The students really enjoyed this project and had fun learning more about where their families originally came from.
We started the project by conducting primary research – interviewing family members to learn more about how their families came to live on Maui. Students also worked with their families to create a family tree.
Back in the classroom, students used their research to write a 5-sentence paragraph about their families’ immigration story (we’re working really hard to master the 5-sentence paragraph this year – starting with a topic/main sentence, then adding three key details and finally wrapping it up with a concluding sentence.).
Students also used the mobile computer lab to practice their research skills, researching information about one of the countries their families immigrated from originally. Students had a lot of pride in learning important facts about their countries of origin and enjoyed coming across familiar facts and photos.
Later, students created a poster that included their family tree, a map showing their families’ immigration pattern and their 5-sentence paragraph.
As a class, we also created a large, world map in the back of the room. Students labeled continents and oceans on this map. Then, students connected a piece of yarn from their families’ country of origin to Maui. This provided a powerful visual, showing how we all started in different places, but wound up on the same island, together.
Finally, the students created their own passports and passport “stamps.” Students took turns visiting each other at their desks, where they presented their posters and told classmates about their families’ immigration stories. As students visited each other, the “host student” presented the visitor with a stamp for their passport. By the end of the afternoon, everyone went home having learned a little bit more about their classmates and with a passport full of stamps.
Standards addressed in this project:
We started the project by conducting primary research – interviewing family members to learn more about how their families came to live on Maui. Students also worked with their families to create a family tree.
Back in the classroom, students used their research to write a 5-sentence paragraph about their families’ immigration story (we’re working really hard to master the 5-sentence paragraph this year – starting with a topic/main sentence, then adding three key details and finally wrapping it up with a concluding sentence.).
Students also used the mobile computer lab to practice their research skills, researching information about one of the countries their families immigrated from originally. Students had a lot of pride in learning important facts about their countries of origin and enjoyed coming across familiar facts and photos.
Later, students created a poster that included their family tree, a map showing their families’ immigration pattern and their 5-sentence paragraph.
As a class, we also created a large, world map in the back of the room. Students labeled continents and oceans on this map. Then, students connected a piece of yarn from their families’ country of origin to Maui. This provided a powerful visual, showing how we all started in different places, but wound up on the same island, together.
Finally, the students created their own passports and passport “stamps.” Students took turns visiting each other at their desks, where they presented their posters and told classmates about their families’ immigration stories. As students visited each other, the “host student” presented the visitor with a stamp for their passport. By the end of the afternoon, everyone went home having learned a little bit more about their classmates and with a passport full of stamps.
Standards addressed in this project:
English Language Arts Standards · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7 – Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2 – Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.7 – Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.10 – Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes and audiences. · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.4 – Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience. · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.5 – Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations. · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7 – Use information gained from illustrations (e.g. maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur). · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2 – Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2.A – Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension. · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2.D – Provide a concluding statement or section. · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.4 – With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. · CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.7 – Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic. Social Studies Standards · Standard 1: History: Historical Understanding: Change, Continuity, and Causality – Understand change and/or continuity and cause and/or effect in history · Standard 2: History: Historical Understanding: Inquiry, Empathy, and Perspective – Use the tools and methods of inquiry, perspective, and empathy to explain historical events with multiple interpretations and judge the past on its own terms. · Standard 3: History: Historical Content: Understand change, cause and effect, and continuity in history and contemporary life · Standard 7: Geography: World in Spatial Terms – Use geographic representations to organize, analyze, and present information on people, places, and environments and understand the nature and interaction of geographic regions and societies around the world. |