Teachnet Project Descriptions

A Look In The Mirror is a unit that allows the students to express themselves freely while encouraging them to really put some thought into their work. Although it is primarily a visual arts themed unit it develops a lot of skills, social and academic, that transfer to other curricular areas, and are just good "plain old common sense, daily life" skills, such as the Internet safety skills that can be applied almost to anything.

A Drug-Free Me! is a comprehensive unit in which junior high students are provided with the tools and fact-finding opportunities to make wise choices regarding drug, alcohol, and tobacco use. Students will learn techniques for effective decision-making and, in their cooperative groups, make decisions about typical junior high age situations. Students will also learn the different ways in which we can say "no" (passive, aggressive, assertive). They will reflect upon the most effective ways to say "no" in various situations. Students will also be given the opportunity to work in cooperative groups to: research assigned alcohol/tobacco/drug topics; prepare presentations using their choice of media; and demonstrate their expertise for the class. Finally, in their cooperative groups, students will practice using the skills they have developed in creating their own demonstration of a typical situation in which students would need to utilize these newly developed skills.

In this unit, the Internet and Microsoft Word are used to integrate language arts and social studies. Fifth grade students study the history of the United States and the age of exploration. They also develop research skills and write research papers. At my school, the students traditionally write an explorer report during the first part of the school year. The activities in this unit combine the explorer report and the study of the exploration of North America and teach computer skills. Students select an explorer who explored North America. They use the Internet to research the explorer, use an online timeline generator to create their own explorer timeline, and then work in groups to make posters that are displayed on a classroom timeline. The unit builds knowledge and understanding of the world during this period as the students research other events and discoveries in the areas of literature, art, music, science, politics and religion and create a document using a word processing program.

"All about Me" is a research and writing unit that incorporates traditional essay writing, with the use of technology. Students begin the unit, writing an essay about themselves based on a student created timeline. The next essay, entitled "Who I am, Right Now" allows students to write about the person they are today including their likes and dislikes, appearance, strengths and weaknesses, etc. With the third essay, students look beyond themselves to their family to research and write about their Family History. Students use a Family History Webquest as a tool to gather interesting facts about their ancestry including surname origins, and family heirloom analysis. The final essay allows students to select a country of ancestry origin to research. Students use both traditional resources (encyclopedias and books), as well as technology to gather information about their country. Once the essays are completed, students sort through their research, pulling out the most significant facts from each essay to share via a multimedia PowerPoint presentation. Not only do students strengthen their research and writing skills, but they also develop a greater appreciation for their family's heritage.

This project is designed for sixth graders who study Ancient Civilizations. The children will research a topic from a given civilization that begins with a letter of the alphabet. They will then use both digital camera pictures and computer drawn images to illustrate the concept. At the end of the lesson, their work will be displayed on a classroom webpage.The ABC's of Ancient Civilizations

The purpose of this project is to get young children excited about reading by letting them take the same book (of their choice) home each night to focus on it for one whole week! They learn what a plot is and how to describe a problem and solution in the story. They learn to retell a story focusing on the sequence of beginning, middle, and end. They also learn to describe the characters and setting. After using the ideas presented in this project Stacey noticed that her students had an increased interest in books, authors and subsequently in reading. The project exposes students to a large number of books by the same author, which provides an opportunity for an in-depth study and appreciation of each author. The lessons follow the same framework for each author so the students become familiar with the routine and expectations. They have a journal, which the teacher makes ahead of time. In this journal they keep track of which books they have read from the featured author, and they rate each book too. They also keep all their class work and homework in it as well. On Monday they pick a book that they will use for their homework each night. The class work prepares them for the homework assignment, and the computer lab activities add motivation and excitement to the process of learning about each author.

The big idea of this unit is to give students the task and opportunity to do the kind of research, decision making, and implementation that teachers do for all important learning. The teacher provides the guideposts and then works as much as possible as a facilitator and “librarian”. Student teams are responsible to schedule and teach with both web and hands-on learning activities, in order to pass on the expertise they have gained in their research on a focus area.

Celebrating Traditions is a unit that allows the students to research a topic and speak about it in front of an audience. It also encourages them to really put some thought and creativity into their work.

This unit is an extension of the Houghton Mifflin Reading third grade theme "Celebrating Traditions" used in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District. It goes more in depth into different cultures' ways of honoring their ancestors, and the traditions followed in their celebrations. In this unit the students use the internet to learn about several cultures' traditions on remembering their dead ancestors. The students then use different technologies to investigate and make a report on one of these traditions.

Although this unit is an extension of the Houghton Mifflin unit it can be a stand alone.

One of the goals of this unit is to bring previous experiences lived by the students into the classroom for sharing and validation. Another goal is to help the students learn more about their own cultures and to preserve their traditions. In this unit the students learn about the Day of the Dead celebrated in Mexico and other countries, Qing Ming celebrated in China, and Obon celebrated in Japan. They also investigate other similar celebrations around the world.

The most exciting part about this unit is the creation of the visuals for the report. Creativity is encouraged and there is a lot of leeway on how the report can be presented. Some of the ideas presented to the students include the traditional report with a poster or other prop, PowerPoint presentation, video, dance/song, newspaper article, newscast, pamphlet/brochure, etc.

The students particularly enjoy reading the booklets with feedback from their peers.

Celebrating Traditions-Honoring Our Ancestors

This project is an introduction to research skills and report writing. Students will select a wild animal to research and write about in a five paragraph report. Students will also create a clay animation of that animal to enhance their report.

"Come, See My Great State!" is a unit that allows students to imagine that they are a part of the state department of tourism and that they will be promoting their state for visitors. They become experts in the geographic, economic, and historical aspects of their state in order to provide persuasive information to attract a specific audience. The basic template is adaptable to include the range of states in the United States.

* To prepare persuasive information, students will choose sites according to a matrix which will include historical, economic, tourist, and national park information for 4 geographical regions of their state. They will also decide on a specific audience for their presentation. The audience may include:
* School aged students
* Businesses looking to expand into the state
* Travel agents
* Families
* Retired travelers
* Educators

Students will create a multimedia presentation (virtual tour) and present an oral presentation to their parents. Virtual tours will be posted on the school web site.

"Creating Continents, Climates and Cultures" is a designed to be a comprehensive enrichment unit which helps students make cognitive connections between physical land formations, climate patterns, and the cultures that develop therein. The unit builds upon each lesson toward the successful completion of the "Continent Project." It is important that all students complete the lesson successfully in order to advance to the next stage of the project. You may collect and check for accuracy and give written feedback, or check the student groups off as you monitor their progress and give help where it is needed. The students will need to refer to previous tasks as they relate them to the development of the project.

Students review the parts of speech and do biography research in order to write diamond-shaped poems about a famous person from history. Students type their poems using word processing software. Then the students get to dress up and portray the historical figures. Photographs are taken with a digital camera. Photo editing software can be used to age the photographs and make them look old. The poems and photographs can then be displayed on a web page or printed to make a classroom bulletin board.

This unit will use digital imaging, collaboration and e-pals to teach and develop written language skills. Classroom e-pals will be the media used to introduce, develop and/or master simple paragraph and personal letter writing.

This is a fun unit that ties in literature and mathematics. Using technology and the books Sir Cumference and the First Round Table and Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi, students will explore the concepts of circumference and pi.

History and social studies can and should, be fascinating to students when it is minds that are changed for years to come. Being able to make that engagement can be challenging to a teacher. Given the English Language learning needs of many students, text learning skills like strategic textbook reading, outlining, etc., are done in social studies rather than language arts. In addition, online resources are especially rich for social studies and science.

I used this unit to build student skills in 3 important general areas, while they learn and communicate specifically about Ancient Egypt. The 3 general skills areas in the unit which can be applied to any online work are:
1. Targeted use of subject specific resources, both text and web.
2. Taking online notes quickly and efficiently for later reuse in new ways.
3. Reflecting on and evaluating interactive learning websites.

Lesson 1- Making History Visible- A Scroll : Students need to find graphical representations of artifacts for use in creating a large Scroll about ancient Egypt. They use both texts and selected online resources, which leads to the following tech skills-online notes.

Lesson 2- Online notes- A list of websites to access are given, and a model for note-taking online is demonstrated. Students capture text, graphics, captions.... and the all important URL for attribution, for later printing and reuse in class.

Lesson 3: Art on paper- This is strictly off-line..... or rather, students now use their printed notes to work on representing what they found on a 3 ft. long piece of poster paper. They return to online resources as needed to supplement.

Lesson 4- Evaluating Online Activities- The previous work is in many ways broad and superficial. Although they do work closely with certain artifacts, in this activity, they use excellent online interactions from the British Museum to learn more in depth on an area and to then reflect on the value of the online learning tool by writing a brief evaluation of the interactive learning.

In this unit, the Internet and Microsoft Word are used to integrate language arts, fine arts, technology and social studies. Fifth grade students typically study the revolutionary era in the history of the United States. They also learn word processing, multi media design, and develop Internet research skills. The first lesson of Famous Faces has the students selecting a revolutionary war era hero and then using a search engine to find information, downloading a picture of their hero and creating a word document. In lesson two, the students select a president of the United States to research, paint a portrait of and design a multi media presentation about. In the third lesson the participants research an artist and then create an original work of art in the style of the master. Students communicate via email with students from another city and write a short biographical sketch of their pal in the fourth lesson.

“Forests Under the Sea” is an interdisciplinary, technology-based unit designed to introduce middle to high school students to the hidden world of giant kelp forests. “Forests Under the Sea” encourages students to understand the biology of these underwater forest ecosystems through reading, drawing, observing, constructing models, and the use of technology. The unit builds knowledge and understanding of kelp ecosystems from the biology of a single plant, to the ecology of a kelp forest, including a comparison of that forest with the more familiar tropical rain forests of the world. By the end of the unit, students will have built a “kelp forest” in their classroom based on the knowledge they have gained. The entire unit should take 15-30 class periods, depending on age and ability, as well as the teacher’s selection of activities and the depth of their instructional. The unit makes use of ideas and information found in the Jason XIV curriculum entitled, “From Shore to Sea”. If interested, see www.jason.org and register for the “Jason XIV Plus” curriculum for additional activities).

In this unit, the Internet and Microsoft Word are used to integrate language arts, fine arts and social studies. Fifth grade students typically study the history of the United States including the major pre-Columbian settlements of Native Americans. They also develop Internet research skills and write research papers. In this unit, students select one of the five major Native American groups. They work in pairs and use the Internet to research the tribes of that group and their way of life. The participants produce a picture book project using Microsoft Word to present the information they obtained. The first lesson has the students visiting some of the Native American sites and taking notes. Next the students interview each other for the authors’ page of the book. In the third lesson the participants research Petroglyphs using the Internet and create their own Petroglyphs. Students write and assemble their books and read them to their kindergarten buddies in the fourth lesson. Worksheets and how-to handouts are included in the unit.

This project integrates science, gardening, technology, art, design, and language arts. Students learn to use the digital camera for the collection of visual data. The student collected data is used throughout the unit. Students are responsible for labeling, cataloguing and archiving their own data using file management techniques. Cataloguing or indexing this data helps the students organize their material/information for project use. Projects such as designing a plant trading card, and/or designing a seed packet using student created computer graphics hold student interest with little teacher direction. Researching skills are developed in the lesson on plant identification. Students need to research not only in books, and with realia, such as commercial seed packets, but also on the Internet. The Internet can easily be used for accessing plant databases and encyclopedias.

It is said that, " The way to a man's heart is through his stomach"...well, this is true for sixth graders as well! This project was created to take sixth graders through the social studies curriculum ...buffet style! We have designed "placemats" for several topics in our curriculum, including geography, writing, daily life and more. Using these placemats, we will create our own civilizations - a new placemat for each, along with a computer presentation. As a culmination, when all the new civilizations have been created, we will have a meal, on our placemats, with the foods from each civilization studied, and we will present our computer creations to the class and invited guests.

This unit is used with fifth graders to address the California Science Standards on Life Sciences. It involves both textual and Internet research on each of seven body systems. Students work in groups of four to answer specifically assigned questions on each system and ultimately produce a PowerPoint presentation of their findings. Subsequently as part of their project they seek out and download photos, pictures, and diagrams to go in their PowerPoint presentation and deliver an oral presentation to the class using an LCD projector and laptop.

There are two additional lessons provided that specifically address how the Internet works and vocabulary associated with it. These are good tools to have for any kind of Internet lessons.

The project addresses a number of different learning styles, including auditory, kinesthetic, visual, and tactile, and a number of thinking skills including categorizing, comparing, summarizing, determining cause and effect, designing, elaborating, paraphrasing, drawing conclusions, and relating details, among others. It also lends itself well to differentiation of both content and product.

The journey inspired by the book called "Isla" written by Arthur Dorros and illustrated by Elisa Kleven has no end. The more you get into this book the more connections you can find to just about any curricular area imaginable.

The magical journey in this unit begins with the reading of the story and finding out about life in a tropical island, Puerto Rico. It continues on to investigate more about tropical islands, rainforests, oceans and the way of living in different places of the world. It is brought home and related to the children’s own experiences by the nature of our country being a country of immigrants. Most students, especially in this area of California, if not themselves, they have a relative that remembers their homeland and dreams about it just like "abuela" does in this story.

Connections are made with maps, because of the perspective of the illustrations in the book. Map skills are learned easily in this unit. The perspective from the illustrations is also a great lead in to imagining the student’s local area from above, to learn about the local geographical features, and to explore other related social studies standards for third graders.

In this unit the students imagine that they are flying over the Santa Maria Valley and draw what they see with their mind on what will become a page for a class book. Writing a description of what is seen, and writing about what they would do if they could actually fly around the area follows this activity.

The Internet provides access to areas, views, perspectives that are not readily available otherwise. Aerial views of one’s neighborhood can change the way one perceives their living environment.

And this is just the beginning…

Creating a mini museum was inspired by the natural curiosity of eight and nine year olds who find anything in their natural world interesting and worthy of further investigation. Realizing their energy exhibited by a natural curiosity and a knack for collecting “treasures” I was urged to provide an outlet for these junior collectors by harnessing a student centered “teachable moment.”

