Artifact # 3
Content: This project was created in the Spring of 2002 in the Social Studies Methods class that exists at Appalachian State University as a part of the Elementary Education Block semester.
Impact: I will use this culture kit in my classroom as an example of a set of materials built into a kit that relays important information about a culture different than that of the student. The kit can be used by any teacher in any grade.
My classroom, specifically the fifth grade, will use the kits to identify major groups of people in the United States, Canada, Latin America (1.1) and use props to compare and contrast them to our own culture (1.2). The kits will include arts, religious, ethical, and economic components of the other cultures (Goal 2, 9). Part of the kit will include the location and characteristics of the regions where the culture is located (3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3) and their effect on the culture. The kit includes ways of life of the people involved and jobs people have because of where they live (Goal 5, 6). Students will include the government of the culture (8.2, 8.3).
Students will get their information from a minimum of two sources of two different types, (1) a book on the culture, people, country they are responsible for and (2) internet sites or videos (1.08, 1.09, 1.10) on the culture, people, country they are responsible for. Students will include a bibliography on the book, videos and sites of their choice and then present their kit to the entire class. The culture kits will then be displayed around the room for the rest of the year. This makes for a broad range of knowledge on a people or culture and an effective method of teaching the entire social studies curriculum within the course of a year that also teaches technology skills.
Students will see that technology is instrumental for collecting data (2.1), demonstrate appropriate care (1.03) and knowledge of ownership in dealing with (1.04, 1.07) technological resources . Students will also explain why they chose the resources they chose (Goal 2)
Alignment: The culture kit allows students to learn about another culture by using different "technology" for each child--whatever is appropriate for each child's kit (Tech. Competency 10.1, 10.2, 10.6, 11.1, 11.3, 12.1, 14.2, INTASC Standard 6). The students will then teach the material they learned from books and more recent technology (videos, computers, etc...) to the other children by means of a kit presentation. (Tech. Competency 11.4). Each student will have a presentation to do and will have access to a T.V./ VCR or computer as they need it ( Tech. Competency 12.4, 12.5). Special needs children will benefit from this lesson especially because not only reading sources are required for the project. A child who is learning disabled in reading can choose to glean the information for their presentation from two videos (Tech. Competency 13.2). Children who don't speak English very well can look up internet sites in their primary language on their topic (Tech. Competency 13.3) and then only focus their efforts on presenting the kit in English, and not wading through all the material in English.
Because several different cultures in Canada, the United States, and Latin America will be covered, the project gives students the opportunity to cover the Social Studies curriculum ( INTASC Standard 7 ) while personally connecting to one of the cultures/countries included and comparing it to a culture they already understand (INTASC Standard 1, 2). Students are engaged in their own learning and have time to work independently on their projects--a component of education that is important for the development of fifth graders (INTASC Standard 2). The culture kit is based on the student's own understanding of their chosen culture and their choice of symbols to represent components of that culture. Because of this, there is no one right way to do this project and everyone in the classroom can be involved regardless of their skill level or special needs. (INTASC Standard 3). In this project, students have to assume responsibility for their own topic resources and their own product (INTASC Standard 4, 5). For this reason, teacher assistance can be flexible; based upon what each student needs (INTASC Standard 7). This creates an appropriate method of assessment and the kit itself is a document that, if kept by the teacher, can help assess a child's long-term progress (INTASC Standard 8).