#mlearning-final

Chris uploaded this to Moodle earlier, but I don't know how to share that with the class.  So if anyone wants to look at our document during the presentation, here it is:

My final project would be creating a unit on immigration. Students will learn about immigration and through a variety of lessons and activities they will create their own family scrapbook with a mobile interview, creation of a family crest, a family tree and various images of their family. Below is a rough draft but close to final draft of my unit plan. I only included the lessons that included technology.

Please feel free to comment.

Unit Description:

Immigration is central to the identity of the U.S. as a nation, and the to the history of its citizens. For some people, the history of their ancestors’ immigration to the U.S is ancient and to others, the history is almost immediate as they are immigrants themselves. Between these two extremes lie many variations. This unit invites children to learn their ancestors’ native countries of origin. This activity has the potential to engage and excite students as they learn about their family connections to a wider world and their own connections to the immigrant experience. Studying immigration provides an excellent natural context for children to be introduced to the incredible diversity of ethnicity and cultures in the U.S. and for children to imagine a nation of people coming together.

Learning Goals:

The overall learning goals for this unit are:

· To have respect and acceptance for other cultures.

· To have more knowledge about different cultures.

Lesson Plans:

Each lesson in this unit does not include a technology portion because of that I only included the lessons that have a technology portion. At the end of the unit the students will create a virtual scrapbook, which includes a family tree, a mobile interview with an elderly family member, family crest and surname research and a picture search.

Lesson # 1 Virtual Tour of Ellis Island:

This lesson can be broken into two lessons across two days.

Objectives:

Students will take a virtual tour of Ellis Island completing all activities along the way and listening and viewing all sound and video clips.

Materials:

The Irish American Family Album pages 41 - 43,

The Chinese American Family Album pages 40 - 47,

The Italian American Family Album pages 36 - 39,

The Jewish American Family Album pages 40 - 43.

Handout of the Ellis Island Questions.

Procedure:

Intro/Motivation:

Tell the students that when you were younger you kept a diary. “When I was younger I used to keep a diary. Do any of you have a diary? What sorts of things do you write about in your diary? Do you write about experiences, things that made you upset or embarrassed, or scary situations you were in? Well in the past people used to write about their experiences and these could include all those feelings. Immigrants often kept diaries of what it was like to come here.”

Procedure:

· “Today we are going to read about Ellis and Angel Island. Have any of you ever heard of these places? These places were immigration points. Immigrants had to go through several checks and pass in order to be allowed to come in to this country.”

· Show the pictures as you read and ask the following questions to see comprehension and to help them make connections to the text. “How would you feel if you had to go through this? What do you think the immigrants felt? What do you think was going through the heads of the inspectors? What comparisons can you make between the different experiences?

· Explain to the students that they will be writing a diary entry about being an immigrant and going through the checks at Ellis Island. Have them pick out a country to be from, their name, and background of their character. Tell them they will be using a computer to do all steps of the writing process.

· Make sure the students know that they need to include three things in their entry that they heard from the readings. Leave the books out in the reading center for students to look at and do research in if needed.

· The students will take an interactive virtual tour of Ellis Island at: http://teacher.scholastic.com/ACTIVITIES/IMMIGRATION/tour/. The students will listen to the different stories and take part in the activities listed on the site.

· The students will complete the handouts that will be given to them before they begin the tour

Handout Questions:

Virtual Tour Questions

1. What percent of immigrants can trace their roots from Ellis Island?

2. Who was Annie Moore?

3. What happened in 1897 at Ellis Island?

4. What determined if an immigrant could be processed at Ellis Island or on the ship?

5. What is steerage?

6. What happened on April 17th, 1907?

7. What was the baggage room?

8. How many babies were born on Ellis Island?

9. What nationality had the largest number of immigrants?

10. What is meant by the phrase “6 second medical exam”?

Closure:

At the end of the week have the students come together as a group to share their diary entries. Ask for volunteers to share. Let anyone share that wants to. When the students are finished have them talk about what they felt when they were writing these entries. Close by saying that this type of treatment is no longer given to immigrants and today they are treated much better. Have them students help you post their journal entries in the classroom for everyone to read.

