Personal Connections and Final Product

This assignment has been very educational and meaningful. I must admit that I feel a bit sad letting it go. I hope to be able to share the work with the students in the lbirary in the near future. I would love to create a collaboration with other librarians and even a school in another system. Wouldn't it be great for the students of the Pacific west Coast to student Native Indians from Indian. What an exchange that could be.

Well I believe I must move on... thanks for the opportunity to share.

Connections

For this project I selected two grades. It is my hope to actually use this project for a class that has both fourth and fifth graders.. I selected these standards based on the students creating the assignment themselves.
Content Standard Connections: Grade 4 and Grade 5.
Content standards from the Indiana Academic Standards that relate to the Study of the Haida People:
Grade 4: Language Arts
Standard 2READING: Comprehension and Analysis of Nonfiction and Informational Text
Structural Features of Informational and Technical Materials
4.2.1 Use the organization of informational text to strengthen comprehension.Example: Read informational texts that are organized by comparing and contrasting ideas, by discussing causes for and effects of events, or by sequential order and use this organization to understand what is read. Use graphic organizers, such as webs, flow charts, concept maps, or Venn diagrams to show the organization of the text.
4.2.2 Use appropriate strategies when reading for different purposes. Example: Read and take notes on an informational text that will be used for a report. Skim a text to locate specific information. Use graphic organizers to show the relationship of ideas in the text.
Standard 4WRITING: Processes and Features
Students write clear sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea. Students progress through the stages of the writing process, including prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing multiple drafts.
Organization and Focus
4.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing. Find ideas for writing in conversations with others and in books, magazines, newspapers, school textbooks, or on the Internet. Keep a list or notebook of ideas.
Research Process and Technology
4.4.5 Quote or paraphrase information sources, citing them appropriately.
4.4.6 Locate information in reference texts by using organizational features, such as prefaces and appendixes.
4.4.7 Use multiple reference materials and online information (the Internet) as aids to writing.
4.4.8 Understand the organization of almanacs, newspapers, and periodicals and how to use those print materials.
4.4.9 Use a computer to draft, revise, and publish writing, demonstrating basic keyboarding skills and familiarity with common computer terminology.
Evaluation and Revision
4.4.10 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
4.4.11 Proofread one’s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent errors.
4.4.12 Revise writing by combining and moving sentences and paragraphs to improve the focus and progression of ideas.
Research Application
4.5.3 Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility, reports findings) and that:
· includes information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and documents sources (titles and authors).
· demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized.
· organizes information by categorizing it into multiple categories (such as solid, liquid, and gas or reduce, reuse, and recycle) or includes information gained through observation.

Grade 5: Social Studies: Standard 5Individuals, Society, and Culture
Students will identify individuals and groups that have contributed to the development of the United States, investigate the way that individuals and groups cooperate to adapt to the environment and resolve conflicts, and examine the challenges faced and the contributions made by various cultural groups to American society.
Historical Knowledge:
5.5.1 Identify and compare historic Indian groups of the West, Southwest, Northwest, Arctic and sub-Arctic, Great Plains, and Eastern Woodlands regions at the beginning of European exploration in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
5.5.2 Describe basic needs that individuals have in order to survive — such as the need for food, water, shelter, and safety — and give examples of how people in early America adapted* to meet basic needs.
5.5.4 Compare significant examples of visual arts, crafts, music, architecture, and literature from early United States history and illustrate how each reflects the times and cultural background of the historical period.
5.5.5 Analyze traditional arts, including folk tales and narratives that depict the experiences of ethnic, racial, and religious groups in different regions of the United States.





Standard 2READING: Comprehension and Analysis of Nonfiction and Informational Text
Structural Features of Informational and Technical Materials
5.2.1 Use the features of informational texts, such as formats, graphics, diagrams, illustrations, charts, maps, and organization, to find information and support understanding.
5.2.2 Analyze text that is organized in sequential or chronological order.
Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Nonfiction and Informational Text
5.2.3 Recognize main ideas presented in texts, identifying and assessing evidence that supports those ideas.
5.2.4 Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Standard 5WRITING: Applications (Different Types of Writing and Their Characteristics)
Research Application
5.5.3 Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility, reports findings) and that:
· uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and documents sources (titles and authors).
· demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized.
· organizes information by categorizing and sequencing.


AASL standards:
The following are standards that will be meet by one developing the project for the Haida Way.
Information Literacy
Standard 1: The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively.
Standard 2: The student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently.
Standard 3: The student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively.

Independent Learning
Standard 4: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and pursues information related to personal interests.
Standard 5: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information.
Standard 6: The student who is an independent learner is information literate and strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation.
(taken from Information by the ALA page 8 and 9)
As you can see, I have many standards!

Wishing

Wishing:

How did the project go?

Well, I loved the journey but there were bumps, road blocks, and detours along the way. For example, When I interviewed my friend in Canada he did not have much details. The ones he had affirmed details I had found on sites etc.

Another frutration I experienced was my indecisiveness. I was like a kid at a candy store. Which site, which book…. I’ll take them all… but no I can’t. I believe that students of all ages would go through this stage. How can we as teachers help? Is it best to limit the number of sites etc. In the end, I reviewed LOTS.. and heck even enjoyed it. It became very much like a hobby with a deadline. Young Adults (like my daughter) are always struggling to stay with the deadline. I can emphasize much more now!

I believe one of the strongest stages for me was the Wondering Stage. Yes, I was frustrated but I truly enjoyed journaling and asking people their opinions on topic ideas. I selected something that I truly enjoyed and valued. Kids naturally gravitate to things they like. Being egosentric they tend to stay away (as much as possible) from things that are boring or non-relevant as they see it.

In the Weaving Stage, I truly began to gain momentum. I feel I have good organizational skills. I began to sort materials into files and collect images. One thing I could of improved on was to keep it all earlier on a flash drive. I tended to my searches at many different venues so that would of helped me to stay more organized and also not have to retrace my tracks.

One thing that was most useful was the creation of themes, lead questions and then using a chart to clearly see where I was going. I feel that students could easily do such a thing. I know that in language arts it is common to us webs to develop story lines. This would be a similar process.






I thoroughly enjoyed and saw the benefit of journaling through my blog, the process of inquiry. Once again this is quite easy for students to do. Journaling is something I constantly did as a teen. It was an easy transition. In classrooms, I do not feel that teacher realise the benefit. It is so often seen as filler and does not meet the standards. I really felt that it caused me to stretch in my thinking. The project became much more than a fact finding mission. This was a personal journey.

Waving

Waving:

According to Dr. Lamb, waving is communicating ideas to others through presenting, publishing, and sharing. Students share their ideas, try out new approaches, and ask for feedback.

In my final project, I will be present using a colorful, visually simulating power point presentation. The audience being students in grade 4 and 5 will have the presentation shown to them. I will interject remarks as I share my findings. Also I plan to have books, etc on site. I will bring art work form my home to show the crafts of the Haida Indians.

In order to have the students participate, I plan to allow time for questions. I also want to give them share in writing three things that they were intrigued about. Then I’d like them to go off and learn more. Hopeful, my presentation will encourage them to check out a book or find out more on the topic. I will leave a bulletin board open for them to display any other findings they have about the Haida Way.

Wrapping

Wrapping:



I spent the last week in Canada for Thanks Giving. During my stay I got some Canadian Money. Wow- I forgot but the money has Haida Art on it. This project is becoming so much more meaningful. It is interesting to see when I focus on a topic- I notice things more. It has become important to me because I feel I am sharing a part of my heritage with our students. Being from the Pacific West Coast for years means that I understand some about the ocean, fishing and art work of the area. It is wonderful to learn more.

At this stage, I am most ready for the wrapping stage. This is the time to definitely decide what product I am chosing to produce the information that I have collected about Haida Way. I weighed lots of choices. I thought about the audience- who are school aged children who come for an after school Title One program (grades 4 and 5) and also would like to use it for a program for young adults to share about our homelands. I considered a brochure, a website and a powerpoint. In the end, I selected a powerpoint. My main reason for this selection was the fact that I could incorportate many images, links, sound links and also maps and text. I also felt that it could be used in two ways- as a stand alone show and as one that I would use to give a presentation of the Haida Way.

In creating this powerpoint- I have clear sections on the origins, family, livelihood, art and myths. My goal is to make it well organized, simple language and to give a clear appreciation for the culture. I also will have books etc. on hand when I present the powerpoint.

Part of wrapping is being clear about the audience. For my project I plan to focus on the students at our library. They would benefit about learning about a diferent culture. I also want to use it as a teaching tool for my staff. I would like to provide them with the W’s and let them see how it all comes together.

One thing I want to stress in my wrapping stage is the including of Higher Level Thinking. I have always used Blooms Taxonomy when teaching or using questions. I did incorportate it during the questions phase. But, want to come back and insure that it is used in the final product. I’d like to have comparisons- I think I will create a graphic that shows another tribe that they have already studied comparing it to Haidas.

In the Alberta Inquiry Model they discuss the revise and edit tasks. I feel that the wrapping phase involves this. I have really learned to zone in on most important details and to story board or outline where I am going. Already I have pulled some information.

I created some questions to think about before I submit the final product.

Does the product have a language level for the audience?
Is the information clear?
Does it answer most of the questions?
Are there a variety of inforation styles- visual, technolgy, audio, etc.?
Are there elements of critical thinking, creative thinking, media litercy and information literacy?
Is there something I need to add or take away?

Kuhlthau’s ISP Model suggests that I should feel a Sense of Relief, and satisfaction or disappointment. I do! I am very satisfied with the final product I am working on. I do feel a sense of excitement to atually present my work to a real class. Should be fun!

Weaving again

Tonight- I inking about my began thinking about my presentation. I thought if I had included enough detail and styles for every type of learning. I realized that I wanted to include some primary sources. For example, wanted some images, or journal entries from the past Haida years.

I was up for the challenge to include more...
and I found something

http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/index.html
This site provides an extensive digital collection of original photographs and documents about the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures, complemented by essays written by anthropologists, historians, and teachers about both particular tribes and cross-cultural topics.
Source: Internet Public Library Query: pacific west coast indians

Here is an example of some of the amazing images, journals etc... wow!


I was amazed at what I found. How exciting!


Through linking all these meaningful parts together- I believe i will have a strong powerpoint presentation to share!

Weave alittle - KWL

Here is an example of a chart for the topic. I found this useful. For students this will be very useful. I can see it benefical in preventing the coping of text. It gets the student thinking about where they are, where they want to go?

Weaving more...

Here is a chart I created to show some of theMain Idea and also the keywords I am working with.
I also looked at sites that elaborate on these points.


Main Idea: The Origins
Key words: Haida Tribe, Haida GWaii, People of the Island,
Pacific West coast, Queen Charlotte Islands, Prince of Wales Islands- Alaska ,Moite Clans- Raven and Eagle, Tribe Lineages.


Main Idea: The Family
Key Words:averages size of homes 30,nuclear family, chief of home, broken into clans, ceremonies- potlatch.

Main Idea: The Livelihood
Key Words: fishing, salmon, halibut, sea lions, canoes, craftsman


Main Idea: The Art Work
Key Words: carvings, beadwork, baskets, totems. Symbols of animals, cedar wood, metals, famous artists.


Main Idea: The Myths:
Key Words: Legends, storytelliong, family connections, animals and totems

The structure of this project is starting to become clear in my mind. Can you see it too?

Weaving (Synthesizing)

Weaving: (Synthesizing)

My old outdated style for synthesizing information was to keep recipe cards with information that I had gathered. On each card I also placed the citation. Of course, many teachers used to find this adequate. Today we know that more complex learning is possible. Weaving focuses on the application, analysis, and synthesis of information.[1]

As technology progressed, I have found that students do a lot of cut and paste. I think that can lead to plagiarism and a lower level of thinking. Dr. Lamb has found that “Rather than weaving a fine fabric, they (students) create a quilt of unrelated pieces of information.”[2] Synthesizing involves a much more sophisticated form of processing information. According to Callison, “synthesis is not just the act of summarizing, paraphrasing, or abstracting information from a document as several models for information search and basic student research imply. Synthesis should also include extracting inferences that link selected findings together in a logical and meaningful pattern.”[3]


Where I am now!
If I was to define where I am based on Kuthlthau’s ISP model, I have moved from the Exploration Information phase- with task of investigating information with the intent to find focus to Formulating Focus. Currently, I am beginning the Collecting Information phase- with the task of gathering information that defines, extends and supports the focus. . Kuthlthau’s model suggests that the student will feel confidence and a realization that extensive work is already completed. She also suggests that motivation will increase. I definitely have emotions associated with this process; I am currently really excited about my project. I do feel a sense of pressure because of the deadline and also a feeling that I need to not let this grow too big. Nonetheless, I can visualize where I want to go with this project.

I am a visual learner, so to “see” my project more clearly I have created a chart. I used Kidspiration to make it. It was easy to use and an effective tool. I think students would benefit by creating mental maps or charts to graph where they are and where they are going. Callison emphasizes that “concept mapping serves the purpose of helping the learner clarify what he or she has just read or heard.”

According to scholars Lynne Anderson-Inman and Leslie Ditson:
Concept mapping can help students' remember information longer.
Concept mapping may help some learning disabled students learn better.
Concept mapping can help student’s master complex, synthetic material.
Concept mapping can help teachers track students' mastery of a subject area.
Computer-based concept mapping is quick, easy, and efficient.[4]


Order 1.title: Haida Way 2. The Origins 3. The family 4. Livlihood 5. Art 6. Myths



Looking at this graph, I can see what the themes are and questions I will need to address. I am considering creating an answer chart with key words and links. I also want my project to incorporate many styles of learning (visual, information, media and technology literacy.) How can I do that? I think the power point might be useful. I could have images, maps, text and links to sites and also graphs.

What else do I do with weaving?

Compare:
At this stage, I need to look at the different resources - ask myself are they alike or different? Look at the different types of information and discard any I may not need.

Organize:
What is a good way to organize the information? Identify key ideas. (I have done this in my chart.) Cluster information together. From the graph it is clear that I am clustering topics. Determine a logical order of presentation. I have selected the order to be as the graph states (by the numbers)

Analyze:
I am beginning to look at the information from different perspectives. I feel that the area of Art and Myth are somewhat linked but need to be separate. I also have combined more information about families. I have added homes, leisure etc.

I will need to return to these questions and also look at the holes. Do I need to add or subtract content?

I am going to eat lunch and will return to address some of these questions.





[1] Lamb, Annette. Information inquiry: Weaving. http://eduscapes.com/info/topic71e.htm, accessed Oct 1, 2006
[2] Lamb, Annette. Information inquiry: Weaving. http://eduscapes.com/info/topic71e.htm, accessed Oct 1, 2006

[3] Callison, Daniel. The Blue Book: Callison, Daniel. "Key Words, Concepts and Methods for Information Age Instruction: A Guide to Teaching Information Inquiry," p. 563


[4] Scholars Identify Strategies for Using Concept Mapping Techniques for Teaching. http://www.ncrel.literacy.smartlibrary.info/NewInterface/segment.cfm?segment=2290&table_of_contents=1651. Accessed October 1, 2006