning fun and interesting for each child. Evangelia is currently pursuing a Masters in School Administration and Supervision. Her favorite thing to do is spending time with her husband and two beautiful daughters. |
