International Creatures
Ann
Marie Lundberg
June
17, 2002
EDP
621, Summer 2002
Objective/Goal:
The sixth grade students will research information about animals
originating from different regions of the world (polar, tundra, etc.) from a
list of questions provided by the teacher (i.e. color, size, food, etc.). From this activity, the students will
develop skills involved in working together, depending on each other, helping
each other, and cooperatively working to teach other students about a topic.
Materials:
The students will need pencils, paper, list of questions, books about
popular animals, encyclopedias, poster board, paints, crayons, and markers.
Procedures:
1). Students will be assigned to groups,
four members per group, based on
each
of their interests in particular animals/areas of the world.
2). Each member will be assigned to one of
the following specific roles
within
the group; Leader/Reporter, Checker/Organizer, Recorder, and
Artist.
3). Each group will be given 8 questions.
4). Each group member is assigned 2 questions
by the group Leader.
5). The Checker will check to see that
everyone has completed their
questions,
and will organize the group’s notes, books, and other materials.
6). The students will share their findings
with the group members, who will
then
write answers to the remaining six questions.
7). The artist will draw and color pictures
to accompany information found
through
the research.
8). The recorder will write the answers to
each of the eight questions into
complete
sentences, first onto paper, then onto the poster board after the artist has
completed the artwork.
9). The pictures and information will be
shared with the class by the
reporter
(with assistance by other members if necessary). He/she will use the sentences written by the recorder while
other group members show their pictures.
10). After all
reports are given, the artwork and sentences from all groups
will
be combined into a book, to be placed in the school library.
Assessment:
The students will be graded on their overall knowledge of the
animal(s) of their
choices. Also, they will be
evaluated on the basis of their cooperation, effort, and attitude during the
entire activity.
Individual
Accountability: The students are responsible for
researching and completing each of their two sentences to work toward the
group’s goal of eight sentences.
Each group member holds the expectation that the other members will
complete their portion in order to complete the project.
Positive
Interdependence: The students are working together
toward their common goal of researching eight sentences. The Checker makes sure that everyone
completes his or her respective parts in order to achieve this goal. Functional Leadership is exhibited
here, in that interpersonal influences (i.e. Checker), help the group carry out
its needed functions so that the goal will be reached. The group will come together in the end
to form part of a book for the library.
Social
Skills: The students will listen to others’
directions about which roles within the group to take on. Also the students will paraphrase their
findings to each other for recording, and will give each other help where
needed (i.e. in presenting to the class).
Two-way communication is at work here by one group member paraphrasing
what he or she found to another group member, and that person recording and
then reading back what was written in order to make sure everything was
understood correctly.
Processing: Before the group presents to the class, they will reflect on
their individual work to determine how well the information was learned, and if
the Reporter will require any additional help from the group in presenting to
the class. It is important here
that the children know when it is an appropriate time to offer help to another
group member, or if that member simply needs more processing time to understand
his or her respective part.
Face-to-Face
Interaction: The group will work in close proximity to
each other while relaying information that each researched to one another. Also, the group will work as a team in
front of the class by reading off information and showing art work.
Heterogeneous
Grouping: Multiple perspectives will be presented on
due to the variety of sources the students will gather information from. The groups will be chosen based on the
interests of the students, not on the basis of race, gender, etc.
Evaluation: Each student has ownership of his/her learning of his/her
respective parts. The peers within
the group will assess each other in a couple of different ways. First, the Checker will make sure that
everyone has done his or her respective parts. Secondly, each peer will receive a rating form at the end of
the project in order to rate the participation, attitude, helpfulness, etc. of
each group member. Finally, the
students will demonstrate mastery learning through their presentation to the
class.
Adapted from: K. Koslow’s “Polar
Animals—Science and DWP”.