Exploring the Park
HOW IT WORKS
Exploring the Park is an inquiry-based program
that integrates the areas of social studies, language arts, art, and technology. It teaches
students the concept of interdependence, focusing specifically on the
relationship between the local parks and the surrounding community.
While the students of P.S. 321 explored Brooklyn’s Prospect Park,
this study can be adapted to other New York City parks. Throughout
the study, students travel to the park and participate in a series of
interviews and tours with various park staff employees. The students
work in partnerships to formulate interview questions, take notes, and
share the information they gather with other classmates.
The students use the information they collect to help them perform a variety of
activities, including designing park maps, writing informational pieces
about park services, creating park brochures, and painting murals. As
a result of these projects, the students become aware of the many
park services that are available to the community (i.e., ice rink,
playgrounds, stage performance, zoo, and carousel), and how
the community can show their support by using these services and caring
for the park.
THE STUDENTS
Exploring the Pa r k is designed for any K-2 class. Throughout the
study, students are actively engaged in a variety of different ways,
including partnerships, cooperative learning groups, and independent
work. The program can be modified to meet a wide range of student
abilities.
THE STAFF
Allyson Daley has been teaching the first grade
for twelve years—ten of them in Connecticut and two in New York. Since her arrival at P.S.
321, she has participated in the Leadership Group and Summer
Writing Institute of Teachers College, Columbia University. She has
presented at Teachers College on reading centers and she serves as
a mentor teacher, member of a district-wide Teacher Leader Committee, labsite
host for first-grade reading and mathematics, and is the math grade-level leader. She is
currently on a school-wide social studies committee, writing a K-5 curriculum map. She was
chosen to display her park curriculum project at the May 2002 Bank
Street Social Studies: Reading the World Conference. She participates
in Project Read, which provides intervention for at-risk students, and has collaborated with colleagues
to develop and implement yearlong units of study in all content areas.
WHAT YOU NEED
This program requires between eight to ten weeks, with classes
meeting two to three times a week. (Many lessons can be integrated
into the writing and art workshops.) The necessary resources include
cooperative park staff members, volunteer chaperones, donated park
maps, teacher-made data-recording activity sheets, and basic art and
writing supplies. A camera, tape recorder, and video camera are
helpful for recording interviews and tours.
OVERALL VALUE
Through this inquiry-based study, students discover the concept of
interdependence, specifically between their community and the park.
While learning this valuable lesson, they develop language arts,
technology, and art skills, in addition to developing a sense of pride
in the work they perform.
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