YOU ARE HERE >
Main > Teacher Resources > JCC Survey Course
Kim Austin
Christina
Spontaneo
Project
Summary
Jamestown Public Schools
1. General Overview of the Proposed
Project:
Second and third graders will recognize the
similarities and differences between the community of Jamestown, NY
and a typical community in Puerto Rico.
2. Clear Purpose and Objective:
- Develop and understanding
that Puerto Rico is a United States Territory, but the cultures are
different.
- Compare:
- buildings
- cities
- clothing
- food
- government
- history beginning of Jamestown and when
Puerto Rico became a territory
- map and geography
- important people
- school
- transportation
3. Stakeholders: grade level, who will
benefit, who will participate in this project.
Second grade (ESL) (Spanish speaking
students) and third grade inclusion class
4. U.S. History Content Area
Founding of Jamestown
Local History
History of Puerto Rico as part of the
United States
5. Outline Describing Content
Students will make booklets comparing the
community of Jamestown, New York to a community in Puerto Rico using
topics above and incorporating photos and pamphlets. Students will
write requesting free tourist information. Students will complete a
map of New York State labeling Jamestown. Students will complete a
map of Puerto Rico labeling a sister city.
The second and third graders will pen pal to
share information gathered throughout the unit of study.
A field trip will be scheduled. This walking
tour of Jamestown will include a visit to City Hall (when looking at
government), the Post Journal, the fire station, and the police
station.
- Cumulating Project – A Cross Culture
Celebration
- Children will be grouped to present a
holiday:
- Carnival
- Independence Day
- Christmas
- Holiday for important people (ie Martin
Luther King, Jose de Diego, Columbus
-
Each station will incorporate food, arts, and an oral
presentation
During this celebration students will have the
opportunity to view a visual presentation. This presentation will
be in the form of a slide show/DVD that makes use of pictures and
information gathered by students and educators throughout the entire
project.
6. Software to be used, internet
materials, contacts, etc.
A – Z Books –
A True Book of Puerto Rico
Art Supplies
Digital cameras one per class
i-Photo
iTunes
Food
7. Level of Student Involvement
Students will: create booklets, read texts
(A-Z United States of America, A-Z Puerto Rico, and A True Book of
Puerto Rico) pen pals sharing information, research holidays and
prepare for celebration.
8. Evaluation process (include students
when possible)
Booklets
Presentations/props/visuals
Reflective journal of process and
presentations
9. Timeline: how you envision the
project being carried out between start up and conclusion
Start in January (maps, booklets) Cumulative
mid May (Cross culture celebration)
Christina
Spontaneo
S. G. Love
School
Kim Austin
C. C. Ring
School
2nd
and 3rd Grade Community Study
1.
General Overview of the Proposed Project:
Second and
third graders will recognize the similarities and differences
between the community of Jamestown, New York and a typical community
in Puerto Rico.
2.
Clear Purpose and Objective:
The purpose of
this project is to develop a unit of study that will enable students
to gain an understanding that Puerto Rico is a United States
Territory, but the cultures are different.
Objectives:
·
Students will compare
and contrast the community of Jamestown, New York and a typical
community in Puerto Rico.
·
Students will focus
their comparison on the buildings, clothing, climate, culture,
entertainment, food, important people, education, transportation,
government, history, geography and people.
3.
Stakeholders: grade level, who will benefit, who will participate in
this project.
A second grade
class that includes English as a second language students and a
third grade inclusion class from two elementary schools
(approximately 35 students) will participate in this project.
4. U.S.
History Content Area
The U. S.
History content includes the founding of Jamestown, local history,
and the history of Puerto Rico as part of the United States.
5.
Outline Describing Content
Students will
make booklets comparing the community of Jamestown, New York to a
community in Puerto Rico using topics above and incorporating photos
and pamphlets. Students will write requesting free tourist
information. Students will complete a map of New York State
labeling Jamestown. Students will complete a map of Puerto Rico
labeling a sister city.
The second and
third graders will pen pal to share information gathered throughout
the unit of study.
A culminating
activity will be a cross culture celebration. Students will come
together for a day to share, their projects and participate in a
field trip. The day will begin with a walking tour of Jamestown
that includes City Hall, the fire station, police station, and the
Jamestown Post Journal. Students will have the opportunity to
participate in a guided tour of the Jamestown Post Journal. Students
will partake in food from both cultures. The final activity will be
a hands-on comparison of Jamestown, New York and a city in Puerto
Rico.
6.
Software to be used, internet materials, contacts, etc.
Resources:
Books:
A to Z
United States, written by
Jeff Reynolds
A to Z
Puerto Rico, written by
Jeff Reynolds
Community Helpers from A to Z,
a Bobbie Kalman Book
Additional Resources:
Comic
Life Software
Pages
Software
i Photo
iTunes
Keynote
Homework
Share (pen pal communication)
Comic Life
i
Photo
iTunes
Homework Share
(pen pal communication)
Letters
From Felix: A Little Rabbit on a World Tour
Langen,
Annette & Constanza Droop Pub. 1994
Barack
Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope
Grimes, Nikki
Pub. 2008
Martin’s
Big Words
Rappaport,
Doreen Pub. 2007
If a Bus
Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks
Ringgold,
Faith Pub. 1999
Puerto Rico
972.95 M Milivojevic, JoAnn Pub. 2000
Puerto Rico
972.95 R Reynolds, Jeff E. Pub. 2004
Puerto Rico
972.95 W Welsbacher, Anne Pub. 1998
Puerto Rico
972.95 FRA Fradin, Dennis B. Pub. 1995
Puerto Rico
917.295 MOR Moritz, Patricia M. Pub. 1998
Take a Trip to
Puerto Rico
972.95 GRI Griffiths, John Pub. 1989
Children of
Puerto Rico
972.9505 R Ross, Michael Elsohn Pub. 2002
BOCES
Resources
American
Cultures for Children: Puerto Rico
H65241 Video 25 min.
Explore the
Caribbean
K1961 Kit
Families of
the World: Families of Puerto Rico
H65543 Video 29 Min.
Computer
Resources:
Cruz Báez,
Angel David, and Thomas D. Boswell. "Puerto Rico."
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.
2009. Grolier Online. 28 May 2009 <http://gme.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0238420-0
The Puerto Ricans.
(2009).
America the Beautiful.
Retrieved May 28, 2009, from Grolier Online http://atb.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?templatename=state.html&as
setid=atb041r01&assettype=t&stateid=atb041&etype=r&category=tr
Lounsbury, J.
F. (2009). Puerto Rico. (G. F. Córdova, Rev.).
The New Book of Knowledge®.
Retrieved May 28, 2009, from Grolier Online
http://nbk.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=a2024310-h
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Puerto_Rico
Video Clips,
Thinkbright, WNED:
http://www.powermediaplus.com
Community
Helpers: What Is a Community?. New Dimension Media. 2006.
PowerMediaPlus.com. 8 June 2009.
Martin's Big
Words. Weston Woods. 2002. PowerMediaPlus.com. 8 June 2009.
American
Heroes & Heroines: Martin Luther King Jr.. Colman Communications.
2003. PowerMediaPlus.com. 8 June 2009.
http://auth.grolier.com/login/go_login_page.html?bffs=N
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_Ball
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
Fenton Historical Museum:
http://www.fentonhistorycenter.org/
The
Robert H. Jackson Center:
http://www.roberthjackson.org/
Teachers’
Domain: Rosa Parks – Quick Time Video Interview with Rosa Parks:
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/iml04.soc.ush.civil.parks/
Materials:
Digital cameras
Photos of
Jamestown (Critical Thinking Activity)
Hula hoops**
(Venn diagrams)
Teacher
created fact cards
**(Used during
final hands on review)
Binding
spirals (Used for booklets)
Brochures and
flyers
Resources on
Jamestown provided by Jamestown Chamber of Commerce
Keynote presentation –
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Elmo
and Safari System
Laptop computers
Piñata – box, tissue paper, construction paper, glue and candy
7.
Level of Student Involvement
Students will
use technology, pen pal, read texts (A-Z United States of America,
A-Z Puerto Rico), research, share information, and create projects.
8.
Evaluation process (include students when possible)
Students’
projects, presentations, and writing will be used to assess
understanding.
9.
Timeline: how you envision the project being carried out between
start up and conclusion
The project
will start in January (maps, booklets) and end with the cumulative
in mid May (Cross culture celebration).
10.
Comments or Questions:
TAH purchased
a classroom set of books, A to Z United States and
A to Z
Puerto Rico for both
teachers to share.
Jamestown
Public Schools provided digital cameras for student use during this
project.
