SUBJECT: Language Arts

GRADE: Third

TECHNOLOGY: Internet, word-processing, paint program, clip art

BY: Nikki Humenick, Rebecca Muller, Michelle Rivenburg

Target Grade

Children usually attend third grade when they are eight and nine years old. According to Piaget, students in this grade are usually in the concrete operational stage of development. This means that they are able to think logically with concrete materials. They can also classify and place objects in order. They usually are not able to think very abstractly.

Emotionally, children at this grade level need to feel good about the work they are doing; a feeling of success leads to an enjoyment of mastery. They are developing their sense of competence and purpose. In terms of moral reasoning, students do not fully understand rules set by others and are often egocentric. They do not make decisions based on the needs of others, and they will often only perform activities that they feel are beneficial to themselves.

Students at this age like to feel that they are in control (competent) and useful. In this activity, students will be able to contribute to a book, giving them an individual sense of purpose within a larger class project. This project will also cater to the egocentrism that they still have at this age, as they are able to choose the athlete that most interests them. They have choices whether or not to take a picture off the web or creatively draw their own. And the production of a biography enforces their concrete form of thinking. They are not able to reason about the psychology within the mind of a world-class athlete or speculate about implications of being one, but they are able to understand the events within that persons life that brought him or her to the Olympics. This activity strengthens students knowledge of computers while catering to their developmental stages.

Objectives

1. Using book marked pages on the Internet, students will research an Olympic athlete on the Internet to find: birthplace, hometown, sport, event and medals won.

2. Using a word processor, students will write, revise and rewrite a two-paragraph report on their athlete that includes all of the information they found on the web.

3. Students will draw a picture with a paint program, insert clip art from the computers files, or import a picture from the web to incorporate into their report.

Targeted SOL

• 3.7 The student will write descriptive paragraphs.
  • Focus on a central idea.
  • Include descriptive details that elaborate the central idea.
  • Revise writing for clarity.
  • Edit final copies for grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

• 3.8 The student will write stories, letters, simple explanations, and short reports across all content areas.
  • Revise writing for specific vocabulary and information.
  • Edit final copies for grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
  • Use available technology.

• 3.10 The student will record information from print and non print resources.
  • Use available technology.

Materials

•        Computer
•        Word processor
•        Color printer
•        Bookmarked web pages (for a list of useful web sites, see last page)
•        List of athletes and their sports (for a list of useful athletes, see last page)

Lesson Description

1. Students will research an Olympic athlete on the Internet and write a report on him/her using a word processor. The report should include a Web graphic, clipart image or personal art created in a paint program. Students will then incorporate the reports into a class book.

2. Before class

• Review list of athletes to make sure there is an athlete for each student (update list as necessary).
• Bookmark web pages that contain related site links on athletes and a summary of the project.(List of recommended web sites attached.)

3. In class

• Explain the research project and the collaborative book the students will make.
• Present list of athletes to class
• Allow each student to pick a different athlete from the list
• Give students bookmarks of web sites
• Allow some class time for research on the Net
• Have students write rough drafts of their report on notebook paper
• Have students edit reports-assist as necessary
• Have students type their final drafts on a word processor
• Have students either draw a picture using a paint program that in some way relates to their athlete or import a picture form the computers image files or the Web and include it on their report (same page)
• Have students print up reports when finished
• Place all reports together, either in a folder or notebook to make a booklet on Olympic Athletes

Evaluation Procedure

• Students will be assessed according to their ability to meet the objectives.
• Using Internet to find the materials.(This will be determined by teacher observation during class).
• Including all required information into the two-paragraph report.
• Revising and rewriting the report to eliminate errors.
• Successfully incorporating an image to enhance the report.

Area	Meets or exceeds expectations	Some expectations not met	Does not meet expectations
Research and content (40 points)	All required information included, used one or more sites for research (40-31 pts)	Lacking some required information, used one or more sites for research (30-11 pts)	A lot or most required information missing or incorrect, did not use Internet for research (10-0 pts)
Picture included (20 points)	Picture present from one of three source options, relevant to report (20-16 pts)	Picture present, relevance to report unclear (15-10 pts)	Picture missing or not imported or drawn from a computer, little or no relevance to report (9-0 pts)
Writing (40 points)	Correct spelling and grammar (no more than one mistake), two (or more) well-developed paragraphs (40-31 pts)	Some errors present (no more than three), paragraphs not well developed (30-11 pts)	Many grammatical and spelling errors, less than two paragraphs (10-0 pts)

Olympic Athletes 2000 !

Heroes in Sydney, Australia

Good web sites to check out

www.olympics.com/eng/athletes/index.html?/eng/athletes/home.html

olympics.sportsline.com/u/olympics/2000/rosters.htm (no www.)

www.nbcolympics.com/index.fthml

Athletes

Basketball: Tim Hardaway

Cycling: Lance Armstrong

Diving: Mark Ruiz, Laura Wilkinson

Gymnastics: Dominique Dawes, Blaine Wilson

Soccer: Jeff Agoos, Mia Hamm

Swimming: Tom Dolan, Lenny Krayzelburg, Megan Quann, Jenny Thompson

Tennis: Serena Williams, Venus Williams

Track and Field/athletics: Gail Devers, Maurice Green, Alvin Harrison,

Michael Johnson, Marion Jones