ACTIVITY 4

ITINERARY INVESTIGATIONS

TEACHER NOTES:

¨     In these sessions, students will plan the itinerary for their family trip. Group members will search the Internet for bus or guided tours; for places to visit, such as historical landmarks, museums, shopping districts, parks, zoos, and street fairs/markets; for concerts or shows; for bistros, pubs, and/or restaurants to sample the country’s cuisine; for historical details and significance of cultural and tourist attractions; and for excursions to neighboring villages, museums, parks, stately homes, palaces, or castles. Additionally, students will download or scan and save images on disks. Individual students will organize their notes and present their findings to the group. When the group reconvenes, group members will discuss the findings and select those sights, which suit their needs and meet their criteria.

¨     OBJECTIVES:

Ø     Students will develop the real-life skill of planning an itinerary for the family trip to a foreign country.

Ø     Students will collect, display and organize information appropriately in graphic organizers.

Ø     Students will refine research and note-taking skills, such as paraphrasing, summarizing, and citing sources correctly…

Ø     Students will determine the needs of the trip, e.g. cost, scheduling…

Ø      Students will participate in group meetings and discussions to achieve the group’s goals.

Ø      Students will develop positive cooperative learning behaviors and skills.

Ø     Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.

Ø     Students will further develop technology skills, such as using the internet for research and downloading images, a graphic organizer software, MS Excel, and MS Word.

¨     DURATION: 3 – 4 Class Sessions

¨     TECHNOLOGY: Internet Access, Computers, Scanner

¨     SOFTWARE/PROGRAM: INSPIRATION Software (note-taking, graphic organizers, ...), MS Excel, MS Word

¨     DIRECT INSTRUCTION:

Ø     Mini-lessons on note-taking, paraphrasing, summarizing, and citing sources properly.

·        Discuss the importance of taking notes.

q       Plagiarizing vs. Paraphrasing

·        Introduce note-taking skills/strategies:

q       Writing notes in phrases; complete sentences are unnecessary.

q       Drawing diagrams to clarify points.

q       Summarizing the main ideas.

q       Listing only the important supporting ideas.

·        CLASS ACTIVITY:

q       MATH JOURNAL: Assign students to write a summary of the previous day’s activities in their journals.

¨     LINKS: These will prove useful when preparing lessons on note-taking, paraphrasing, and proper citations.

Ø     plagiarism:

·              Community Learning Network: http://cln.org/themes/plagiarism.html

·        Education World:

q   http://education-world.com/cgi-bin/pulldown.pl

q http://education-world.com/lang_lit/k_8_read_write.shtml

Ø     writing:

·        ASK ERIC Lesson Plan - Focus on Writing Summaries: http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Writing/WCP0203.html

·        Community Learning Network: http://cln.org/themes/eng_grammar.html

·        Education World: http://education-world.com/lang_lit/k_8_read_write.shtml

Ø     mla:

·        http://geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/4184

·        http://library.wwu.edu/ref/Refhome/Mla.htm

·        http://ipl.org/ref/QUE/FARQ/netciteFARQ.html

·        http://www2.ncsu.edu/cep/ligon/citing.html#ANY

¨     TEACHER’S ROLE:

Ø     Initially, the teacher will provide instruction on note-taking, paraphrasing, and summarizing during the first two class sessions. Additionally, students will need instruction on citing sources properly. If it is possible, collaborate with the students’ Communication Arts/English teacher, who may be able to teach or review these skills with the students. If this is not feasible, then perhaps he/she or the English Chairman can provide you with guidance and materials. The school librarian is also an excellent resource; confer with her/him about teaching or reviewing these skills.

Ø     While the students are engaged in this activity, circulate around the room and observe groups and individuals. You might still need to demonstrate and remind students of how to act and behave in cooperative learning groups. During group conferences, you can learn about how they truly feel about the project. Decide which students or groups or which skills or behaviors that you will observe. Since these will provide a record of student insights, reflections, and behaviors, write down your observations.

¨     SAVING WORK: Remind students to save work on labeled disks.

¨     HOMEWORK:

Ø     MATH JOURNALS: Students will write a summary of their group’s discussions.

Ø     Students will use their notes to summarize information.