SUBJECT: Social Studies

GRADE: Fifth

TECHNOLOGY: Internet, KidPix or Microsoft Paint Program

BY: Brooke Topping, Megan Moynihan, Heather Olson, Teresa Frizell

Target Grade/Subject

We will be targeting computer literate fifth graders working on their social studies SOL. We believe that these students will be in the concrete operational stage of development, so a more hands-on, visual approach will be most beneficial. As a general rule, fifth graders are not overly fond of lectures, but enjoy working with computers. The Internet holds appeal to these students because of its interactive nature and because it presents them with a wide range of options. Fifth graders enjoy working with others and collaborating with their classmates. In this lesson, students will work in pairs using the Internet to research Civil War figures, rather than hearing about these characters through lecture. In this way, the lesson will be appropriate for teaching and make learning enjoyable.

Objectives

• In targeting Social Studies SOL Objective 5.7, students will identify and summarize the impact on the Civil War of one of the following Civil War leaders:
  • Daniel Webster
  • John C. Calhoun
  • Abraham Lincoln
  • Ulysses S. Grant
  • Jefferson Davis
  • Robert E. Lee
  • Frederick Douglas
  • William Lloyd Garrison.
• The students will create a page on a paint program. The page will include the following:
  • A quote from their leader
  • A short biography
  • A picture of or pertaining to their leader
  • One of the following:
  • A table of the leader's actions and their effects,
  • A link to a website about their leader
  • A scanned image pertaining to their leader.
• Content
• Expectations
• Points

Quote

• The quote is significant to the Civil War and reveals the leader's character or philosophy
  • 0-1: the quote is missing or made-up
  • 2-3: the quote is misleading or irrelevant to the Civil War
  • 4-5: the quote reveals the leader's opinions or feelings about the war

Biography

• The biography includes relevant information
  • Birth date and Date of Death
  • Role in the Civil War
  • Events in their life which shaped their role in the war
• The biography must be grammatically correct and well organized
  • 0-5: the biography does not contain all of the required information
  • 6-10: the biography is poorly written and confusing
  • 11-13: contains all required information, is well-organized
  • 14-15: contains information in addition to that required, is written clearly and insightfully

Picture

• The picture must be appropriate and well placed within the page
  • 0: is missing or of another person
  • 5: is of the leader, and is clearly visible

Chose One

• Includes one of the given options, is relevant and informative
  • 0-3: missing or incomplete
  • 4-7: unsuccessful use of technology (link not functioning, image doesn't scan properly)
  • 8-10: the item is present, functioning, and includes relevant information

Creativity

• The pair presents their leader in an interesting and creative way
  • 0-5: the presentation lacks creativity; it is uninteresting
  • 6-10: the information is presented in a new and exciting way

Group Participation

• Each member participates equally
  • 0-3: one group member does most of the work, the pair is uncooperative
  • 4-5: the work is divided equally, the pair works efficiently and cooperatively

Bibliography

• The bibliography follows the format reviewed in class, and includes all materials and sources used in this project
• The bibliography is worth ten points. The group will get one point off for each mistake contained in the bibliography.

Materials

The project will require the use of a computer lab with access to Internet and library sources, Kidpix or Microsoft Paint, disks for saving the project, and a scanner. The student should bring in additional 'hard' sources, such as books and pictures.

Procedure

• The teacher will review bibliography format, and hand out an example
• The teacher will pair the students off according to names drawn from a hat.
• Each pair will chose the Civil War leader they would like to do their project on. There is no limit as to how many pairs can research each leader.
• Using Kidpix or another paint program, students will compile a page containing the items listed above in 'objectives'.
• The students can find their quotes and pictures from the web or from outside sources.
• All sources will be cited in a bibliography, which will be handed in.
• All pairs are responsible for saving their project to a disk and handing it in to the teacher on the assigned date, which is two weeks from the start of the project.

Evaluation Procedure

To determine whether the goals and objectives are met in this activity, the teacher will collect all the disks. While looking at each disk, the teacher will use the rubric shown in 'objectives' to assess the project. The students' grade will be based on the rubric.