Collecting begins with a theme opening activity where students decorate a collecting box at home and begin placing objects of interest in their box. Students will be expected to keep a journal of what they place in their box and how they acquired the object and when and where it was found. If the item was purchased they need to record the purchase price and date. The second lesson invites students to use a hot list of web sites to enter a digital reference desk and define vocabulary words. The fourth lesson begins with a virtual visit of a variety of museums where students are lead to pay close attention to the maps and layouts and answer questions for each museum site. The maps and floor plans are studied to achieve an understanding of how collections are organized within a building or series of buildings. If a local museum is accessible students can take a field trip to the museum and or look at maps of a museum’s layout. Students will begin to understand the different types of museums and their respective categories used for organizing collections.

Students move from understanding how museums are organized to a reflection of their own interests and motivations for collecting things. Discussions of reasons for creating a collection are discussed. Historical and educational perspectives, motivation from intrinsic and extrinsic values are discussed and explored on the web. Multiple meanings and definitions of “treasure” are explored. Students study the word “treasure” in multiple contexts by visiting a digital reference desk where they use dictionaries, thesaurus and other Internet resources.

Finally, students research, create, organize, and document a private collection. Students are encouraged to further study their collections after browsing the web and discovering their personal interests. The culminating activity is a “grand opening” of a Mini Museum where students showcase their collections.

Teacher observation, worksheets, and performance rubrics are given for lessons. Worksheets, collector logs, oral reports and anecdotal observations evaluate student progress, level of participation, and quality of work.

Learning Math Through Garden Design is a very fun unit that allows the students to use their imagination and creativity. The students are actually permitted to daydream a little for inspiration during this unit. Several math skills are reinforced through the use of technology, via Internet, such as: linear measurement, plane figures, polygons, quadrilaterals, perimeter, area, and ordered pair numbers (coordinate geometry). The math skills are easily adapted to give resource and English Language Learning students some extra help, while giving GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) and advanced students an extra challenge. The students review math concepts on the Internet and play online math games, which can be very motivating for many students.

The students make lists, take notes and make plans for a school garden plot; limited only by their imagination and the resources available to them through books, magazines, gardening catalogs, and the internet.

Let’s Dance is a unit where students learn and choreograph dances over a three month period and then perform their dance steps at an assembly. There are approximately nine dances, and each dance goes with a different piece of music. The music selections are about 30 seconds,
long and several genres of music are used incorporating varied tempos and rhythmic patterns. The unit is recommended to be taught either first thing in the morning after stretches or during PE. Each dance is a different lesson, and after it is taught the children practice it for
about a week before the new step is added to the routine.

One example of how media plays a role is that during the process of creating the dances the children are video taped. Then they watch the video and critique the performance, and then apply what they learned to improve
their dances. In order to stay in compliance with copyright laws, you can use small portions of different songs. You capture the desired music pieces on your computer and burn a CD with all nine songs to use at school. The dance is also put onto a tape which is sold and showed at Open House at the end of the school year. When a new dance is taught, the children line up in the auditorium in a way that is appropriate for the dance to be taught. The song is played while they
just listen once. Then next time they clap to the beat with my
guidance. Then the dance steps are taught with the music off. Then we go over the step to the music. For the next few days the children practice while the teacher watches and gives suggestions. At least two songs in the dance are open for the children to choreograph their own movements.

These lessons take more time, because they often need suggestions to get started. This is a good time to go over the rubric and teach the vocabulary and specific dance movements. There is a video tape of the finished dance available.

This project integrates electronic books that can be created with any presentation software, with kindergarten language arts and math standards. Students produce e-books using themselves and their physical surroundings to demonstrate their mastery of content standards, such as number sense or color recognition. They provide evidence of their mastery using a digital camera, props, and the presentation tool.

This project integrates Art History and Studio Art and is designed for middle school students. The lessons include art history, and they teach the elements of art and fundamentals of design by using examples of historical masterpieces. For example, for Pre-history the project teaches about texture and line. The students create a paper surface to look like rock (rough texture through art techniques) and then design symbolic ancient rock art on that surface using a variety of lines. The children learn about line and texture from a wonderful internet web site. They also do research to find ancient symbols they want to use for their studio project.

The goal of this project is to help inspire classroom teachers and art teachers to use technology as well as teach to the California Art Standards. Due to the increased pressure for students to test well in the core subjects, art classes have fallen by the wayside. Art is so important for the human spirit, and it’s a great way for children to learn to believe in themselves and commit to decisions. The art room is like a sanctuary where time seems to disappear, and the students leave more relaxed and wishing they had more time to make their artwork. Almost all young children love to draw, but as they get older they often stop. They get frustrated because they don’t know how to make their drawings look good or realistic.

Students create animations to demonstrate knowledge of how the phases of the earth’s moon occur.

Technology

* Students will become proficient at Web Based research as it relates to the scientific method.
* Students will be able to produce basic word processing documents to use on a science board presentation.
* Students will use photography, graphing and charting software, and drawings to produce illustrations of the scientific method and its processes.

Academic

* Students will be able to follow multi-step instructions to produce a science fair project.
* Students will formulate a testable question.
* Students will use research techniques to answer questions about a topic.
* Students will be able to read, comprehend, and write using summary techniques about a chosen topic.
* Students will be able to present their acquired knowledge about the topic in an oral presentation to the class and to the public.
* Students will engage in scientific investigation.

This unit will address a new approach to learning about the fifty states that we all know and love. Instead of assigning the "same old report", let your students use creative strategies and technology to demonstrate their knowledge about their state.

Students will gather information about their state from various resources (text, videos, and selected Internet sites (evaluated by the teacher first!). They will locate general information such as the state flag, population, government, etc. They will also look for activities (cultural, historical and recreational) to include in their final presentation.

The lessons will include: keeping data about a "Vacation Trip" to their state on a spreadsheet; creating a map of their state and using Microsoft Excel to diagram the map; surveying students and staff at their school and inputting data into a spreadsheet; and lastly, compiling all projects into a final Power Point Presentation.

Nutrition I.Q. Is a comprehensive unit in which Junior High students are provided with opportunities necessary to make wise food choices in their daily living. Students will create their own personal nutrition portfolio beginning by researching three articles in their interest in nutrition and completing article reviews. Students will visit websites which include nutrition quizzes that enable students to evaluate their own body fat analysis, and metabolism. Students will then evaluate restaurant and fast food items for nutrition analysis. In the final portion of the unit, students will create a nutrition plan for one week which they are encouraged to follow and review at weeks’ end.Nutrition I.Q.

Students investigate the local oak community, use a variety of technological tools and develop an awareness of local environmental issues without leaving their school grounds. The study area, the school perimeter, is easily accessible and contains other interesting study specimens such as native plants and animals. In the computer lab students complete exercises, conduct oak research on the Internet, input data, create tables/graphs and complete PowerPoint activities. During field study, students use hand lenses, microscopes, a video microscope., field guides, field keys, field collections and insect collection materials.OaksN'KidsUnit

After reading Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare, students will respond to the literature by creating animations and paragraphs that summarize the story. Each student in the class is assigned a different chapter to retell in writing and to visually retell through animation. This unit lets students use animation to display their reading comprehension skills. This is an exciting way to get students motivated about reading. Use this project as the culminating activity for your Sign of the Beaver unit. Give students plenty of opportunities to experience some of the related sites on the Internet.

