Strategies
Because I teach two sixth grade classes of literacy (reading and writing) and social studies during at least 120 minutes per day, I will have ample time to spread my unit over 4-6 weeks. The core content of this unit will be taught primarily during social studies lessons. However, some of the writing and reading skills could be taught during my balanced literacy block. Alternatively, I can teach the unit over an entire marking period incorporating critical thinking and free speech concepts embedded across the reading, writing and social studies curriculum.
Before, During and After Non Fiction Reading Techniques
The Pennsylvania State Standards Assessment (PSSA) in reading and writing requires students to become proficient in reading non-fiction text. Therefore, our study will deliberately focus on reading background information about free speech from electronic and non-electronic sources. Before students complete their PowerPoint presentations for their portfolio grades, students will complete BDA (Before, During and After reading) exercises in which they analyze, compare and contrast communication technologies and understand how the Bill Rights relates to free speech rights and responsibilities. BDA strategy is an interactive reading and note-taking tool that allows students to comprehend nonfiction text. Before reading, students can prepare to read by scanning websites for bold text, hyperlinks and pictures for clues, making predictions, or setting a purpose. During reading, students can ask questions and have dialogue about web sites. "Text rendering" is an example of a during-reading activity. Text rendering directs students to say or record any words, phrases or sentences that resonate for any reason, including confusion and lack of understanding. I plan to use BDA strategies for reading web pages, essays, non-fiction and other text related to our inquiry topics. 16
Other Graphic Organizer and tools that can be used during BDA activities are provided below:
K-W-L – What You Already Know, What you Want to Know and What You Learned
Using a K-W-L graphic organizer is a good starting point for eliciting students' prior knowledge and determining what they know about a particular concept or democratic process. Using KWL is great with inquiry planning because teachers can ask probing questions to lead student to learn new things; and after completing the reading, writing and inquiry process students can describe what new things they learned. 17 When asking clarifying questions it encourages students to think for themselves. I often let my students know I do not have all the answers. I find that facilitating discussions through using a K-W-L chart supports both my higher and lower functioning readers and writers. After leading class discussions, I have students work in small groups and revise and illustrate their K-W-L charts which expand their thinking for making connections to their inquiry.
Venn Diagram
Using a Venn diagram allows students to organize information to compare and contrast concepts. For example, students can represent similarities and differences of communication innovations –Guttenberg printing press vs. Internet- or students can compare and contrast cyber bullying vs. face to face bullying. Students could also compare and contrast different Internet safety websites. I plan to conduct mini-lessons using an inter-active Venn diagram found on the ReadWriteThink website. (http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/venn/ )
Vocabulary Squares and Frayer Model
A vocabulary square is a graphic organizer divided into four quadrants that helps students demonstrate their understanding of word origins or parts of speech, synonyms or antonyms, visuals logos or icons and formal brief definition of words. 18 Students take ownership of words that they are able to show their understanding from multiple perspectives. The Frayer Model is an alternative graphical organizer for word analysis and vocabulary development. With the Frayer Model students define a word, provide characteristics for the word, and provide examples and non-examples for the word. 19 I will use vocabulary graphic organizers when previewing key terms as well as introducing interesting or difficult concepts found in certain articles, essays and websites related to our inquiry. For example, I could have students make a vocabulary squares for the words like democracy, free press, cyber bullying, media literacy, bias, social networking, rights, freedom, filters, isolation, etc. I find using vocabulary squares are great "warm-up" or "do now" activities, for previewing or reviewing big ideas related to my main lesson objectives. Examples of vocabulary square models can be found on the following links: http://englishseven.com/toolsforthought/VocabSquares.pdf , and http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/frayer.htm
Timelines
Timelines provide a visual tool for studying events that happen over a period of time — a day, a year, or topic across the centuries. Researching and creating timelines appeals to students' visual, mathematic, and kinesthetic intelligences. 20 Timelines will help my high-level and lower level readers understand and apply cause and effect concepts found in lots of social studies text. I will have students use interactive online graphic organizers to reflect how communication innovations have evolved over time. After modeling how to create timelines and exploring several communication or free press' timeline websites I will have students create their own timeline using the following link: http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/timeline/ Students could create interactive timelines reflecting how communication inventions like the Guttenberg press, typewriter, telephone, camera, television, computer, cell phone and the Internet impacted societies. As a part of their WebQuest students may select at least two communication technologies , one from the period before the second half of the 20th century, and one from the period after the second half the 20 th century and outline the positive and negative impact each innovation had on society.
Constructive Responses
As per the Philadelphia School District's curriculum, students must be able to respond to open-ended prompts related to fiction and non-fiction text. For example, the TAG it 3 strategy graphically helps students to Turn a prompt into an opening statement; Answer a prompt; Give details, evidence and examples from the text to support their answers. 21 The more practice students have with this method of responding to text the better they perform on their state test. Therefore, I will have students write constructive responses for standard academic text about the free press, media technologies as well respond to websites and videos related to our inquiry. Refer to the link -http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/creighton/PSSA%20tag.pdf - to see how this strategy looks and works graphically.
Web Site Evaluation Graphic Organizer
Using graphic organizers to evaluate websites provides a quick effective way for students to evaluate the relevance, accuracy and reliability of information. I will provide mini-lessons on how to recognize various types of websites. Students could evaluate internet safety websites reviewing government sites (gov.), commercial sites (com.), organizational sites (org.) and individual sites ( ~). The graphic organizer could chart a brief description of the visual layout of sites, the aim of the sites, the source or author of the sites and keywords found on sites. Some sites may have interactive games; others may have flash media presentations; while others may have advertising banners and product placement features; or others sites may be more text base with less visual images.