Additional
Costs:
·
Bus for field trip
·
Printing of students’
photographs
·
Food, beverage,
tableware
·
Bottled water
·
Binding spines for
booklets
2nd
and 3rd Grade Community Study
Christina
Spontaneo
2nd,
3rd & 4th Grade Teacher (Looping Classroom)
S. G. Love
School
Kim Austin
3rd
Grade Teacher
C. C. Ring
School
Evaluation/Reflection – Kim Austin
My students
thoroughly enjoyed this unit of study including the various projects
that we did along the way. Being new to 3rd grade this
year was definitely a challenge for me. I had to readjust my
expectations from 5th grade to 3rd and I did
not anticipate the amount of time that 3rd graders would
take in comparison to my former 5th graders. I think
that Tina and I were able to create a cross-curricular unit of study
that was very well suited to the skills and abilities of 2nd
and 3rd graders. Another challenge for teaching at the 3rd
grade level is the amount of, or lack of, time in the schedule that
you have to devote to social studies. That’s why I felt that it was
so important to integrate the unit across the curriculum. I think
that this goal was accomplished well with all of the coordinating
activities and because we were reading, writing, and studying about
the two communities, social studies became more than just a quick
unit squeezed into our hectic day.
I was very
grateful to have Tina as a partner on this project. She has some
terrific ideas and was wonderful to work with. Her creativity and
high expectations encouraged me to challenge my students and
myself. It worked out well that we are in different grade levels
because her students really focused on the community of Jamestown
and touched on Puerto Rico. My students touched on Jamestown and
put their emphasis into researching Puerto Rico so when we got
together to share, each class had different information and projects
to share with the other. Her students were able to highlight their
Jamestown projects and my students were able to share their I-Books
comparing themselves to a Puerto Rican child and the bookmarks that
they had created to give to the students in Mrs. Spontaneo’s class.
An
outline of learning activities is given below:
·
Important People in US
History
o
Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
§
Mini unit of study –
including a reading lesson, vocabulary study, video clips, “My
Friend, Martin” movie, and booklet.
o
Rosa Parks
§
Mini unit of study –
including a reading lesson, vocabulary study, video clips, and
biography poster.
·
Important People in
Puerto Rican History
o
Students then
researched famous Puerto Ricans gather information about them using
library books, Groiler online, and Wikipedia.com
o
As part of our
newspaper unit, students created a front page of a newspaper
highlighting their famous Puerto Rican.
o
These papers were then
shared with the students at Love School.
·
Characteristics of a
community
o
In small groups,
students grouped and labeled pictures of various things in Jamestown
including people, buildings, businesses, services, etc.
o
As a groups we put all
of their headings on a web and the students then determined that all
of these things represented a community, thus completing the main
circle on the web.
o
Watched and discussed
“What is a Community?” New Dimension Media from Power Media Plus.
·
Letter Writing (Guided
Instruction)
o
Homework share – pen
pal letters
o
Puerto Rico Tourism
Center
§
Request brochures and
information on Puerto Rico
·
Book, A to Z United
States, written by Jeff Reynolds
o
Teacher created comic
book using Comic Life
o
Students record notes
and draw illustration to demonstrate understanding of things that
make up the culture of the USA.
·
Book, A to Z Puerto
Rico, written by
o
Teacher created comic
book using Comic Life
o
Students record notes
and draw illustrations to demonstrate understanding of things that
make up the culture of Puerto Rico.
·
I-Book Project
o
Students took the
information from both A-Z books and created an I-Book. They were
directed to create an average Puerto Rican child, giving them a name
and a city of birth etc. and write about the similarities and
differences in their daily lives.
·
Informational
Bookmarks
o
Students created
bookmarks listing fun facts about Puerto Rico on one side and
similar facts about the state of New York on the other.
o
These bookmarks were a
gift for their pen pals at Love School
·
A Culminating
Activity–Cross Culture Celebration/Field Trip
o
Share projects, enjoy
food, and take part in a walking tour of community and the Jamestown
Post Journal.
o
Hands-on compare and
contrast using facts and photos
·
Student Reflection
Time is always
an issue in an elementary classroom. I can’t wait to do this
project again next year. I will start sooner so that we are not as
rushed to get things done at the end. There are some aspects of the
project that I would do differently. I would like to restructure
the expectations for the I-Books and give the students a more
defined plan to follow. Many of them had to be redirected during
their project to include more facts about each community rather than
just fun information about themselves and their fictional Puerto
Rican child. I think that I would also restructure the A-Z
information guides for the books USA book and the Puerto Rico Book
so that they were meshed and you discussed the topics at the same
time to reinforce the comparison of the different cultures.
Also, I
realize that if Tina and I do this unit together again next year we
will have to adjust some things to take into account that she is
working with the same set of students who will then be 3rd
graders. It was really neat this year that they concentrated mainly
on the city of Jamestown whereas my class put most of our efforts
into Puerto Rico with some overlap. They then had information to
share with each other at our culminating celebration. Next year we
will both really highlight Puerto Rico and possibly do our projects
even more jointly. I think that it would be really neat if we could
video conference along the way and share the information that the
students gather.
I really
enjoyed this entire project as did my students. They are so proud
of the work that they have done. They improved their reading,
writing, speaking, researching, and computer skills, all while
learning about two different communities.
Evaluation/Reflection – Christina Spontaneo
This year both
Kim and I entered a new grade level. I began a three-year loop with
a class of second graders, and Kim left middle school and is now
teaching third grade. I feel that I had a number of challenges to
address throughout this school year and this project. For me,
knowing that I am responsible for teaching this group of children
for the next three years is a huge responsibility. It has made me
be very mindful of my teaching. As a result, this project seemed to
evolve and was driven in part by students’ abilities. Having taught
third and fourth grade for a number of years has given me a keen
awareness of what my students need to know by the end of fourth
grade. I wanted to create an interdisciplinary unit, which
incorporated language arts skills into social studies in order to
give my students a good social studies foundation. In addition, I
wanted to create a love of learning. I wanted my students to enjoy
learning about social studies as much as I enjoy teaching it!
Upon
completion of this project I feel like I have met this goal and have
not only brought social studies to the forefront of 2nd
grade, but have created a meaningful interdisciplinary unit on
communities.
Besides
adjusting to a new grade level and determining just what second
graders can and cannot do, one of the challenges elementary teachers
face is the lack of resources. The books provided by TAH were a
great benefit and served as a framework for our study of the city of
Jamestown and Puerto Rico.
An
outline of learning activities is given below:
·
Important People in US
History
o
Tri-fold brochure
o
Robert H. Jackson and
Lucille Ball
§
Online research
o
President Barack Obama
§
Teacher Read Aloud -
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope
§
Online Research
o
Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
§
Keynote Presentation –
Primary source photographs, vocabulary, key facts, & video clips.
§
Students write their
own “I Have a Dream” speech.
§
100 Acts of Kindness –
Living the Dream ReadWriteThink Lesson
§
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view_printer_friendly.asp?id=259
·
From January 15 –
February 14 we collected 100 “Acts of Kindness”.
·
Letter and Recording
Sheet sent home.
·
Parents, family
members, and school staff report students’ acts of kindness.
o
Rosa Parks
§
Teacher Read Aloud –
If a Bus Could Talk, by Faith Ringgold
·
Students use pictures
and words to create a shapebook based on story.
§
Teachers’ Domain Quick
Time Video
·
Interview for Eyes on
the Prize with civil rights activist, Rosa Parks, published June 18,
2004.
·
Compare and Contrast
o
Civil Rights Era and
Today
§
Critical Thinking
Activity
·
Photos and key fact
sort
o
Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. and President Elect Barack Obama
o
Bulletin Board
§
Visual display of
similarities and differences between the Civil Rights Era and Today
·
Letter Writing (Guided
Instruction)
o
Homework share – pen
pal letters
o
Jamestown Chamber of
Commerce
§
Request brochures and
information on the City of Jamestown
·
Video Thinkbright WNED
o
What is a
Community? New Dimension
Media
o
Guided notes worksheet
·
Book, Community
Helpers from A to Z, written by Jeff Reynolds
o
Teacher created comic
book using Comic Life
o
Students record notes
and draw illustrations to demonstrate understanding.
o
School Community
Helpers Scavenger Hunt
§
Students use clues to
infer which community helper they have been given.
·
Book, A to Z United
States, written by Jeff Reynolds
o
Teacher created comic
book using Comic Life
o
Students record notes
and draw illustration to demonstrate understanding.
·
Research
o
Students use the book,
United States of America A to Z, and their notes from the
WNED Video, What Is A Community? to describe key categories
that make a community unique in their own words.
o
Cooperative Learning
§
Teams gather
information on key categories and present to the whole group.
§
Record information on
chart paper.