This unit combines math skills for scaling and measurement, visualizing and drawing 3 dimensional models, units scientific inquiry process skills, and concise use of language to explain design elements.

“Surfing the Net with Authors” is a unit involving three components: favorite authors, animal studies and early learning experiences with the Computer/Internet. This unit engages primary students into experiencing a broader use of computers and the Internet while learning about identifiable Authors and researching animal facts. This unit, “Surfing the Net with Authors” is concurrently integrated with language arts and the science/social science standards based curriculums about animals and their habitats (Polar Regions, Deserts, Forest, Grasslands and Rain Forest.)

The unit begins with an introduction to the creative illustrator/author Jan Brett and her exceptional web site. This author has a large body of work, which is rich in written, visual, and auditory language and it is perfect for the diverse needs of students and their various learning styles. While at the author's web site, an animal is picked for further research and a teacher's demonstration helps start the students off in their selected animal/habitat research. (Suggested lesson start: Temperate Forest.)

This teaching pattern sets the course of the unit for rest of the year. As the year progresses, other authors and their web sites and research web sites are introduced and expanded. Students are taught to use the safe teacher bookmarked sites for independent student practice and learning. Written reflections are assigned and collected, computer skills are taught and reviewed and animal research and reporting is broadened.

This set of lessons is part of what I try to give students experiences in understanding the forces that shape their ideas and opinions, and work in reshaping their arguments so that truth and reason are evident.

The lessons work to raise student understanding of the elements of media in use today; newspaper, television, and internet. They analyze how different elements are used to influence different audience groups, and use both these elements of advertising, and traditional writing strategies for persuasive communication.

The lessons included here are the skeleton of a larger body of instruction, and suggestions and resources are included to expand into these larger themes of media literacy and of argument.

The Iditarod: Last Great Race to Nome, can be a fully integrated curriculum unit which uses the Iditarod Sled Dog Race as its focus and central theme. The unit is designed to enhance the student's awareness and appreciation for the annual sled dog race across the state of Alaska. As a multi-faceted curriculum, the students will be involved in a variety of activities to become more knowledgeable about the race, Alaska culture and geography, and the people and animals who participate in the competition.

Prior to the race, students use the internet to research mushers participating in the race. After reading information on the mushers, students select one to compose a letter to including information learned in their biography. The letters are then sent, with the hopes that the musher will reply after participating in the race. During the race, students use the Internet to track the location of their mushers. Students also use the internet to gather information to create a " Come to Alaska" brochure, compare and graph weather conditions, and learn more about the history of the Iditarod through a scavenger hunt.

This project uses modern technology and quilts from the past to teach students lessons from across the curriculum. This unit helps explain how families celebrate their cultural heritage. Students will also use quilts as a tool to improve reading, and vocabulary as well as learning to investigate geometric shapes and designs. Students will read TheKeeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco, then participate in a variety of online activities. Students will get to design their own quilt quares, as well as create an edible quilt square which can be eaten at the end of the unit.

n this unit, the Internet and Microsoft Power Point are used to integrate language arts and social studies. Fifth grade students study the history of the United States and the colonial period. They also develop research skills and write research papers. At my school, the students traditionally write a state report at the end of the school year. The activities in this unit combine the state report and the study of the colonial period and teach computer skills. Students select one of the thirteen original colonies. They work in pairs and use the Internet to research the colony and the modern day state the colony has become. The participants produce a multimedia project using Microsoft Power Point to present the information they obtained. The first lesson has the students visiting some of the sites they will be using and evaluating and comparing the sites for ease of navigation, reliability, bias, readability and content. In the second lesson, the activities include saving graphics and photos from the Internet and citing an Internet source. In the remaining lessons the students research using the Internet and build their Power Point slides. Worksheets and how-to handouts are included in the unit.

Valley of the Gardens is an in depth unit about the local history of The Santa Maria Valley. It can be used as a unifying yearlong theme. A mural that is ever changing/growing/being added to serves as a constant review of what has been learned about the local area, as well as a tool for learning new material about the subject. The mural is colorful and artistic. It serves as an art wall of sorts at the same time it is addressing social studies curriculum. The studies begin with the first people in the area, The Chumash (local Native Americans). It moves into ranchero life (Mexican Rule), then continues with town builders, economy builders, community makers, and end with the present day. Throughout this unit the students are taking notes, doing research, and writing summaries for the final project, which is a web site about The Santa Maria Valley. Needless to say, the creation of a web site is very exciting and challenging for the students. The mural and student created web site are great for showing off the students’ achievement at open house night.

Student investigate orchid care, propagation and orchid sales through Internet research and orchid industry contacts. Students will prepare a written report and an oral presentation to display findings. Students will develop various technology skills to develop this project.

