It is hard to believe that the challenge is at an end, but I had a great review of our databases and I learned a lot more about the Common Core too.
By far the assignment I struggled with the most was the Gale Virtual Reference Library week. It was difficult to incorporate CC standards into that one.
The surprising and fun thing was coming up with lesson plans. Since I am not a regular classroom teacher, it was fun to let my imagination run wild in coming up with lessons that would use the databases. The great thing about incorporating these is that you are hitting different learning styles. You don't just read a textbook, you can watch a video, or view a photo of something historical.
If I were a classroom teacher, two of the exercises I would definitely use from what I came up with would be the Ebooks on EBSCOhost activity and the genealogy databases activity. I had fun putting the lessons together, so hopefully the students would have fun doing them. What I like about the Common Core Standards is that they encourage a lot of different active involvement in lessons as well as the opportunity for group work and individual work. Being college, career, and life ready means being able to work collaboratively with others, being creative, able to get up in front of the class and give a speech or presentation and the CCS encompass all of these things. It is up to the teacher about how they will craft lessons to incorporate all of the pieces, and the availability of these databases could help them.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
ERC Week #9 History and Genealogy
WHST Grades 11-12 - 2,4,5,7,8
Using all of the resources listed would make for a great individual project for students in grades 11-12. Many students in this age group don't really pay attention to family history. They are more attuned to things teens are experiencing, so an assignment like this would get them talking to family members too.
This exercise challenges them to research and write about family history. Using the ancestral charts available for printing, the assignment will be to track their family back as far as they can, and write a report to present to the class on what they found. The report will include showing the ancestral chart. Interesting tidbits gleaned from the databases or from interviews with individual family members will hopefully be found and shared.
For the Sanborn Maps part of it, rather than have each student research the same city, I would have them pick a different city. There are plenty of cities in Sanborn so that even a large class would have little duplication. I would have them wait to do the Sanborn part until after they have done the family history part. Maybe in the family research part, they found an ancestor that had ties to DeSmet in the 1800's, so they could look at the two entries for DeSmet from 1893 and 1898, and tell the class about what those maps reveal from those years.
Using all of the resources listed would make for a great individual project for students in grades 11-12. Many students in this age group don't really pay attention to family history. They are more attuned to things teens are experiencing, so an assignment like this would get them talking to family members too.
This exercise challenges them to research and write about family history. Using the ancestral charts available for printing, the assignment will be to track their family back as far as they can, and write a report to present to the class on what they found. The report will include showing the ancestral chart. Interesting tidbits gleaned from the databases or from interviews with individual family members will hopefully be found and shared.
For the Sanborn Maps part of it, rather than have each student research the same city, I would have them pick a different city. There are plenty of cities in Sanborn so that even a large class would have little duplication. I would have them wait to do the Sanborn part until after they have done the family history part. Maybe in the family research part, they found an ancestor that had ties to DeSmet in the 1800's, so they could look at the two entries for DeSmet from 1893 and 1898, and tell the class about what those maps reveal from those years.
Friday, March 15, 2013
ERC Week #8 ArchiveGrid and CAMIO
CCSSELA 1,4,6 (pg 48)
CAMIO is great for visual presentations. For this lesson, I will divide my 11th or 12th grade class into groups. Each group will go into CAMIO, click on 'more' at the entry page and look at the Work Types section. Groups will pick two work types sections to review material within those sections, ultimately deciding on one section for their project.
Project: review items in CAMIO, as a group deciding parameters for their project. For example, if the group chooses to review the Costume and Jewelry work type, they must also decide on date ranges, formats, etc. in order to narrow their search, just as they would in ProQuest or other database searches. Group will choose between 10-15 images to incorporate into a presentation for class. They will properly credit the material in their presentation. In reviewing the images, they will also research the museum where the item resides, places and times relevant to the item, plus any other additional information, including that in their presentation. Example, I chose to look at Costume and Jewelry, 1800, then picked the number 2 image "Waistcoat". I would then research other topics attached to that image like floral motifs in the 1800's. This is also a good opportunity for students to use other databases like World Book as they do more research into the images.
