by Marilyn Scahill
mpscahill@mpsomaha.org
| Grade
Level: 4-6 |
Content
Areas: Language Arts & Information
Skills |
Using
handheld technology, students will research and report
on a famous person. Bibliographic data and notes
will be taken using Memo Pad, information will be
organized in PiCo Map, reports presented through
Palm eBook format, and a follow-up quiz for classmates
will be developed in Quizzler. Within the project,
students will learn the fundamental principles involved
in completing a research project. This is designed
as an integrated unit to be taught by the classroom
teacher and media specialist.
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Other
Materials or Technology Required
-
Non-fiction
print resources on individuals selected (available from
the Media Center)
-
Online
resources on individuals selected (available through
the Media Center)
-
Internet
resources on individuals selected
-
Word
processing software such as Microsoft Word
- Students
will use handheld technology to complete the steps required
in the Research Process.
- The student-developed
product will be an eBook and Quizzler about a specific person
with historic and/or cultural significance.
Procedures
- Students
will receive instruction in the steps involved in completing
a research project.
- Students
will choose a person of significance for their biographical
project. (NOTE: This can easily be adapted to coordinate
with various units of study – Civil War personalities,
Presidents, Multicultural Studies, Women’s Studies,
Inventors, Scientists within a specific field of study, Mathematicians,
Famous Nebraskans, Authors, Poets, etc.) Product requirements
will be explained and a class rubric developed.
- Using
a print resource, students will take notes using their handheld
with Memo Pad. Slugs (sub-topics such as Childhood, Education,
Career, and Accomplishments – these will become chapter
headings) will be identified as categories within Memo Pad
so that they can be easily sorted and grouped. Bibliographic
information will be correctly cited in a Memo Pad entry.
- Students
will receive instruction in Internet search procedures and
using a WebSite Evaluation Form will determine the site’s
suitability. Using Memo Pad, students will take notes and
cite their source, as in Procedure 3.
- When notes
are complete, students will determine the order in which
to include their information. A PiCo Map of their slug topics
will be created to illustrate the student’s organization
of their project. An ordinal entry number will be inserted
at the beginning of each Memo Pad entry.
- Each student
shall HotSync his/her handheld. Using slug groupings, students
will copy/paste entries in order into a word processing document.
Using correct bibliographic order, source citations will
be included in the document.
- Each student
shall complete any necessary editing to their Biography including
creating their own title page, table of contents, chapter
headings, bibliography, and document spell check. A review
of proper quotation procedures may be required.
- Instruction
will be provided in importing the information into eBook
Studio software, creating anchors and chapter links, and
making page breaks.
- Instruction
will be provided in locating an image and importing it into
the eBook. (NOTE for an optional activity: A Sketchy can
be created to illustrate an invention, product, theory, or
a scene/event from the person’s life.)
- Instruction
will be provided in transferring the eBook into Palm Reader
and each student will HotSync their project to his/her handheld.
- Each student
will develop a Quizzler to accompany his/her Biography.
- Students
will exchange Biographies and Quizzlers with a partner or
in small groups to share information about their individuals.
- Students
can share with the whole class something they learned from
their partner’s project.
Product
Requirements
- Location
and utilization of at least one print (book) resource on
the individual
- Location,
evaluation, and utilization of at least one Internet website
on the individual
- Creation
of eBook about the individual, which shall include:
- Information
on the individual’s childhood, education/training,
career, and accomplishments
- At
least one graphic relating to the individual
- At
least one quote from the individual
- A
bibliography of resources
- Creation
of a Quizzler relating to the eBook information (10 question,
minimum)
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