Title	Grade	Description
"Frida Kahlo" A Look in the Mirror (The Art of Self-Portraiture)	Grade 3-8	A Look In The Mirror is a unit that allows the students to express themselves freely while encouraging them to really put some thought into their work. Although it is primarily a visual arts themed unit it develops a lot of skills, social and academic, that transfer to other curricular areas, and are just good "plain old common sense, daily life" skills, such as the Internet safety skills that can be applied almost to anything. In this unit the students learn about a famous Mexican female artist and her style of painting. They learn what a self-portrait is by making one of themselves, and learn to look at art by criticizing their own work after analyzing it. One of the most exciting things about this unit is the creation of an online mini museum in the form of a web site. The students feeling of achievement is very intense when they see that they can create web sites on their own, and that they can be experts in different aspects of web creation, such as the preparation of graphics by photographing the artwork, then editing and renaming the files. Popular with the students during this unit is the use of the chatroom for communicating their knowledge and ideas.
A Drug Free Me	Grade 7-8	A Drug-Free Me! is a comprehensive unit in which junior high students are provided with the tools and fact-finding opportunities to make wise choices regarding drug, alcohol, and tobacco use. Students will learn techniques for effective decision-making and, in their cooperative groups, make decisions about typical junior high age situations. Students will also learn the different ways in which we can say "no" (passive, aggressive, assertive). They will reflect upon the most effective ways to say "no" in various situations. Students will also be given the opportunity to work in cooperative groups to: research assigned alcohol/tobacco/drug topics; prepare presentations using their choice of media; and demonstrate their expertise for the class. Finally, in their cooperative groups, students will practice using the skills they have developed in creating their own demonstration of a typical situation in which students would need to utilize these newly developed skills.
Age of Exploration: A Class Timeline	Grade 4-12	In this unit, the Internet and Microsoft Word are used to integrate language arts and social studies. Fifth grade students study the history of the United States and the age of exploration. They also develop research skills and write research papers. At my school, the students traditionally write an explorer report during the first part of the school year. The activities in this unit combine the explorer report and the study of the exploration of North America and teach computer skills. Students select an explorer who explored North America. They use the Internet to research the explorer, use an online timeline generator to create their own explorer timeline, and then work in groups to make posters that are displayed on a classroom timeline. The unit builds knowledge and understanding of the world during this period as the students research other events and discoveries in the areas of literature, art, music, science, politics and religion and create a document using a word processing program.
All About Me, A Research and Writing Unit	Grade 5	"All about Me" is a research and writing unit that incorporates traditional essay writing, with the use of technology. Students begin the unit, writing an essay about themselves based on a student created timeline. The next essay, entitled "Who I am, Right Now" allows students to write about the person they are today including their likes and dislikes, appearance, strengths and weaknesses, etc. With the third essay, students look beyond themselves to their family to research and write about their Family History. Students use a Family History Webquest as a tool to gather interesting facts about their ancestry including surname origins, and family heirloom analysis. The final essay allows students to select a country of ancestry origin to research. Students use both traditional resources (encyclopedias and books), as well as technology to gather information about their country. Once the essays are completed, students sort through their research, pulling out the most significant facts from each essay to share via a multimedia PowerPoint presentation. Not only do students strengthen their research and writing skills, but they also develop a greater appreciation for their family's heritage.
The ABC's of Ancient Civilizations	Grade 6	This project is designed for sixth graders who study Ancient Civilizations. The children will research a topic from a given civilization that begins with a letter of the alphabet. They will then use both digital camera pictures and computer drawn images to illustrate the concept. At the end of the lesson, their work will be displayed on a classroom webpage.The ABC's of Ancient Civilizations
Author of the Week	Grade 1-2	The purpose of this project is to get young children excited about reading by letting them take the same book (of their choice) home each night to focus on it for one whole week! They learn what a plot is and how to describe a problem and solution in the story. They learn to retell a story focusing on the sequence of beginning, middle, and end. They also learn to describe the characters and setting. After using the ideas presented in this project Stacey noticed that her students had an increased interest in books, authors and subsequently in reading. The project exposes students to a large number of books by the same author, which provides an opportunity for an in-depth study and appreciation of each author. The lessons follow the same framework for each author so the students become familiar with the routine and expectations. They have a journal, which the teacher makes ahead of time. In this journal they keep track of which books they have read from the featured author, and they rate each book too. They also keep all their class work and homework in it as well. On Monday they pick a book that they will use for their homework each night. The class work prepares them for the homework assignment, and the computer lab activities add motivation and excitement to the process of learning about each author.
Bubble and boil, rock, and roll- Geoscience by kids	Grade 6-9	The big idea of this unit is to give students the task and opportunity to do the kind of research, decision making, and implementation that teachers do for all important learning. The teacher provides the guideposts and then works as much as possible as a facilitator and “librarian”. Student teams are responsible to schedule and teach with both web and hands-on learning activities, in order to pass on the expertise they have gained in their research on a focus area.
Celebrating Traditions-Honoring Our Ancestors	Grade 3-8	Celebrating Traditions is a unit that allows the students to research a topic and speak about it in front of an audience. It also encourages them to really put some thought and creativity into their work. This unit is an extension of the Houghton Mifflin Reading third grade theme "Celebrating Traditions" used in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District. It goes more in depth into different cultures' ways of honoring their ancestors, and the traditions followed in their celebrations. In this unit the students use the internet to learn about several cultures' traditions on remembering their dead ancestors. The students then use different technologies to investigate and make a report on one of these traditions. Although this unit is an extension of the Houghton Mifflin unit it can be a stand alone. One of the goals of this unit is to bring previous experiences lived by the students into the classroom for sharing and validation. Another goal is to help the students learn more about their own cultures and to preserve their traditions. In this unit the students learn about the Day of the Dead celebrated in Mexico and other countries, Qing Ming celebrated in China, and Obon celebrated in Japan. They also investigate other similar celebrations around the world. The most exciting part about this unit is the creation of the visuals for the report. Creativity is encouraged and there is a lot of leeway on how the report can be presented. Some of the ideas presented to the students include the traditional report with a poster or other prop, PowerPoint presentation, video, dance/song, newspaper article, newscast, pamphlet/brochure, etc. The students particularly enjoy reading the booklets with feedback from their peers. Celebrating Traditions-Honoring Our Ancestors
Claymation Critters	Grade 3-12	This project is an introduction to research skills and report writing. Students will select a wild animal to research and write about in a five paragraph report. Students will also create a clay animation of that animal to enhance their report.
Come See My Great State!	Grade 4-8	"Come, See My Great State!" is a unit that allows students to imagine that they are a part of the state department of tourism and that they will be promoting their state for visitors. They become experts in the geographic, economic, and historical aspects of their state in order to provide persuasive information to attract a specific audience. The basic template is adaptable to include the range of states in the United States. * To prepare persuasive information, students will choose sites according to a matrix which will include historical, economic, tourist, and national park information for 4 geographical regions of their state. They will also decide on a specific audience for their presentation. The audience may include: * School aged students * Businesses looking to expand into the state * Travel agents * Families * Retired travelers * Educators Students will create a multimedia presentation (virtual tour) and present an oral presentation to their parents. Virtual tours will be posted on the school web site.
Creating Continents, Climates and Cultures	Grade 5-9	"Creating Continents, Climates and Cultures" is a designed to be a comprehensive enrichment unit which helps students make cognitive connections between physical land formations, climate patterns, and the cultures that develop therein. The unit builds upon each lesson toward the successful completion of the "Continent Project." It is important that all students complete the lesson successfully in order to advance to the next stage of the project. You may collect and check for accuracy and give written feedback, or check the student groups off as you monitor their progress and give help where it is needed. The students will need to refer to previous tasks as they relate them to the development of the project.
