Lesson planning is often a solitary concern, after all, nobody knows your class like you do. However, what if you were constantly looking at essential learning through backwards design, asking what you really wanted your students to remember long after you taught. I have recently been enjoying work with my creative arts colleagues designing a new unit for sixth grade Digital Media students: Lost Civilizations
We are interested in a number of concepts, but we want to have our students be creative, collaborate and communicate (sounds familiar…).
Here is the elevator description:
It is near the turn of the century, 1898, in a parallel history where there is rudimentary technology (difference engine), steam-driven dirigibles, trains and submersibles, and all is right with the world. The San Francisco Historical Society (a world class organization due to the prominence of San Francisco as a world class city, rivaling London, Paris, Budapest, Tokyo, Shanghai and Moscow) is sponsoring a contest. Recent explorations have revealed a dozen potential sites around the globe that could be hiding evidence of lost civilizations. The SFHS will reward $1,000,000 to the premiere explorer team presentation of artifacts from a site and attendant theory as to the nature of the civilization the artifacts represent.
We have our own ideas of where this goes from here, but your assignment is to suggest activities that would engage our students in technology rich lessons in this themed unit. I look forward to your responses.
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19 comments:
Students could choose one site and research online the types of artifacts they are "hiding". They could then create either short podcasts introducing the artifacts and what their role was or they could create a virtual field trip of the site using video. Even if they cannot go to the site and get the artifacts, they can make models and create a space that looks like the site. Claire Shepley
The students could make mock newscasts that feature "discoveries" from the areas they are investigating. Teams of students work together to make the mock news segment (could be more like The Onion all the way to 60 Minutes).
Students could work in small groups and each group could create a movie based on their discovery using a flip phone. Students also could find pictures of the artifacts and country online and create a power point presentation (as long as all copyright laws are intact).
If you wanted to be really ambitious, you could hook up with another teacher, even in another state or country. Students could have a modern day "pen pal, " and work on this lesson together. They could use pod casts, blogs etc to work together and post their discoveries. Perhaps one of the hidden artifacts was actually found in SF and the SF student could go to the site and make a video of herself/himself at the site and then share with her/his pen pal.
I really like Coolective's idea on mock newscasts. I think students can create mock newscasts or mock mini documentaries (using flip cameras) to present their findings/research. Student groups can grade each other (using a rubric/point system) to see which group receives the SFHS "reward".- Minika
Students could make videos or presentations of their discoveries. They can also present their dicoveries in a video conference with classes in other countries. Edgardo
Have students all research the same site, but use different types of technology to gather information and to present their information (ie internet searches, videos of artifacts, voice presentations/podcasts on findings, photographs). Have students compare after the presentations how they types of technology they used impacted the efficiency of their explorer team. Then have the class as a whole decide on the best technology for the premiere explorer team to use and why.
Students could create and film a sitcom or drama that is set during the specific time period. In further challenging students, these videos could be required for posting on the "show's website" that they create. Another idea I have is to have students create animated to accompany some background commentary they create.
The teacher could team up with another teacher in another city or country, and the two classes could share a blog dedicated to presenting their findings. Each group could create a mini-documentary about their findings and post it to the blog for their own classmates and the other class to see.
The post from "17 torrijos" was from Kendra Coleman
My first idea was for students to create a drama about the discovery of the artifacts, bringing in great opportunities for mini lessons on writing dialogue, creating historical fiction pieces and having them film them. There can be a movie premiere on the day of watching their movies and the students can act like stars...getting them into the drama of it all.
I also mock documentaries like Kendra, where the students would be able to create interviews allow them to include photography of the artifacts that they have been able to get off the internet. I hope I am on track and understanding the premise well. Anyway, it sounds like a great undertaking and it could be a lot of fun. Good Luck
oops dphanson = Darcy Hanson
I like that the assignment is framed in the context of a parallel reality with a sort of victorian technology restriction. I think it would be fun to run with that and have the students produce a found artifact in the form of a video that depicts aspects of a lost civilization, a sort of Rosetta Stone. The students could present the video in the characters of adventurer/archeologists.
G., is Gerry Gomez
I think students can embark on a virtual field trip by working in small groups and checking websites that may provide information about lost civilizations. They begin with a "big idea" and organizing questions on what they are going to investigate.Then each group will find answers by researching and taking a "trip" to a continent they are assigned to work on. They will take note of the artifact, culture or country --the equivalent of their "archaeological find" that they find most fascinating, or something they they have never heard of before. Student groups can then create and deliver a multimedia presentation, much like a feature story or mini-documentary in a"press conference" via webcast.
Tina is Cristina Alejo
Perhaps you could have a “Find That Civilization” scavenger hunt. Each week you could provide multi-media clues or information about the civilizations in question. You could disseminate these clues via podcasts, emails, MPEG’s or whatever. You could also use made up artifacts (handwritten notes from fictitious or historic explorers) as evidence. All of these clues would of course have keys words which would get them get them searching/researching. You would probably want to have them work in groups on this one and assign each student a role. Each group would have a civilization from the outset, but the clues may not be directed to their civilization—but each student would still have to listen to the clue to disqualify it. Once they find the civilization in question the students would be responsible for assembling a multimedia presentation on the civilization in question.
I would love to create an interactive map. The students will be in small groups of 2 or 3 and each group will pick a location and report on their "findings."
I think this would be a great culmination of previous lessons. The groups would have control over how they would present their evidence. I would give many suggestions (news articles, news reels, pictures of evidence, old journals, cave paintings).
Each group would bring all their evidence together and we could compile it on an interactive world map.
Maybe I can create a Blog for my future class. That way we can have a class community blog. Rebecca
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