The United States Project
I am currently completing my student teaching in a
fifth grade class. So I wanted to find a project that would fit
into the fifth grade curriculum. I was inspired by two of the
Classroom to Classroom Projects: the Live Video Conferencing project,
and the World Problems project. The live video would allow my students
to see who they are talking to using skype, and participating in a video
conference with several classes. The World Problems Project allowed
students to present world problems and create a dialog.
The California History Standards for the fifth grade include: student
study in the development of the nation up to 1850, with an emphasis
on the people who were already here, when and from where others
arrived, and why they came. There are a total of nine standards. I would
focus on standard 5.9 for my internet project. Standard 5.9 states:Students know the location of the current 50 states and
the names of their capitals.
The students in my classroom completed a map of their fifty states and
are working on internet research project of each of the states. Here
where my project comes in. I remember researching each state, and
finding it's motto, flag, song, population, topagraphy, location, demo-
graphics, ect. I also wrote to the chamber of commerces for each state to
get maps, and other things to present as part of my project. But I did not
have the opportunity to meet or see students or other persons from
many of the states. So, my project would call for at least 51 classrooms,
each from a different state. The students would post pictures, email, find
new pen pals, and see the differences and similarities in living in
each state. The greatest gift of technology is that it allows us to connect
to people everywhere. While I think it great have discussions with
students in other continents; what about the students that live here in
the U.S. ? I hope my project is able to foster a since of pride and
patriotism for the United States.
The projects title - What is like to live in (your city in state)? The
purpose to foster a sense of: understanding of the similarities and
differences that make individuals unique, pride in students living in the
United States, and to create a opportunity for ongoing dialog between
students in different states. The project would be a year long project.
This project focuses on California History Standard 5.9. Each class
participating in the project would need a computer, web cam, access
to the internet, a camera(digital would be best for uploads), and time to
communicate with others. The student would become experts of their
states and cities. The students would be reporters, journalists, ect that
produce high quality work. The classroom would become the state that
class is in. The classroom would represent the different cultures
and ethnicities through art, music, writing, painting, literature. Students
would begin project with information about themselves, and certain
portions of the site would be limited to participants only to ensure safety.
Some of the side plan activities would include: students helping other
students with their projects. I believe in collaboration. Other side activities
would be having students think of new ideas for the project and writing up
their thoughts and present their new ideas to the class.
Jackie,