Diamonte Biography Poems	Grade 2-5	Students review the parts of speech and do biography research in order to write diamond-shaped poems about a famous person from history. Students type their poems using word processing software. Then the students get to dress up and portray the historical figures. Photographs are taken with a digital camera. Photo editing software can be used to age the photographs and make them look old. The poems and photographs can then be displayed on a web page or printed to make a classroom bulletin board.
Using Digital Tools and E-pals to Improve Descriptive Language	Grade 2 and above	This unit will use digital imaging, collaboration and e-pals to teach and develop written language skills. Classroom e-pals will be the media used to introduce, develop and/or master simple paragraph and personal letter writing.
Circumference and the Dragon Of Pi	Grade 5-8	This is a fun unit that ties in literature and mathematics. Using technology and the books Sir Cumference and the First Round Table and Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi, students will explore the concepts of circumference and pi.
Egypt Studies Online	Grade 6	History and social studies can and should, be fascinating to students when it is minds that are changed for years to come. Being able to make that engagement can be challenging to a teacher. Given the English Language learning needs of many students, text learning skills like strategic textbook reading, outlining, etc., are done in social studies rather than language arts. In addition, online resources are especially rich for social studies and science. I used this unit to build student skills in 3 important general areas, while they learn and communicate specifically about Ancient Egypt. The 3 general skills areas in the unit which can be applied to any online work are: 1. Targeted use of subject specific resources, both text and web. 2. Taking online notes quickly and efficiently for later reuse in new ways. 3. Reflecting on and evaluating interactive learning websites. Lesson 1- Making History Visible- A Scroll : Students need to find graphical representations of artifacts for use in creating a large Scroll about ancient Egypt. They use both texts and selected online resources, which leads to the following tech skills-online notes. Lesson 2- Online notes- A list of websites to access are given, and a model for note-taking online is demonstrated. Students capture text, graphics, captions.... and the all important URL for attribution, for later printing and reuse in class. Lesson 3: Art on paper- This is strictly off-line..... or rather, students now use their printed notes to work on representing what they found on a 3 ft. long piece of poster paper. They return to online resources as needed to supplement. Lesson 4- Evaluating Online Activities- The previous work is in many ways broad and superficial. Although they do work closely with certain artifacts, in this activity, they use excellent online interactions from the British Museum to learn more in depth on an area and to then reflect on the value of the online learning tool by writing a brief evaluation of the interactive learning.
Famous Faces	Grade 3-8	In this unit, the Internet and Microsoft Word are used to integrate language arts, fine arts, technology and social studies. Fifth grade students typically study the revolutionary era in the history of the United States. They also learn word processing, multi media design, and develop Internet research skills. The first lesson of Famous Faces has the students selecting a revolutionary war era hero and then using a search engine to find information, downloading a picture of their hero and creating a word document. In lesson two, the students select a president of the United States to research, paint a portrait of and design a multi media presentation about. In the third lesson the participants research an artist and then create an original work of art in the style of the master. Students communicate via email with students from another city and write a short biographical sketch of their pal in the fourth lesson.
FORESTS UNDER THE SEA	Grade 6-8	“Forests Under the Sea” is an interdisciplinary, technology-based unit designed to introduce middle to high school students to the hidden world of giant kelp forests. “Forests Under the Sea” encourages students to understand the biology of these underwater forest ecosystems through reading, drawing, observing, constructing models, and the use of technology. The unit builds knowledge and understanding of kelp ecosystems from the biology of a single plant, to the ecology of a kelp forest, including a comparison of that forest with the more familiar tropical rain forests of the world. By the end of the unit, students will have built a “kelp forest” in their classroom based on the knowledge they have gained. The entire unit should take 15-30 class periods, depending on age and ability, as well as the teacher’s selection of activities and the depth of their instructional. The unit makes use of ideas and information found in the Jason XIV curriculum entitled, “From Shore to Sea”. If interested, see www.jason.org and register for the “Jason XIV Plus” curriculum for additional activities).
From Iroquois to Inuit: A Native American Journey	Grade 3-6	In this unit, the Internet and Microsoft Word are used to integrate language arts, fine arts and social studies. Fifth grade students typically study the history of the United States including the major pre-Columbian settlements of Native Americans. They also develop Internet research skills and write research papers. In this unit, students select one of the five major Native American groups. They work in pairs and use the Internet to research the tribes of that group and their way of life. The participants produce a picture book project using Microsoft Word to present the information they obtained. The first lesson has the students visiting some of the Native American sites and taking notes. Next the students interview each other for the authors’ page of the book. In the third lesson the participants research Petroglyphs using the Internet and create their own Petroglyphs. Students write and assemble their books and read them to their kindergarten buddies in the fourth lesson. Worksheets and how-to handouts are included in the unit.
Garden Business	Grade 2-8	This project integrates science, gardening, technology, art, design, and language arts. Students learn to use the digital camera for the collection of visual data. The student collected data is used throughout the unit. Students are responsible for labeling, cataloguing and archiving their own data using file management techniques. Cataloguing or indexing this data helps the students organize their material/information for project use. Projects such as designing a plant trading card, and/or designing a seed packet using student created computer graphics hold student interest with little teacher direction. Researching skills are developed in the lesson on plant identification. Students need to research not only in books, and with realia, such as commercial seed packets, but also on the Internet. The Internet can easily be used for accessing plant databases and encyclopedias.
History Buffet	Grade 6	It is said that, " The way to a man's heart is through his stomach"...well, this is true for sixth graders as well! This project was created to take sixth graders through the social studies curriculum ...buffet style! We have designed "placemats" for several topics in our curriculum, including geography, writing, daily life and more. Using these placemats, we will create our own civilizations - a new placemat for each, along with a computer presentation. As a culmination, when all the new civilizations have been created, we will have a meal, on our placemats, with the foods from each civilization studied, and we will present our computer creations to the class and invited guests.
Inside Out -A PowerPoint Exploration of Seven Human Body Systems	Grade 2-12	This unit is used with fifth graders to address the California Science Standards on Life Sciences. It involves both textual and Internet research on each of seven body systems. Students work in groups of four to answer specifically assigned questions on each system and ultimately produce a PowerPoint presentation of their findings. Subsequently as part of their project they seek out and download photos, pictures, and diagrams to go in their PowerPoint presentation and deliver an oral presentation to the class using an LCD projector and laptop. There are two additional lessons provided that specifically address how the Internet works and vocabulary associated with it. These are good tools to have for any kind of Internet lessons. The project addresses a number of different learning styles, including auditory, kinesthetic, visual, and tactile, and a number of thinking skills including categorizing, comparing, summarizing, determining cause and effect, designing, elaborating, paraphrasing, drawing conclusions, and relating details, among others. It also lends itself well to differentiation of both content and product.
Isla, The Magical Journey	Grade 2-4	The journey inspired by the book called "Isla" written by Arthur Dorros and illustrated by Elisa Kleven has no end. The more you get into this book the more connections you can find to just about any curricular area imaginable. The magical journey in this unit begins with the reading of the story and finding out about life in a tropical island, Puerto Rico. It continues on to investigate more about tropical islands, rainforests, oceans and the way of living in different places of the world. It is brought home and related to the children’s own experiences by the nature of our country being a country of immigrants. Most students, especially in this area of California, if not themselves, they have a relative that remembers their homeland and dreams about it just like "abuela" does in this story. Connections are made with maps, because of the perspective of the illustrations in the book. Map skills are learned easily in this unit. The perspective from the illustrations is also a great lead in to imagining the student’s local area from above, to learn about the local geographical features, and to explore other related social studies standards for third graders. In this unit the students imagine that they are flying over the Santa Maria Valley and draw what they see with their mind on what will become a page for a class book. Writing a description of what is seen, and writing about what they would do if they could actually fly around the area follows this activity. The Internet provides access to areas, views, perspectives that are not readily available otherwise. Aerial views of one’s neighborhood can change the way one perceives their living environment. And this is just the beginning…