Students can choose a variety of methods to present their information: powerpoint, animoto, vimeo, etc. Groups will find out the strengths of each member of the group (writing, producing, presenting) etc.
CAMIO is great for visual presentations. For this lesson, I will divide my 11th or 12th grade class into groups. Each group will go into CAMIO, click on 'more' at the entry page and look at the Work Types section. Groups will pick two work types sections to review material within those sections, ultimately deciding on one section for their project.
Project: review items in CAMIO, as a group deciding parameters for their project. For example, if the group chooses to review the Costume and Jewelry work type, they must also decide on date ranges, formats, etc. in order to narrow their search, just as they would in ProQuest or other database searches. Group will choose between 10-15 images to incorporate into a presentation for class. They will properly credit the material in their presentation. In reviewing the images, they will also research the museum where the item resides, places and times relevant to the item, plus any other additional information, including that in their presentation. Example, I chose to look at Costume and Jewelry, 1800, then picked the number 2 image "Waistcoat". I would then research other topics attached to that image like floral motifs in the 1800's. This is also a good opportunity for students to use other databases like World Book as they do more research into the images.
Students can choose a variety of methods to present their information: powerpoint, animoto, vimeo, etc. Groups will find out the strengths of each member of the group (writing, producing, presenting) etc.
Friday, March 8, 2013
ERC Week #7 - WorldCat and more...
Teachers, librarians, school administrators, and others are scrambling to gather information and resources dealing with the CCSS.
The first result of my search, "Digital teaching platforms: customizing classroom learning for each student" sounded like such a great resource, I immediately plugged the title into Amazon, read more about it, and sent it on to our collection development committee for possible inclusion into our collection at SDSL. The fact that 249 libraries already own this book is also of note. A month ago, there was great emphasis on Digital Learning Day, so this book seems to fit right along with that.
In addition, looking at the rest of the results on the first page, I noted that the SDSL already owns many of these titles. We are actively trying to purchase materials for use within DOE as well as for use by those individuals noted at the beginning of this post.
There are many specific titles that can be found in WorldCat that would be of interest for schools to borrow or purchase. Many books deal with how to teach certain standards, so teachers, librarians, and others can look at the CCSS for math and ELA and order or borrow specific titles that would help develop lessons.
The first result of my search, "Digital teaching platforms: customizing classroom learning for each student" sounded like such a great resource, I immediately plugged the title into Amazon, read more about it, and sent it on to our collection development committee for possible inclusion into our collection at SDSL. The fact that 249 libraries already own this book is also of note. A month ago, there was great emphasis on Digital Learning Day, so this book seems to fit right along with that.
In addition, looking at the rest of the results on the first page, I noted that the SDSL already owns many of these titles. We are actively trying to purchase materials for use within DOE as well as for use by those individuals noted at the beginning of this post.
There are many specific titles that can be found in WorldCat that would be of interest for schools to borrow or purchase. Many books deal with how to teach certain standards, so teachers, librarians, and others can look at the CCSS for math and ELA and order or borrow specific titles that would help develop lessons.
Friday, March 1, 2013
ERC Week #6 - EBooks on EbscoHost
Grade 9-10; CCRL1,2,3 (pg 38)
EBooks on EbscoHost is a great resource that could be used for English Lit classes. I'm not sure if classes still do this, but it used to be we all had to read the same book. Grapes of Wrath, in my case. I enjoyed it, others did not.
