Introduction

This lesson was developed as a final project for the University of Northern Iowa Professional Development Workshop "Teaching Information Literacy and Problem-Based Learning with the WWW."

This lesson is to stimulate students' concerns about their community while developing effective writing, speaking, and researching skills.

Learners

This lesson is anchored in seventh grade language arts and involves library and reference skills.

Students must have prior experience reading for content, organizing information, and using the writing process independently.

Curriculum Standards

This lesson addresses many Wilmette Public Schools cross-curricular standards.

Language Arts/ Reading Standards Addressed

• Analyze task and set purpose
• Use note taking strategies with note cards
• Summarize expository text
• Make generalizations about where to locate expository materials
• Analyze materials from different perspectives
• Distinguish between fact and opinion

Language Arts/ Writing Standards Addressed

• Determine purpose, audience, and product
• Use the writing process independently
• Gather information
• Organize information
• Use information from other sources
• Write in persuasive form
• