Unit Framework- Email the teacher
Title: Everyday Heroes and Their Careers
Subject and Level - Science / Third and Fifth Grade Students
Learner Description - Third and Fifth Grade Students
Overview -
To gain an awareness of our everyday heroes' careers as well as their effect on our community is the goal of this TIP 2 project. Emulating true heroes is the chosen attitude. Investigation of the jobs heroes do, listing who is important in our society to our survival, and researching what and how these heroes do their task is the learning process.
Letters to heroes written to the NY ground zero crew of firemen and policemen will introduce the project. Appreciation and recognition of these heroes should result through information researched from magazines, newspapers, web sites, interviews, and TV. This current event perspective as well as the political attack should provide the impetus necessary to motivate students to choose to investigate their local heroes by asking...
Language Arts skills in writing and oral communication assisted in collecting facts. Letters and e-mail allowed for various forms of communication. Interviews and correspondence supplied the necessary information.
In third grade, the adopted social studies essential questions guide the curriculum:
Also in fifth grade, the adopted social studies essential questions guide its curriculum:
These questions guided discussion and lead the investigation to include the following questions:
WHAT DO THEY DO?
WHAT ARE THEIR SKILLS?
WHAT IS THEIR TRAINING?
WHY ARE THEY CONSIDERED OUR HEROES?
Students decided who their everyday heroes were and how they impacted their lives. Discussions and brainstorming ideas helped guide the development of this project. Once selected heroes were contacted through business letters, committees were formed, hoping to initiate the planning of a celebration. Self- questioning directed the students' response- What can we do to show our heroes they are special? Let's have a celebration! Researched information, acquired through correspondence, was posted on posters and pamphlets. Poetry and persuasive essays were displayed on enlarged posters and bound booklets. Permission slips were printed and a bus ordered to take our two classes on a field trip to local community buildings: Rolling Meadows Court House, Heffy's for hot dogs and fries, the Prospect Heights City Hall, the Police and the Fire Stations. A contest to select the best artistry and complimentary Heroes' phrase was conducted by the Button Committee. Lapel buttons were distributed to all visiting heroes and all Sullivan School students at the Heroes Celebration. The music committee created lyrics to compliment their hero's theme to the melody of The Star Spangled Banner. To collect all researched information and project activities, a web page was developed and is at this time, a work in progress. Finally, preparations were in order, decorations, such as: banners, signatures footprints, and a time line were posted and invitations were delivered. On April 26, 2002, twenty-four of our students' heroes arrived to present at the Heroes Celebration to the entire Sullivan School student body. Essays and poetry etched the room's perimeter, a badminton net carried posters which contained researched information: What are the responsibilities of your important career, what training is required, and what is the best and the worst part of your position? A pamphlet was created as a handout to share all career information. The taped song blared from a recorder, a table exhibited essay booklets, a projector projected a live camera, while another viewed shots from 9-11. Student photographers collected photos of each guest, which were later placed on a Heroes' calendar, and the student news reporters interviewed all guests to compile a Heroes' video. Once the celebration ended, thank you notes were written and mailed. The web page was updated, an Appleworks 6 Presentation was created to view a slide review of the heroes in attendance at he Heroes Celebration. CD's were burned to create Writer's Workshop portfolios, and How to... writings were composed to be attached to the next part of the Heroes' project, presenting at Tech 2002 in Springfield to the Illinois legislatures in the Capitol's Rotunda. The question throughout this project was the following:
It is necessary to look at the web page to determine if these third and fifth graders were successful.
http://www.d23.org/sullivan/Heroes/index.html
Rationale -
Why would you teach this unit? -
The need to identify real heroes rather than rock stars through the teaching of communities, government, and current events is obvious. Students need to recognize the importance peoples' roles have on their lives. This investigation elevated students' opinions to include purposeful heroes as well as create an opportunity for the investigation of each specific career. Because it is so timely, we were hopeful students would choose to find a way to emulate and show their appreciation for those men and women who are the true heroes in the students' everyday lives: a festival, a party, a parade, a poster, a video, etc. We could not predict the format, yet we guaranteed a response, and a great response we did get.
Why would this qualify as an engaged learning unit?
The Engaged Learning indicators are the essential components which guided this project:
Why is technology an important component of this unit? -
Technology is a tool used for investigation, communication, and presentation. The goal was to attain new knowledge as well as alter the students' attitudes to include and recognize the importance of their everyday heroes from their local community in a real life situation . Thus, technology was the informational tool which guided the Heroes' Project. Communication to various individuals and organizations was accomplished via e-mail, snail mail, interviewing, and/or telephone calling.
Activities included the following:
The children completed the project and presented at Tech 2002 to Illinois legislators on May 7. The final presentations of their project will take place on May 8, for faculty and staff and at the district's Board of Education meeting later that evening.
Goals - Content, Cognitive and Social -
What new attributes (knowledge, skills, attitudes ) do you expect students to gain?
What new knowledge do you expect the students to learn? -
In third grade students studied communities and the impact communities have on society. Students contacted their local communities, asking for information and maps. They found the location of homes and businesses on the maps. Then students researched their communities on the internet and collected and recorded significant and meaningful data. The students then learned the governmental structure of their communities, their state, and their country.
In third grade, the adopted social studies essential questions guided the curriculum:
In fifth grade, language arts activities engulfed writing workshop: business letters, friendly letters, thank you notes, envelopes, appointment schedules, interview questions, expository writings, persuasive writings, a press release, invitations, telephone manners, and How to's. During their presentations public speaking was maximized.
Also in fifth grade, the adopted social studies essential questions guided class discussions, answering the following questions:
What state standards does the unit address? -
The following Illinois State Standards were addressed:
What do we expect our students to gain?
This Engaged Learning project at Anne Sullivan School in Prospect Heights School District 23 will address the following state and national standards/benchmarks:
Learning activities -
The activities required to achieve the goals are the following:
Students brainstormed ideas to discover their list of heroes, who impact their daily lives from the local community. They composed persuasive essays convincing others that the individuals they selected were truly genuine heroes. They then wrote business letters to their selected heroes. These letters expressed what they admired and requested career information. Specific questions were asked in order to collect data to share with others about career responsibilities and training. An e-mail address was established for continued correspondence. A design contest was held to select button covers for their heroes to wear on their lapels during the Heroes Celebration. Additional buttons were distributed to all school children visiting the Hero Celebration. Poetry was written and collected from all the students, identifying their heroes and the roles they play in their daily lives. The information from the correspondence was compiled and triflod pamphlets were created to educate and inform visitors. A web page was created to outline the project, to trace the events, and to record the process and activities. A timeline was created, using World Book Encyclopedia software to track the project. The celebration was designed by the students and set up in the gym. Posters were made, introducing their Heroes. Poems and essays were displayed throughout the gym for everyone to observe. Numerous copies of the essays were collected into bound booklets. Computers provided internet access to view the web page. Imovie photos were displayed on the gym wall. Another imovie camera recorded the actual Celebration. Students were responsible for presenting their project to: Tech 2002 Conference in Springfield, the Board of Education School District 23, and to the district faculty and staff. To all students' surprise, Lieutenent David Skarosi, a naval navigator, was invited to attend our Heroes Celebration. Because he was still oversees on April 26, he was invited by our Principal, Betsy Muir to be our school's end-of-the-year-guest speaker. And for added information, a printer has agreed to print a 2002-3 school calendar with pictures of all our Heroes. Throughout this project, students were required to reevaluate their progress and determine the next effective step in order to accomplish their goal. If we had more time, the studens would find additional ways to address their Heroes. This project's web page is constantly updated, adding appropriate links as students continue to collect photos, movies and information.
Resources - The resources needed to do this unit are listed below:
Management -
Students worked individually, with partners, in small groups, with their class, and with a combination of both classes together. Computers were used in the classroom and in the computer lab. Video cameras, digital cameras, scanners, copiers, and other equipment were used in the classroom, in the building, and directly on site when necessary. The students operated as much of the equipment as possible, instructing each other in proper usage and technology instruction through How to directional writings. They worked in their classrooms and throughout the communal areas of the building when larger spaces were necessary. Students were accommodated according to their immediate needs for the tasks they had set before them. The needs of all students were addressed. Individual needs were met by teachers as well as fellow students.
Unit Evaluation -
What was effective?
What wasn't effective?
What would you have changed?