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Description of Lesson
Basic Goals:
To create within each student an appreciation for
and understanding of their community's history and development.
To develop within each student the ability to gather and analyze
information from different historical resources and restate what
they have learned in a creative writing activity using either a
narrative style or dialogue. To use the elements and principles
of art to illustrate the information the class was researching and
writing about.
Instructional Preparation:
Our public library was used to gather information
dealing with the history and development of our community. A variety
of resources were available which included books published by local
citizens, city newspapers and local magazines. The community's various
historians were also used as a first-hand resource to draw information
from.
Learning Activity:
First, we created our own history booklets using information
gathered from the various resources. We created book jackets for
our "Community History Booklets." The students were allowed
to illustrate their individual book jackets with scenes that depicted
events the students learned about from their reading. The events
for their illustrations were non-specific. Each Student was to choose
the event they were most interested in. After finishing their illustration,
they were allowed to lead the class in a discussion on that specific
topic.
Second, a historic "theme" was selected
by the entire class to focus a group discussion on. This "theme"
would later become the prompt for the class's creative writing activity.
After the entire class had a good understanding of a selected topic,
the prompt was introduced, and the writing began. The stories were
edited, and revisions were made.
Third, while the class was involved in the creative
writing activity, individual students were selected to work on the
class mural which had already been drawn by the instructor. Elements
and principles of art dealing with light source, color selection,
and shading were discussed individually with each student assigned
to a portion of the mural. Each student colored their selected area
with the appropriate base color depending on the light source and
resulting shadow. After each student had the opportunity to color
selected portions of the entire mural, the instructor added additional
highlights or shading to what had already been colored by the class.
The mural was important because it allowed the students to have
a "window into the past" that brought the information
being discussed to life.
Assessment:
Classroom discussion, story content, and quality of
writing served as the assessment for each student participating
in the unit on "Community History."
Time Involved:
The entire unit on "Community History,"
including research, discussion, writing, revision, and mural, covered
from two to three weeks.
Missouri Curriculum Standards
Communication Arts K-4
I. Gather, Analyze, and Apply Information and Ideas
2. Locate and gather information and ideas. (CA 2-7) c. Gather information
from second-hand sources. (1.2; 1.4) h. Gather information using
pictures, dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, trade books and
subject-specific resources. (1.2; 1.4)
II. Communicate Effectively Within and Beyond the
Classroom 1. Write about, visually represent, and discuss written,
visual, and oral communications. (CA 1, 4, 6) c. Write about, draw
or retell part of a story or learning experience. (2.1; 2.4) d.
Write about, draw or retell information or ideas discovered in written
or oral texts or videos. (2.1; 2.4)
III. Recognize and Solve Problems 4. Analyze and solve
problems involved in creating their own written, oral, and visual
communications. (CA 1, 4, 7) d. Create stories containing problem/solution
situations. (2.1; 3.1)
Fine Arts
IV. D Visual Arts - Product/Performance 2. Know and
use the elements of art. (FA 1, 4) a. Identify and use varieties
of lines, shapes, and colors in works of art. (1.6; 2.5; 2.6) (FA2)
3. Know and use the principles of art. (FA 1, 4) b. Identify and
use a variety of lines, shapes, and colors in works of art. (1.6;
2.4; 2.5)
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Student Showcase: 
