Project+Statement

The original project is located at the following location: [] Community Interest; Information Technology; Language; Mathematics; Science; Social Studies; Technology || The project will span a wide range of subject areas including: Science, Math, Language Arts, Reading, Geography and Social Studies. || Our project is a collaborative project which includes all three of our classrooms. The project allows our students to share information about different areas of Georgia by communicating ans working together on the Internet. Students will share information via email and an ePal’s student forum about the plants, animals and non-living objects found in their schoolyard environment. || This project taps into some of the exciting new applications of the Internet in education by having elementary students from different parts of Georgia collaborate on an investigation of the state they reside. This Internet-based multidisciplinary collaborative project will enrich elementary student's learning experiences through authentic learning experiences and compelling applications of instructional technology. Through the sharing of their local environments students will learn about exciting places all around them. Students will: We will use Georgia’s Performance Standards to guide our instruction. In order to create sound instructional materials, we will first gather what students know about their own environment and about other places in Georgia. We will then use their prior knowledge to help us focus the learners’ goals and understandings. Next, we will allow students to gather data in order to construct their own understanding of the world around them. As students gather information, drawings, and pictures about their locations, they will share the information with other classrooms around Georgia. After creating sound instructional materials, we will provide a safe and interactive learning environment through the use of ePals. ePals is a learning environment that enables students and teachers to safely connect and collaborate on projects with classrooms worldwide. Students will take the information and pictures that they have gathered and create a map of their schoolyard to share with the other schools through the ePals. || We will facilitate the use of innovations by diffusing and integrating a variety of technology resources and experiences. We will help diffuse and integrate new technologies such as the SmartBoard and Mimio Interactive throughout the course of the project. This project will also facilitate the diffusion of ePals, which will be a new technological experience for both teachers and students. Technologies Used: In order to exchange information between teachers and students, we will use the ePals discussion Forum, email, Interactive White board (SmartBoard or Mimio), digital cameras, and iPads. || Effective management of this process will begin by setting up the project so it is well organized and user friendly. As this process begins, and develops along the way, we will keep in constant open communication with our students both in the classroom and through the ePals student forums to ensure they fully understand the process.
 * =**Title: Georgia, Georgia, Everywhere **= ||
 * **Essential Question**: How do Georgia's schoolyards compare ||
 * **Curriculum Fit:**
 * **Objectives: **
 * **Briefly describe your proposed project.**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**How will you improve learner performance by engaging learners in authentic experiences?**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Identify living and non-living things in their school yards.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Share their findings with other participating classes.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Look for similarities and differences in the reported data.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Prepare a final report or presentation based on their findings. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**How will you create sound instructional materials and learning environments that are based on solid research and learning theory?**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**How will you facilitate the use of innovations through the diffusion and integration of new technologies and technological experiences for your learners?**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**How will you most effectively manage this process?**

We have organized this process to include the support of administrators, community members, and our students’ families. These people will help support the students and help the teachers effectively manage processes throughout this project. || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The following are ethical considerations we will make to ensure sound decisions are made: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Processes** Students will collect data by using drawing tools, digital cameras, or document cameras. They will divide the school grounds into North, South, East, and West quadrants and document the living and nonliving items they find there. Teachers and students will then go to the classroom and use a T-chart to identify the living and nonliving items.
 * **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What ethical considerations will you make to ensure sound decisions are made? **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #555555; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">r <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">einforce and foster better class environment for learning that is challenging but fair to students
 * maintain a mindset that children require personal attention and thoughtfulness
 * enhance student accountability for integrity in academics by modeling and ensuring accountability is adhered to
 * get all letters/documents translated to be considerate to our majority Spanish speaking families and community
 * get parent permission slips from all students to allow them to participate through ePals ||
 * **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What processes and resources will you include? **

After completing the outdoor research project, students will then share the information they gathered about living and nonliving things with their distance learning friends on the ePals learning environment. The students will be able to communicate with these classrooms to learn about living and nonliving things in the country they live in, and then compare and contrast them to the living and nonliving things they found in our environment.

We will include sample pictures of living (animals) and nonliving things (playground equipment) to help support the students’ understanding of the topic. In addition we will include living and nonliving T charts, Venn Diagrams, and other graphic organizers as resources to help students compare and contrast living and nonliving things in different parts of Georgia. We will also use these graphic organizers and other resources while working and sharing with our ePals collaborating classroom. || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Audience:** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This Internet-based collaborative project will allow our students to share information about the plants, animals and non-living objects found in their schoolyard/playground environment with other students from Georgia. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Learner characteristics (grade level, number of students):** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The project has been developed for elementary level students in grades K to 5. This project will include around 90 students. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Anticipated entry-level skills of audience:** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Any level of elementary students can participate. Kindergartners will have to be guided more by their teachers. School environment This project will talk place within a Kindergarten, 4th grade Inclusion classroom, and a 5th grade Resource classroom. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Support for project by community, parents, or administrators:** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Community, parent, and administrative support will be welcomed through this learning project. Community members and parents could help support students and teachers by helping monitor students’ progress while gathering information outside. These community members and parents could also help by sharing their own stories of nonliving/living things they have seen in the area. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Administrators could also help with the gathering of data, while also supporting us in ensuring the students make positive behavioral choices while outside. The Parent Center will be the liaison between school and home. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Since the majority of our parent and community population speak Spanish as their native language, we would use their support of the project by helping translate the project information and additional documents to our parents and community, while also serving as translators throughout the duration of the project. ||
 * Resources**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Describe the learning environment and population that will be engaged in your project:**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**The project would possibly cover the following Social Studies standards for each grade level.**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**SSKG2** The student will explain that a map is a drawing of a place and a globe is a model of the Earth. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">b. Explain that maps and globes show a view from above. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">c. Explain that maps and globes show features in a smaller size.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**SSKG3** The student will state the street address, city, county, state, nation, and continent in which he or she lives.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Map goals: The student will use maps to retrieve social studies information. **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Kindergarten:** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. use cardinal directions

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**4th grade :** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6. use map key/legend to acquire information from, historical, physical, political, resource, product and economic maps <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">8. draw conclusions and make generalizations based on information from maps

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**5th grade:** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">10. use graphic scales to determine distances on a map <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">12. compare maps with data sets (charts, tables, graphs) and /or readings to draw conclusions and make generalizations

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**INFORMATION PROCESSING SKILLS: The student will be able to locate, analyze, and synthesize information related to social studies topics and apply this information to solve problems/make decisions.**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Compare similarities and differences <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Identify issues and/or problems and possible solutions
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">K: **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">11. Draw conclusions and make generalizations
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4th **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**4th and 5th**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">10. analyze artifacts <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">12. analyze graphs and diagrams

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**The project would possibly cover the following English/Language Arts standards for each grade level.**

__<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">__**English/Language Arts standards for each grade level.**__ __
 * **Kindergarten:** || ‍**ELAKLSV1** <span style="font-family: times new roman,times new roman;">The student uses oral and visual skills to communicate. e. Describes people, places, things, locations, and actions. g. Communicates effectively when relating experiences and retelling stories heard. ||
 * **Fourth:** || **ELA4W2** **The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres.** a. Engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a speaker’s voice, and otherwise developing reader interest. c. Creates an organizing structure appropriate to a specific purpose, audience, and context. d. Includes appropriate facts and details. h. Provides a sense of closure to the writing. ||
 * **Fifth:** || **ELA5W2d: The student produces informational writing (eg. report, procedures, correspondance).** c. the student will create an organized stucture appropriate to a specific purpose, audience, and context. ||