Kids as Collectors, Creating Mini-Museums	Grade 2-4	Creating a mini museum was inspired by the natural curiosity of eight and nine year olds who find anything in their natural world interesting and worthy of further investigation. Realizing their energy exhibited by a natural curiosity and a knack for collecting “treasures” I was urged to provide an outlet for these junior collectors by harnessing a student centered “teachable moment.” Collecting begins with a theme opening activity where students decorate a collecting box at home and begin placing objects of interest in their box. Students will be expected to keep a journal of what they place in their box and how they acquired the object and when and where it was found. If the item was purchased they need to record the purchase price and date. The second lesson invites students to use a hot list of web sites to enter a digital reference desk and define vocabulary words. The fourth lesson begins with a virtual visit of a variety of museums where students are lead to pay close attention to the maps and layouts and answer questions for each museum site. The maps and floor plans are studied to achieve an understanding of how collections are organized within a building or series of buildings. If a local museum is accessible students can take a field trip to the museum and or look at maps of a museum’s layout. Students will begin to understand the different types of museums and their respective categories used for organizing collections. Students move from understanding how museums are organized to a reflection of their own interests and motivations for collecting things. Discussions of reasons for creating a collection are discussed. Historical and educational perspectives, motivation from intrinsic and extrinsic values are discussed and explored on the web. Multiple meanings and definitions of “treasure” are explored. Students study the word “treasure” in multiple contexts by visiting a digital reference desk where they use dictionaries, thesaurus and other Internet resources. Finally, students research, create, organize, and document a private collection. Students are encouraged to further study their collections after browsing the web and discovering their personal interests. The culminating activity is a “grand opening” of a Mini Museum where students showcase their collections. Teacher observation, worksheets, and performance rubrics are given for lessons. Worksheets, collector logs, oral reports and anecdotal observations evaluate student progress, level of participation, and quality of work.
Learning Math Through Garden Design	Grade 1-12	Learning Math Through Garden Design is a very fun unit that allows the students to use their imagination and creativity. The students are actually permitted to daydream a little for inspiration during this unit. Several math skills are reinforced through the use of technology, via Internet, such as: linear measurement, plane figures, polygons, quadrilaterals, perimeter, area, and ordered pair numbers (coordinate geometry). The math skills are easily adapted to give resource and English Language Learning students some extra help, while giving GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) and advanced students an extra challenge. The students review math concepts on the Internet and play online math games, which can be very motivating for many students. The students make lists, take notes and make plans for a school garden plot; limited only by their imagination and the resources available to them through books, magazines, gardening catalogs, and the internet.
Let’s Dance	Grade 2-3	Let’s Dance is a unit where students learn and choreograph dances over a three month period and then perform their dance steps at an assembly. There are approximately nine dances, and each dance goes with a different piece of music. The music selections are about 30 seconds, long and several genres of music are used incorporating varied tempos and rhythmic patterns. The unit is recommended to be taught either first thing in the morning after stretches or during PE. Each dance is a different lesson, and after it is taught the children practice it for about a week before the new step is added to the routine. One example of how media plays a role is that during the process of creating the dances the children are video taped. Then they watch the video and critique the performance, and then apply what they learned to improve their dances. In order to stay in compliance with copyright laws, you can use small portions of different songs. You capture the desired music pieces on your computer and burn a CD with all nine songs to use at school. The dance is also put onto a tape which is sold and showed at Open House at the end of the school year. When a new dance is taught, the children line up in the auditorium in a way that is appropriate for the dance to be taught. The song is played while they just listen once. Then next time they clap to the beat with my guidance. Then the dance steps are taught with the music off. Then we go over the step to the music. For the next few days the children practice while the teacher watches and gives suggestions. At least two songs in the dance are open for the children to choreograph their own movements. These lessons take more time, because they often need suggestions to get started. This is a good time to go over the rubric and teach the vocabulary and specific dance movements. There is a video tape of the finished dance available.
Making E-Books	Grade K-8	This project integrates electronic books that can be created with any presentation software, with kindergarten language arts and math standards. Students produce e-books using themselves and their physical surroundings to demonstrate their mastery of content standards, such as number sense or color recognition. They provide evidence of their mastery using a digital camera, props, and the presentation tool.
Masterpieces Past and Present	Grade 5-12	This project integrates Art History and Studio Art and is designed for middle school students. The lessons include art history, and they teach the elements of art and fundamentals of design by using examples of historical masterpieces. For example, for Pre-history the project teaches about texture and line. The students create a paper surface to look like rock (rough texture through art techniques) and then design symbolic ancient rock art on that surface using a variety of lines. The children learn about line and texture from a wonderful internet web site. They also do research to find ancient symbols they want to use for their studio project. The goal of this project is to help inspire classroom teachers and art teachers to use technology as well as teach to the California Art Standards. Due to the increased pressure for students to test well in the core subjects, art classes have fallen by the wayside. Art is so important for the human spirit, and it’s a great way for children to learn to believe in themselves and commit to decisions. The art room is like a sanctuary where time seems to disappear, and the students leave more relaxed and wishing they had more time to make their artwork. Almost all young children love to draw, but as they get older they often stop. They get frustrated because they don’t know how to make their drawings look good or realistic.
Moon Madness	Grade 3	Students create animations to demonstrate knowledge of how the phases of the earth’s moon occur.
My Science Fair	Grade 4-12	Technology * Students will become proficient at Web Based research as it relates to the scientific method. * Students will be able to produce basic word processing documents to use on a science board presentation. * Students will use photography, graphing and charting software, and drawings to produce illustrations of the scientific method and its processes. Academic * Students will be able to follow multi-step instructions to produce a science fair project. * Students will formulate a testable question. * Students will use research techniques to answer questions about a topic. * Students will be able to read, comprehend, and write using summary techniques about a chosen topic. * Students will be able to present their acquired knowledge about the topic in an oral presentation to the class and to the public. * Students will engage in scientific investigation.
Not Another State Report, Again! Using Old Technology with a New Twist for Project-Based Learning.	Grade 5	This unit will address a new approach to learning about the fifty states that we all know and love. Instead of assigning the "same old report", let your students use creative strategies and technology to demonstrate their knowledge about their state. Students will gather information about their state from various resources (text, videos, and selected Internet sites (evaluated by the teacher first!). They will locate general information such as the state flag, population, government, etc. They will also look for activities (cultural, historical and recreational) to include in their final presentation. The lessons will include: keeping data about a "Vacation Trip" to their state on a spreadsheet; creating a map of their state and using Microsoft Excel to diagram the map; surveying students and staff at their school and inputting data into a spreadsheet; and lastly, compiling all projects into a final Power Point Presentation.
Nutrition I.Q.	Grade 7-8	Nutrition I.Q. Is a comprehensive unit in which Junior High students are provided with opportunities necessary to make wise food choices in their daily living. Students will create their own personal nutrition portfolio beginning by researching three articles in their interest in nutrition and completing article reviews. Students will visit websites which include nutrition quizzes that enable students to evaluate their own body fat analysis, and metabolism. Students will then evaluate restaurant and fast food items for nutrition analysis. In the final portion of the unit, students will create a nutrition plan for one week which they are encouraged to follow and review at weeks’ end.Nutrition I.Q.
Oaks N' Kids Unit	Grade 7+	Students investigate the local oak community, use a variety of technological tools and develop an awareness of local environmental issues without leaving their school grounds. The study area, the school perimeter, is easily accessible and contains other interesting study specimens such as native plants and animals. In the computer lab students complete exercises, conduct oak research on the Internet, input data, create tables/graphs and complete PowerPoint activities. During field study, students use hand lenses, microscopes, a video microscope., field guides, field keys, field collections and insect collection materials.OaksN'KidsUnit
Sign of the Beaver	Grade 5-6	After reading Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare, students will respond to the literature by creating animations and paragraphs that summarize the story. Each student in the class is assigned a different chapter to retell in writing and to visually retell through animation. This unit lets students use animation to display their reading comprehension skills. This is an exciting way to get students motivated about reading. Use this project as the culminating activity for your Sign of the Beaver unit. Give students plenty of opportunities to experience some of the related sites on the Internet.
Soda Machines- Engineering and Inquiry	Grade 7-8	This unit combines math skills for scaling and measurement, visualizing and drawing 3 dimensional models, units scientific inquiry process skills, and concise use of language to explain design elements.
Surfing the Net with Authors	Grade K-2	“Surfing the Net with Authors” is a unit involving three components: favorite authors, animal studies and early learning experiences with the Computer/Internet. This unit engages primary students into experiencing a broader use of computers and the Internet while learning about identifiable Authors and researching animal facts. This unit, “Surfing the Net with Authors” is concurrently integrated with language arts and the science/social science standards based curriculums about animals and their habitats (Polar Regions, Deserts, Forest, Grasslands and Rain Forest.) The unit begins with an introduction to the creative illustrator/author Jan Brett and her exceptional web site. This author has a large body of work, which is rich in written, visual, and auditory language and it is perfect for the diverse needs of students and their various learning styles. While at the author's web site, an animal is picked for further research and a teacher's demonstration helps start the students off in their selected animal/habitat research. (Suggested lesson start: Temperate Forest.) This teaching pattern sets the course of the unit for rest of the year. As the year progresses, other authors and their web sites and research web sites are introduced and expanded. Students are taught to use the safe teacher bookmarked sites for independent student practice and learning. Written reflections are assigned and collected, computer skills are taught and reviewed and animal research and reporting is broadened.
The Art of Argument and Persuasion	Grade 6-8	This set of lessons is part of what I try to give students experiences in understanding the forces that shape their ideas and opinions, and work in reshaping their arguments so that truth and reason are evident. The lessons work to raise student understanding of the elements of media in use today; newspaper, television, and internet. They analyze how different elements are used to influence different audience groups, and use both these elements of advertising, and traditional writing strategies for persuasive communication. The lessons included here are the skeleton of a larger body of instruction, and suggestions and resources are included to expand into these larger themes of media literacy and of argument.
Mush!! The Last Great Race on Earth	Grade 4-8	The Iditarod: Last Great Race to Nome, can be a fully integrated curriculum unit which uses the Iditarod Sled Dog Race as its focus and central theme. The unit is designed to enhance the student's awareness and appreciation for the annual sled dog race across the state of Alaska. As a multi-faceted curriculum, the students will be involved in a variety of activities to become more knowledgeable about the race, Alaska culture and geography, and the people and animals who participate in the competition. Prior to the race, students use the internet to research mushers participating in the race. After reading information on the mushers, students select one to compose a letter to including information learned in their biography. The letters are then sent, with the hopes that the musher will reply after participating in the race. During the race, students use the Internet to track the location of their mushers. Students also use the internet to gather information to create a " Come to Alaska" brochure, compare and graph weather conditions, and learn more about the history of the Iditarod through a scavenger hunt.
The Keeping Quilt: Quilting Across the Curriculum	Grade 2-5	This project uses modern technology and quilts from the past to teach students lessons from across the curriculum. This unit helps explain how families celebrate their cultural heritage. Students will also use quilts as a tool to improve reading, and vocabulary as well as learning to investigate geometric shapes and designs. Students will read TheKeeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco, then participate in a variety of online activities. Students will get to design their own quilt quares, as well as create an edible quilt square which can be eaten at the end of the unit.
The Thirteen Colonies	Grade 5	n this unit, the Internet and Microsoft Power Point are used to integrate language arts and social studies. Fifth grade students study the history of the United States and the colonial period. They also develop research skills and write research papers. At my school, the students traditionally write a state report at the end of the school year. The activities in this unit combine the state report and the study of the colonial period and teach computer skills. Students select one of the thirteen original colonies. They work in pairs and use the Internet to research the colony and the modern day state the colony has become. The participants produce a multimedia project using Microsoft Power Point to present the information they obtained. The first lesson has the students visiting some of the sites they will be using and evaluating and comparing the sites for ease of navigation, reliability, bias, readability and content. In the second lesson, the activities include saving graphics and photos from the Internet and citing an Internet source. In the remaining lessons the students research using the Internet and build their Power Point slides. Worksheets and how-to handouts are included in the unit.
The Valley of Gardens, a History of The Santa Maria Valley (local history)	Grade 3+	Valley of the Gardens is an in depth unit about the local history of The Santa Maria Valley. It can be used as a unifying yearlong theme. A mural that is ever changing/growing/being added to serves as a constant review of what has been learned about the local area, as well as a tool for learning new material about the subject. The mural is colorful and artistic. It serves as an art wall of sorts at the same time it is addressing social studies curriculum. The studies begin with the first people in the area, The Chumash (local Native Americans). It moves into ranchero life (Mexican Rule), then continues with town builders, economy builders, community makers, and end with the present day. Throughout this unit the students are taking notes, doing research, and writing summaries for the final project, which is a web site about The Santa Maria Valley. Needless to say, the creation of a web site is very exciting and challenging for the students. The mural and student created web site are great for showing off the students’ achievement at open house night.
The World of Orchids	Grade 7+	Student investigate orchid care, propagation and orchid sales through Internet research and orchid industry contacts. Students will prepare a written report and an oral presentation to display findings. Students will develop various technology skills to develop this project.
Building Videos to Build Language	Grade 7-8	I have slowly grown a set of Mac computers in the classroom from 1 (which ran a FirstClass BBS for interschool weather data sharing) to a mix of 9 older and new machines, all accessing the internet via T1 line, and 3 having digital video input and editing capabilities. Students sit in groups of 4 at lab tables... no desks, and it is very common for individuals to go to a computer to input a bit of data or writing to a piece of work or class template and then return to the group. However, using video as a learning tool represents a number of challenges. Every minute of video is time intensive, both in terms of planning and filming, and editing. Meanwhile, issues of the processing power of computers and number of machines need to be considered. Here's two examples of how video is a part of my classroom. 1. Capture and archiving of lessons and lab activities.- In this case, we are experimenting with students capturing essential elements of science experiments- teacher instruction and student activities- which are quickly edited and then saved for future use by students who either missed that day, or want review. They are saved on cd-roms. - Management- I have a "Go To" table which rotates about every week. These students will learn and do whatever special skill or need arises, and become the resident experts for the rest of the class. If video production of an activity is called for, it is naturally their task to work it out in group. 2. ELD Class- An extended activity which involves these language learners picking a short "story" to tell via video. I have a scene diagramming template which they must fill out completely in their work group before using video.
Weather Report	Grade 4-8	In this unit, the Internet and Microsoft Excel are used to integrate earth science (weather), geography, and math (statistics, data analysis) at the upper elementary/middle school level. Students first choose a state and determine the state capital. They then locate the city on a United States map, and determine it’s latitude, longitude, and elevation. They predict the weather conditions for their capital and then, for two weeks, collect weather data from a weather website for their chosen city. Pupils learn the difference between degrees Fahrenheit and Celsius, and how to convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius. During classroom discussions they learn about weather conditions, humidity, and barometric pressure, and hypothesize about what might determine the variation in temperatures between cities (proximity to oceans, elevation, distance from equator, etc.). After collecting the weather information for two weeks, students determine the mean, mode, median and the range of their data, and graph the data by hand. They share the mean temperatures they calculated and each student locates and labels their classmates’ cities on a national map with the means. The students then make a spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel, use the charting capabilities of Excel to generate graphs of temperature and humidity, and interpret their own and their classmates’ graphs.