Lesson Overview

Whether students have lived in Louisiana for their whole life, or perhaps for only a short time, there is a lot to learn about our great state. Louisiana has a rich past, including its history, its geography, and its interesting people and places.  The following unit will allow students to investigate interesting and important information that will help them to learn and understand about various Louisiana topics.  This information will also allow them to work collaboratively in pairs to create and share what they have learned through the development of a creative project.

Student Characteristics

This Louisiana unit is a Social Studies lesson.  The grade level for this unit is 4th grade.  The unit was designed as an enrichment lesson for students in the Gifted and Talented program in East Baton Rouge Parish.  These students typically have advanced critical and creative thinking skills. These creative skills will be useful when evaluating data and information and transferring those skills into measurable products in the accompanying exercises.

Learning Objectives, Benchmarks, and Technology Standards

Learning Objectives

1. TLW research the life and accomplishments of a famous Louisiana citizen or political figure.
2. TLW describe four well-known Louisiana sites.
3. TLW identify Louisiana Symbols and create a presentation using computer technology.
4. TLW research a Louisiana parish and create a written report with a visual aid.
5. TLW locate information about Louisiana History, including the Louisiana Purchase, Louisiana during the Civil War, and Louisiana during the past 100 years.
6. TLW find/locate/create/modify various maps of Louisiana.
7. TLW develop a creative project in the form of a Louisiana Scrapbook, which shall include the topics discussed above.

National Technology Standards 

Technology Foundation Standards for Students 

1. Basic operations and concepts - Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and  operation of technology systems. Students are proficient in the use of technology.
2. Social, ethical, and human issues - Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology. Students practice responsible use of technology systems,              information, and software. Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity. 
3. Technology productivity tools - Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase     productivity, and promote creativity. Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works. 
4. Technology communications tools - Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences. Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences. 
5. Technology research tools - Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. Students use technology tools to process data and report results.    Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.
6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools - Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions. Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world. 

This Unit will take approximately 5-6 weeks to complete.  This will allow students to do the research, complete the writing assignments (including prewriting, rough drafts, revision, and final draft), and design and publish the creative products and presentations.

Resources and Materials
 

Internet  LA Scrapbook Webquest computer scanner color printer digital camera multimedia software word processing software

textbook tradebooks atlas encyclopedias pamphlets newspaper

photo album/scrapbook construction paper scissors paper cutter for matting glue stick or contact cement

Tip sheets are available to students for the writing assignments on the student Webquest.  These sheets are behind the following pictures.
 

Parish Report

Interesting Sites Report

 

Famous Louisianians

Louisiana History

 

Useful Search Engines

Useful Web Sites

http://www.altavista.com/     http://www.c4.com/     http://www.google.com/     http://www.yahoo.com/

Louisiana Travel http://www.louisianatravel.com/  LA Dept of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism http://www.crt.state.la.us/  LA Office of Tourism http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/tourism.htm  LA Secretary of State/State Archives http://www.sec.state.la.us/  Louisiana Parishes http://enlou.com/parishes/

Activities and Procedures
 

1. Introduce the Louisiana Scrapbook project.
2. Discuss research and the Internet.
3. Introduce the Louisiana Scrapbook Webquest.
4. Discuss the components of the Webquest and model how to navigate through it.  Have students test the buttons and Hypertext links.
5. Hand out the project guidelines.  Go over timetable for project.  Stess that this is a big project and will be a major portion of their Social Studies grade for the 9 weeks.
6. Have students get out Social Studies textbook.
7. Introduce/discuss Louisiana as a region.
8. Check for prerequisite knowledge.
9. Discuss famous people, places, and events associated with Louisiana.
10. Discuss Louisiana symbols.
11. Ask students how we could find pictures or articles about Louisiana topics.  This should lead in to a discussion about search engines.
12. Discuss expectations in terms of quality of work.  Show copies of appropriate and inappropriate samples of student work for the project.
13. After introductory discussion and questions are begun, assign partners.  Same gender pairs often work best for long-term projects for this age group. 
14. Allow teams to begin work on project.
15. Allow independent time to do research and work on project. 
16. Introduce/discuss/model specific topics being worked on each week (in order listed on student Webquest).
17. Monitor progress and troubleshoot as needed.
18. Provide access to materials necessary to complete scrapbook project.
19. Work in small-group situations to provide tips when working with productivity, multimedia, and word processing software.
20. Evaluate end products and provide feedback and the chance to make revisions for a better grade.
21. Allow teams to present their projects to their peers and to students in lower grades.

Some possible variations that teachers might consider would be the use of a computer lab (if available) instead of in-class research (on a limited number of computers) to do the research in order to reduce the amount of time it takes to gather information.

Another possible variation would be to assign this project individually in order to reduce or eliminate the "Free Rider Effect" that often happens with collaborative projects.  If this is done, the project will take longer, so either more time needs to be dedicated, or some of the components need to be modified or eliminated.

Assessment

Each team's work will be evaluated by the teacher as each portion is due.  If the quality of the work is lacking, students will be given the opportunity to make corrections and revisions in order to improve their grade.  Each portion of the project will be evaluated for content, mechanics, and organization.  The Rubric below will be used to assess each team's work.
 
 

Research Report: Louisiana Scrapbook Teacher name: Douglas Samson Student Name ___________________

CATEGORY	Excellent	Good	Satisfactory	Needs Improvement
Amount of Information	All topics are addressed, and all questions answered, with at least 3 sentences about each.	All topics are addressed and most questions answered, with at least 3 sentences about each.	All topics are addressed, and most questions answered with 1-2 sentences about each.	All topics not addressed OR most questions answered with words or phrases instead of sentences.
Organization	Information is very well organized with headings that relate clearly to the material.	Information is organized with headings, but some material under the headings may be out of place.	Information is generally organized, but no headings are used.	There appears to be little organization of the material.
Quality of Information	Information gathered provides answers to the main questions along with several supporting details and/or examples for each.	Information gathered provides answers to main questions along with 1-2 supporting details and/or examples.	Information gathered provides answers to main questions, but no details and/or examples are given.	Information gathered has little or nothing to do with the questions posed.
Mechanics	No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.	Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors	A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors.	Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
Sources	Sources for information and graphics are documented in the designated format.	Most sources for information and graphics are documented in the designated format.	Sources for information and graphics are documented, but most are not in the correct format.	Some sources for information and graphics are not documented.

 

Date Created: 06-29-2001

Copyright 2001, High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium

Sample Student Product

Click on the link Student Sample Product to see a sample.
Create and include a sample of one final product expected of your students.

Credits & References

Louisiana symbols and information from LA Dept of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism http://www.crt.state.la.us/ 

Louis Armstrong picture courtesy of http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/armstrong.html

St. louis Cathedral picture courtesy of http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/neworlea.htm

Louisiana Parish Map courtesy of 
http://www.lapage.com/page/

Louisiana Purchase Map courtesy of http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/profiles/history.htm

Old State Capitol picture courtesy of http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/plantion.htm

Louisiana Crawfish picture courtesy of http://www.coonass.com/etouffee.htm

Webquest and Webquest template design courtesy of http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html

Rubric design courtesy of High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium and Rubistar.