Author(s):Susan Darragh

E-mail Address:susandarragh@mail.sandi.net

School: Valencia Park Elementary

Grade Level: 4

Principal Currlcular Areas Addressed: Language Arts and Social Studies

TPFS Section:Tuesdays @Grant

This project will cover a pre-field trip and post-field trip newsletter produced by student groups prior to attending the Old Town program. Each group will research on the web one era of California History. Each student will have a specific role within the group that is similar to those found at a newspaper.

Learning Goals:

Student will learn...

• Parts of a newspaper and the function of each contributor--reporter, columnist, interviewer, advertising coordinator, etc.
• How to conduct research on the five eras of California history through the web, organize the information, and present it in an appropriate format by utilizing a template.
• How to document the learning experience and outcomes while participating in the Old Town program.
• Cooperating and contributing within a multicultural group.

Learner Task:

The culiminating task in this project might be production and publication of one newsletter prior to the program and following the program.

Resources:

Resources for this project idea might include:

• Old Town Program summary from the Home Page
• Educational and historic web sites with images that can be downloaded.
• Template for the format of the newsletter and graphic organizers for the students to complete during the research process.
• Possible field trip and interviews with writers for the Union Tribune.
• Practice from WebQuest units that introduce students to the Web and the writing process using computer tools.
• Review of interviews and articles with particular attention to the questioning skills of the reporters/writers-- newspapers, magazines, brochures.