§
Transfer information
from chart to typed notes
·
City of Jamestown
Essay Writing
o
Use typed notes –
Guided planning of essay
o
Guide students to
transfer notes from planning page to rough draft
·
Digital Field
Trip/Scavenger Hunt
o
Use digital cameras to
capture a visual representation of their community (school and
surrounding area of Love School)
o
Pair students up.
Give them a list of key categories to capture in pictures.
o
Use iPhoto book to
make a photo album (booklet)
·
Posters
o
Students use
photographs from scavenger hunt to create a poster for presentations
to Ring School students.
o
Have students write
captions.
·
Tri-fold Brochures
o
Use Pages to create
template.
o
Students describe
historic figures from USA and Jamestown.
§
USA – Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, President Barack Obama
§
Jamestown, NY – Robert
H. Jackson and Lucille Ball
·
A Culminating
Activity–Cross Culture Celebration/Field Trip
o
Share projects, enjoy
food, and take part in a walking tour of community and the Jamestown
Post Journal.
o
Hands-on compare and
contrast using facts and photos
o
Piñata – Handmade
·
Student Reflection
Lack of time
was another problem that we faced. We had planned on starting in
January; however we didn’t begin until February. In the future, I
will start the project at the beginning of the year. I found that
it took students much longer to complete tasks than I had expected.
It would have been helpful to have another teacher or
paraprofessional to assist me at various times during the project,
especially with my limited English learners.
Having someone
like Kim to work with made this project even more enjoyable. Kim
and I work quite well together. Our thoughts and style of teaching
seem to compliment one another. I appreciated her willingness to be
flexible and make adjustments as needed. I am looking forward to
working with her next year when we are both teaching 3rd
grade. Kim has some great ideas on how we can share information and
enhance student learning.
In the end, I
am very pleased with the amount and quality of work that my students
produced. I set my expectations high, and they were able to exceed
them. This project has been a great learning experience for my
students and me. I am sure it is one they will never forget.
Just recently,
my students and I were discussing the end of the year and the fact
that we will be together in 3rd grade. All of a sudden
one of my students jumped up and down while shouting, “YEAH! We get
to do more projects!” I think that says it all!
Puerto Rico
Booklet
Directions
Sheet
Page 1:
1.
Write a sentence telling your audience your name and your
school at the top of the page.
2.
At the bottom write the following sentence: I am a United
Stated States citizen.
Page 2:
1.
Write a sentence stating the name of your fictional Puerto
Rican student at the top of the page.
2.
At the bottom write the following sentence: He is a United
States citizen. Or She is a United States Citizen.
Below are some
common names of children in Puerto Rico. You may choose from the
list or think of a name on your own.
|
Puerto Rican Girl Names |
|
Adelaida
Annalisse
Asianah
Brandye
Carleigha
Cassandra
Celestina
Cionnaye
Coraly
Dayanara |
Emily
Eva
Evalisse
Genevalisse
Guanina
Heriberto
Idalyz
Ivelisse
Janisa
Jerrely
Jesenia |
Jomayra
Karelma
Keiyanai
Mallorie
Marelys
Maria
Marisol
Maritza
Mayra-Liz
Migdalia
Monaique |
Nautica
Nixzaliz
Thaimy
Waleska
Xiomarys
Yaira
Yajaira
Yara
Yashira
Yumaris
Zuleika |
|
Puerto Rican Girl |
|
Puerto Rican Boy Names |
|
Armando
Benigno
Bernado
Chico
Christian
Clourindo
Emilio
Emmanuel
Eulogio
Jaivin |
Julio
Madesio
Marcos
Omar
Osvaldo
Pablo
Raleigh
Roberto
Vincent
Wilfredo |
|
Puerto Rican Boy |
Page 3: My
Community
1.
Write a sentences naming the city and state that you live in.
2.
Add the map of New York showing where Jamestown is located.
Page 4:
_____________________’s Community
1.
Write a sentence about your character and where he lives.
2.
Add the map of Puerto Rico and label the city.
In the rest of
your pages, cover such topics as:
School
Clothing
Things to do for fun
Food
Community
Make sure to
write good complete sentences and make your book interesting!!
   
 
Newspapers
site_files/Teacher_Resources/TAH
Teacher Projects_files/Teacher Summaries/Austin Spontaneo
09/Olivia's newspaper.pdf
site_files/Teacher_Resources/TAH
Teacher Projects_files/Teacher Summaries/Austin Spontaneo 09/ Noah's
Newspaper.pdf
|