Assessment:

One assessment would be the diary entry. Students would need to include a rough draft to show revisions they did and also a published copy. All copies would need to be completed on a computer. The students will also be assessed on the completion and accuracy of their handout that goes with the tour. The students will have to complete the entire tour to complete the worksheet.

Lesson # 2 Coming to America

Objectives:

The students will formulate a list of items and be able to state why they selected these items to take on a one-way journey to a new and unknown land.

Procedure:

· The students will be broken into groups of 3-4 students. The students will be told that they will have a 3’Lx2’Wx2’H trunk to pack all of the items that they value and would need to start a new life in America in the 1900’s. There will be an example trunk on the floor to help the students visualize the actual size they have to fill. As a group the students will work as a family unit to plan and agree upon what they will need and what must be left behind to start their new life. It is also important to note for the students that they will be on a ship for 1-3 months, while they make this journey.

· The students will make a list of items and decide what to bring. They will evaluate if the items will be able to fit into their allotted space. Once this activity is complete the students will have to present their selections to the class and explain why they brought these items and why they left others out. The students will take notes on the presentations and there will be a tally sheet to record the different items selected. At the completion of the presentations the lists will be combined and viewed to see what similarities the different groups had and what differences existed.

· Students will research what typical items were brought with the immigrants during their travels and also relate their choices to the ones of the immigrants.

Assessments:

The students will be assessed on several aspects. Did they work as a group? Did they complete the task that was assigned? Did they follow the directions and have all of their items fit into the designated space. Did the students present their trunks to the class and have a rational for their items. Did the students complete the notes on the presentation and did they complete their tally sheets.

Lesson # 3: Family Immigration Scrapbook Project:

Scrapbook Objective:

The objective of the project is to have the students gain a better understanding and respect for their own past and culture through the completion of several different activities and lessons. The students will be able to obtain factual, authentic and primary artifacts to complete their project and display and present to the class.

Lesson 3a Family Tree Portion:

Objectives:

• Students will use vocabulary related to family history research.

• Students will classify family information.

• Students will research their own ancestry.

Materials:

• Family Echo Website (www.familyecho.com)

Procedures:

1. Introduce key vocabulary: ancestors, family tree, roots, surnames


2. Work with students in small groups to explore Family Echo Website.

3. Have students begin to start their own family tree by entering their names, their parents, siblings, grandparents and others.

4. Let students make a simple tree on a worksheet, to continue at home. Students must ask their parents to assist them further.

Lesson 3B Mobile Interview:

Objective(s):

The students will generate a list of questions at school and home from our group discussions to ask their family member. This interview will serve as a base for a later lesson where the students write a paper about what life was like when their family member was young. The students will be able to interview their family member and take notes on the discussion.

Strategies and Activities:

The students will take their created list of questions and interview their family member. Based on the discussion the students may come up with other questions that can be asked at that time. The students will take video record the conversation to help them remember what was all said. The interview will be added into the scrapbook or the student will have the option of showing the interview on the projector in the classroom.

Assessments:

The students will be assessed on their completion of the interview. Further use of this lesson and the information from it will be assessed on a later lesson.

Lesson 3c Family Crest and Surname Search

Objective(s):

The student will research and find the possible family crest for their surname. If one is not available the students can create a crest of their own.

Strategies and Activities:

The students will need to research their name to find if a family crest exists for their name. Possible sites to look at are:

http://www.allfamilycrests.com/cgi-bin/search/search.cgi

http://www.houseofnames.com/

The students will print out their crest and then research and write the meaning of their family crest and surname. If possible tell the names origin, the history of your family and any possible important relationships to history or famous people.

Assessments:

The students will be assessed on their completion of the activity. If they had to create their own crest that amount of work will be considered when assessing the work.

Lesson 5D Picture Search:

Objective(s):

The students will be able to locate pictures of historic family photographs, which would or could include older homes, grandparents, great, or great-great grandparents or any locations from years ago. Upon their retrieval the students will study the pictures and write a description of the photograph and if needed compare the place or items in the picture to similar items or places today.

Strategies and Activities:

The students with the assistance and approval of parents and family members they are to collect pictures or copies of pictures that are older and historic to their family. The students will gather the pictures and prepare written description of the shown people, places or things and in some cases comparisons. The students will put this together in the online scrapbook.

Assessments: