Student goals:
• What are your goals for your students? Students will gather information about food in their own lives, conduct research and engage in activities to understand how food and resources are distributed globally. They will learn about why people are hungry. They will create a service-learning project to educate their school/community about the issue of hunger. They will create a multimedia electronic book documenting the project.
• What knowledge will students acquire by engaging in this project? Students will learn about hunger in the world, collaborating, communicating ethically, gathering data, researching in a meaningful way, and problem solving.
• What subject terms, principles and facts related to the curriculum will students learn
through this project? Students will learn about what constitutes a “global issue”, what it means to understand the perspective of other countries, cyber safety, cyber ethics, how to create an electronic book, how to evaluate information in order to solve a problem.
• What are your state, local, and/or national curriculum standards that this project
addresses? Include required technology standards if applicable see above
Timetable
• Week 1 – Introduction to iEARN, parental slips, iEARN student contract, scavenger hunt, Netiquette Lesson.
• Week 2 & 3 – Youth Forum, concept of replying to 2 for every post you make. Peer editing. Students will create a food diary using spreadsheet? (or other information gathering option). Students will create a word processing document title “Hunger Journal” in which they will:
==> Record feelings about what they are discovering
==> Draft letters and plans for class projects
==> Compose stories and poems
==> Collect ideas for community action
==> Keep track of information like local organizations, addresses, websites, etc.
• Week 4 – Analyze types and quantities of foods consumed per person. Create visuals (charts, graphs).
• Week 5 & 6 – Participate in activities to help understand how food and resources are distributed globally. Why are people hungry? Where are people hungry?
• Week 7 & 8 – Problem solve by creating a service-learning project to educate their school/community about the issue of hunger and how people can effect change.
• Week 9 & 10 – Document their project through video and / or multimedia electronic book.
We will spend about 3 hours a week on this project.
Specific lessons
Introduction
• How will you present this project to your students? Begin with a slideshow depicting hunger worldwide. Then do a KWL—what do you know about hunger? What do you want to know about hunger?
http://www.menzelphoto.com/galleries/
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
• Howwill you tie it into their curricular studies? The technology standards will be addressed in every phase of the project. They will use spreadsheets to gather information, electronic graphing and charting tools to show their gatherings, research strategies, and multimedia as well as online learning and collaborating.
• How will you get them interested in the topic? The introduction slideshow and the questions about hunger as well as exploring iEARN through the scavenger hunt and the Youth Forum.
• What background knowledge do your students bring to the project? The students were introduced to iEARN last year, they are “digitally aware”.
Productivity of work
• Will your students need to do research for their project?
o Students will use an online website “MyPlate” http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ to look up the food in their diaries and get food group and calories.
o Research hunger in the world using the Internet.
o Partner with the librarian and use resources in library.
o Radio and television news.
• How will they be organized to gather information?
o Students will work in groups of 2 or 3. Each group will be given a continent at random and will research hunger in that continent.
• Who will be responsible and in charge?
o Each group will pick a spokesperson.
• How will you handle the e-mail exchanges, how often, who will be in charge?
o A forum will be setup for this project in iEARN. A link to that forum will be put on the “Hunger” page of our website for easy access. The class will vote to select 3 “overseers” who will review the forum for appropriateness and report to the teacher their findings once a week.
Collaboration
• How and when will your students collaborate or communicate with other students in the iEARN network?
o iEARN “Finding Solutions to Hunger” forum.
o Week 1 & 2 – students will use the Youth Forum in iEARN.
o Week 5 – 10 – students will communicate via the “Finding Solutions to Hunger” forum in iEARN. They will check the forum every school day.
o Hopeful—skype or other video conferencing solution.
Assessment of student work
• How will the appropriateness of student work be evaluated?
o The class “overseers” will review the forum weekly.
o Teacher will review the forum at least twice a week, looking for examples of inappropriate and appropriate behaviors. Share some of the appropriate behavior with the class using the projector. Address inappropriate behavior privately or as a general example to class if necessary.
• How will you assess the student work?
- in the introduction stage of the project?
o Netiquette Quiz
o Scavenger Hunt
- in the implementation of the project?
o Food Diary
o Chart of Food consumed by food groups.
- in conclusion of the project?
o Hunger Journal
o Self and Group Project Evaluations
o Service-learning project
o Multimedia electronic book or video
Conclusion of activity
• When does your participation in the project end?
o The end of the project will coincide with the end of the marking period.
o Students will present their project, book, or video.
• How will the students draw their projects to a conclusion?
o We will complete the KWL chart. What have they learned about hunger in the world and solution to hunger in the world?
o Students will present their final products to administration, homeroom teachers, and anyone else we can drum up.
• Action items to consider in this phase
o Students will complete a feedback form using SurveyMonkey where they will be asked to provide input on what went well, what did they learn, what would they change?
Possible Skills
• Computer skills
o Blogs, PowerPoint, MAC products, imovie, iphoto, camera use, video use, green screen, multimedia electronic book.
• Research skills
o Determining legitimate sources.
o Citing sources.
o Copyright, free use, plagiarism.
• English language skills
o Writing posts for the forum.
o Grammar and spelling for final project.
• Critique skills
o Group Project Evaluation (this will probably be the first time they can assess their peer participation—should encourage active participation.