Taking into consideration that this database allows one check-out per person might be a good thing for the lesson I have in mind. It makes more work for teacher, student, and possibly school librarian, because a variety of titles will be needed for this assignment, not just 20 copies of the same title. Here is my lesson:
Teacher reviews what Cliff Notes titles are available in EbscoHost and compiles a list. Each student chooses three books from the list given by the teacher. There may be some overlap in choices, and that is okay. Before making a final choice on which title to read for the class, they are assigned to log in to the database and find Cliff Notes on the titles in which they are interested. If someone has a title checked out, they can just wait until it is available, or even work collaboratively with the student who has it checked out to review the title. Once they have reviewed all three Cliff Notes titles, they are assigned to write a summary of what the book is about, the theme etc (CCRL 1,2). They will also include their choice of which book they want to read in full and why the Cliff Notes helped them reach that decision.
CCRL 3 - Throughout the course of reading the full text of the book they have chosen, students will choose three characters and keep a diary addressing how those characters develop, interact with others etc. The final assignment at the end will not actually be a book report, but a character analysis.
Friday, February 22, 2013
ERC Week #6 - EBooks on EbscoHost
Grade 9-10; CCRL1,2,3 (pg 38)
EBooks on EbscoHost is a great resource that could be used for English Lit classes. I'm not sure if classes still do this, but it used to be we all had to read the same book. Grapes of Wrath, in my case. I enjoyed it, others did not.
Taking into consideration that this database allows one check-out per person might be a good thing for the lesson I have in mind. It makes more work for teacher, student, and possibly school librarian, because a variety of titles will be needed for this assignment, not just 20 copies of the same title. Here is my lesson:
Teacher reviews what Cliff Notes titles are available in EbscoHost and compiles a list. Each student chooses three books from the list given by the teacher. There may be some overlap in choices, and that is okay. Before making a final choice on which title to read for the class, they are assigned to log in to the database and find Cliff Notes on the titles in which they are interested. If someone has a title checked out, they can just wait until it is available, or even work collaboratively with the student who has it checked out to review the title. Once they have reviewed all three Cliff Notes titles, they are assigned to write a summary of what the book is about, the theme etc (CCRL 1,2). They will also include their choice of which book they want to read in full and why the Cliff Notes helped them reach that decision.
CCRL 3 - Throughout the course of reading the full text of the book they have chosen, students will choose three characters and keep a diary addressing how those characters develop, interact with others etc. The final assignment at the end will not actually be a book report, but a character analysis.
Friday, February 15, 2013
ERC Week 4 ProQuest
CC.11-12.R.L.1 and SD.9.R.2.1
Assignment: Use ProQuest to find two full text, scholarly articles on a topic of your choice. Outline each article, noting similarities and differences in the information presented. Note what your level of understanding is of the topic after reading and outlining the article. Did the article help you to understand your chosen topic better, or do you feel more confused by what you learned?
This exercise is going to allow students to discover if they really understand the text of the journal articles they find in ProQuest. If, after reading and outlining, they find that their comprehension of the text is somewhat foggy, then that may be a clue to them to possibly change the topic they are researching. Analyzing and comprehending text are the focus of the above listed standards, and I think this exercise would cover that.
I'm not sure what else to go into on this one. I am purposely keeping this exercise specific to one standard. It is important for 11th and 12th graders to not only read material, but fully understand what they are reading in order to embark upon research projects that they will do for high school classes as well as college.
Assignment: Use ProQuest to find two full text, scholarly articles on a topic of your choice. Outline each article, noting similarities and differences in the information presented. Note what your level of understanding is of the topic after reading and outlining the article. Did the article help you to understand your chosen topic better, or do you feel more confused by what you learned?
This exercise is going to allow students to discover if they really understand the text of the journal articles they find in ProQuest. If, after reading and outlining, they find that their comprehension of the text is somewhat foggy, then that may be a clue to them to possibly change the topic they are researching. Analyzing and comprehending text are the focus of the above listed standards, and I think this exercise would cover that.
I'm not sure what else to go into on this one. I am purposely keeping this exercise specific to one standard. It is important for 11th and 12th graders to not only read material, but fully understand what they are reading in order to embark upon research projects that they will do for high school classes as well as college.
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