Reflections from a Third-Grade Classroom

Please note: This project has changed somewhat since I began researching the details of it and narrowing my scope. It is modified from the previous entry.

What is my Educational Need/Opportunity?

Bourdieu states that cultural capital consists of the “forms of knowledge, skills, education,and advantages that a person has, which give them a higher status in society. Parents provide their children with cultural capital by transmitting the attitudes and knowledge needed to succeed in the current educational system.” Recent research has suggested that this access to cultural capital is especially important for the academic success of urban youth.

I have found the following articles to help support this position:

• PDF JSTOR: Anthropology & Education Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 3, (1988), pp. 270-287
  by Henry T Trueba
• PDF JSTOR: Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Vol. 25, No. 1, (2003 ), pp. 59-74
  by Roger D Goddard
• PDF JSTOR: Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Vol. 25, No. 3, (2003 ), pp. 237-262
  by Robert K Ream
• PDF JSTOR: Review of Educational Research, Vol. 72, No. 1, (2002 ), pp. 31-60
  by Sandra L Dika, Kusum Singh

I will be integrating access to forms of cultural, social, and digital literacy within an integrated language arts/social studies unit, tying the project into Grade Level Content Expectations for 3rd Grade. I will be working in a 3rd Grade urban classroom next year as I complete my teaching internship and would like to integrate this project next year with the support of my CT (cooperating teacher).

I would like my students to research the history of Michigan using a combination of technological and traditional sources (textbooks, trade books, etc). (Initially, I had thought that the project would involve a much broader scope; however, I have realized that this is much too comprehensive. I would like them to focus exclusively on the history of Michigan for this project.) I would like each student to have a focus for their historical research: American Indians of the Region, Reasons for Settlement of the Region, Interactions between Natives and Settlers, Developments by the Settlers, Achieving Statehood.

Once the research is completed, each group should construct a narrative text, based on the factual information uncovered. I would like this to be developed into a digital story using either Microsoft’s PhotoStory3 or Apple’s iMovie. The students may use their own images or else use images from FlickrCC. These digital stories will be uploaded to our class webpage to “publish” them for family and friends.

After completion, we will view all the stories as a class and discuss the differences between them. What is similar about these stories? What is different? If everyone is writing about the same topic (the history of Michigan), why would there be any differences? I would like students to take this opportunity to engage in critical evaluations of their own texts and explore the subjectivity of historical narrative. They will be analyzing one project in particular, and determining its effectiveness. What makes this project believable? Do the images selected have any impact? What suggestions do you have for improvement?

This project meets the following GLCEs in the State of Michigan:

Social Studies

• 3 – H3.0.1 Identify questions historians ask in examining the past in Michigan (e.g., What happened? When
  did it happen? Who was involved? How and why did it happen?)
• 3 – H3.0.3 Describe the causal relationships between three events in Michigan’s past (e.g., Erie Canal, more
  people came, statehood).
• 3 – H3.0.5 Use informational text and visual data to compare how American Indians and settlers in the early
  history of Michigan adapted to, used, and modified their environment.
• 3 – H3.0.6 Use a variety of sources to describe interactions that occurred between American Indians and
  the first European explorers and settlers in Michigan.
• 3 – H3.0.7 Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to construct a historical narrative about daily life
  in the early settlements of Michigan (pre-statehood).
• 3 – H3.0.8 Use case studies or stories to describe how the ideas or actions of individuals affected the
  history of Michigan.
• 3 – H3.0.9 Describe how Michigan attained statehood.
• 3 – G4.0.2 Describe diverse groups that have come into a region of Michigan and reasons why they came
  (push/pull factors). (H)

Language Arts

• W.GN.03.03 write an informational piece including a report that demonstrates the understanding of central ideas and supporting details using an effective organizational pattern (e.g., compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution) with a title, heading, subheading, and a table of contents.
• W.GN.03.04 use the writing process to produce and present a research project; initiate research questions from content area text from a teacher-selected topic; and use a variety of resources to gather and organize information.
• W.PR.03.01 set a purpose, consider audience, and replicate authors’ styles and patterns when writing a narrative or informational piece.
• S.CN.03.02 adjust their use of language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes including gathering information, making requests, discussing, classroom presentations, and playground interactions.
• S.CN.03.03 speak effectively emphasizing key words and varied pace for effect in narrative and informational presentations.
• S.DS.03.04 plan and deliver presentations using an effective informational organizational pattern (e.g., descriptive, problem/solution, cause/effect); supportive facts and details reflecting a variety of resources; and varying the pace for effect.
• L.RP.03.03 respond to multiple text types listened to or viewed knowledgeably, by discussing, illustrating, and/or writing in order to reflect, make connections, take a position, and/or show understanding.
• L.RP.03.05 respond to and retell what a speaker said, paraphrasing and explaining the main idea, and then extend their response by connecting and relating it to personal experiences.

Addressing this Issue with Technology

I believe technology can be extremely beneficial in this project. I plan on integrating technology in the following ways:

Research

• Students can take “virtual field trips” to state museums
• Students can conduct research on the internet
• Students will use FlickrCC to acquire relevant and fair use images.

Presentation

• Students will use digital storytelling to present their research findings.
• Movies will be published on a class webpage.

Technology integration is vital to the success of this project.  It provides students access to museums, texts, and information that they would otherwise miss out on.  Taking a field trip to the Michigan Historical Museum may be cost-prohibitive and time intensive, but a virtual field trip can be completed in an hour of computer-lab time.

Digital Storytelling is also important to the success of the project.  So far I have found the following support for digital storytelling and will continue to search for more peer-reviewed articles:

• PDF JSTOR: The English Journal, Vol. 93, No. 3, (2004 ), pp. 64-68

Todays students are digital natives and highly visual.  In an article by Marc Prensky (link coming soon), a point is made that contemporary students view text as a supporting element to visual texts, rather than the other way around.  This format asks students to compose traditional texts based on factual research, but allows them to present it and really own it in a way that is authentic to their own generation.

Project Implementation

As a future intern, I do not currently have my own classroom.  I am planning this project in anticipation for my upcoming internship year, which is in an urban, low-income, third-grade classroom.  As such, I cannot actually implement this in an actual setting until the following school year.  However, I would like to have everything set up now, with relevant examples, so that I can make an effective and convincing project proposal to my future CT, who is reluctant to integrate technology into her classroom.  I will be meeting with her over the summer to discuss the upcoming year, and I need to be able to convince her that I am capable of implementing an ambitious project such as this.  Thus, I would like to have all supporting documentation and research beforehand.  I would like to have a plan in place, and a finalized plan for completion with all necessary links and webpages.

 Addressing the Four Common Places of Education

The Teacher

I need to convince my future CT, who is technologically reluctant, that this is a valuable and worthwhile project to implement.  Thus, planning, research, and preparation are of vital importance.  I must demonstrate that I am not in “over my head” and that I am capable of undertaking something so ambitious.  Also, since we are “co-teaching” to a certain extent, I will need to consider some professional development so that she is able to help students as well.

The Student

When taking the learner into account, I have been careful to draw upon State Curriculum Standards to keep the focus on a developmentally appropriate scope.  I will need to apply this thinking to the research I direct them to on the internet, and be sure that it is not over their heads.

Subject Matter

I am hoping that by having students construct a digital story, they will be able to incorporate their own experiences and knowledge into the finished product.

Context/Setting

I have not yet been to the school that I will be working in next year, and am relying on first-hand information from the current intern.  I will make adjustments to this lesson as I meet my CT, the technology teacher, and my students.