For deeper inquiry into social networking sites and internet safety I will lead students to critically analyze the continuum of information about social networking and internet safety. For example, who is more responsible when a child harms herself as result of cyber bullying that takes place on social networking site? Would a parent's advocacy group say it was more social networking sites fault? Would an Internet coalition group say it was more the parent's fault for not monitoring her child? By placing the internet safety debate on a continuum should helps my students see how using social networking sites presents risks and rewards in our free speech practices. Sample lesson plan # 2 provides more details on how this website evaluation inquiry will work.
Inquiry Strategies
Inquiry learning provides students an opportunity to improve their critical thinking skills. David S. Jake, et al. in an online article "Inquiry Based learning and the Web" posit that inquiry-based learning is a process where students formulate questions, obtain facts, and then build knowledge to reflect on their original question. 22 To support students' inquiry and research skills, I will ask them to explore the essential question "what are the pros and cons of free "cyber" speech on the internet for 'tweeners'?" An essential question such as this one frames the research and requires students to make decisions and a plan of action. I plan to use a WebQuest to lead students to complete their PowerPoint research project. A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. To create a WebQuest you create a document with hyperlinks on a PowerPoint or MS Word Document that guides students through an inquiry process using the web resources 23. Through using a WebQuest, students will creatively present the pros and cons of the free speech as it personally relates to them.
I will conduct mini-lessons to support this inquiry process. Using K-W-L to determine what students know about democracy and free "cyber" speech could be a good starting point. To guide students to through their WebQuest projects it is important to allow for active discourse between teacher and students as well as among students in small groups. Often many of my students know far more about formal academic topics than they realize. It is through talk that they really make connections to what they know informally with formal academic content 24. For example, if I ask students what they know about the Internet and its role in democracy and the freedom of speech, initially, many might not be able to articulate well on this topic. However, through questioning students about what they know about social networking sites and their influence on fashion, language, and life styles students may began to understand the role Internet plays in their freedom of expression in general and children's rights to free speech in particular. Discourse allows students to ask lots of questions of the teacher and for the teacher to ask further probing questions or turn questions back around to other students. It is from this discourse that students refine their own personal inquiry stance. In addition to discourse, I will have secondary resources available. This may include Scholastic Magazines, topical articles, videos and documentaries. Media Specialists may visit or field trips may be planned to obtain additional primary resources. Comcast sponsors the Ikeepsage.org, so I may plan a trip to Comcast's Philadelphia Offices. Students will also visit the local library and school's media lab to conduct web searches on their inquiry topics.
Multi Media Strategies
To prepare students to create public service media products, mini-lessons will be conducted either by visiting media specialists or myself on how to use cameras, audio, video clips, I-Movie and Garage Band. Websites such as www.ikeepsafe.org , www.storycenter.org and www.streetside.org will be reviewed to offer models of internet safety videos and student-created digital media. Furthermore, students will discuss and analyze how sound, visual images and special effects enhance media presentations. Through modeling and viewing PowerPoint Slides, digital stories, podcast and videos, students should be able to come up with interesting ways to depict free "cyber" speech rights and responsibilities. Students will not be allowed to use cameras or practice using media making software until they complete storyboards or outline their concept for their public service media product. When creating their storyboards or concept outlines students will consider: target audience, visual images, script, text, lyrics, sound track, transitions and special effects 25. Visiting media specialists may reinforce ideas on copyright and "fair use" practices.
Resources
In previous years, I have collaborated with the mentally gifted support teacher and librarian to do special media projects. Their support provided additional resource persons for my students including those with special needs. In addition to the resources available at school, I plan to collaborate with Temple University's Media Education Lab. The Media Education Lab supports teachers through providing workshops, publishing its scholarship and conducting community services. Through the Media Education Lab and Temple University's School of Communication and Theater Studies I have previously worked with a graduate student who was interested in observing how I integrated media education in my middle school curriculum.
Parents will serve as another vital resource for this project. Letters will be sent to parents informing them about the nature of our inquiry project and to solicit their support. The letter will provide the options for parents to exclude their child for viewing certain sensitive material on from the film, "Growing Up Online." Parents will also need to sign off on Permission Forms to use any of students' images or work that may be circulated outside of the classroom. Lastly parents will be called upon to attend special field trips and serve as primary resources when students are conducting research about about free "cyber" speech and internet safety.
Grants fund may be procured to support any additional resources or materials required for this project. The Southern Poverty Law Center, through its Teaching Tolerance Grant offers grants for K-12 to promote respect for differences and an appreciation of diversity. Materials such as videos, books and magazine subscriptions or funds for field trips for our inquiry work could be funded by Teaching Tolerance, DonorChoose.Org or other local or national grant funding organizations.
A list of resources including websites, videos, magazines and materials for students is annotated in the Students' Web and Media Resources section.
Assessment
Assessments will include evaluation of students' WebQuest, PowerPoint, response journals and their free speech internet safety public service media products. The Web Quest will be graded for its completeness; writing standards and the reflection of students' research. Included in the grade will be an assessment of the student's ability to use and evaluate internet sources.
Students' journals will demonstrate their understanding of free "cyber" speech risks and rewards. Students' website evaluations will be assessed on how they describe and constructively analyze wide range of websites covering issues about social networking and internet safety. Ultimately students should uncover how MySpace, Google, other social networking sites and search engines despite their inherent commercial interest offers opportunities for students to address social justice issues.
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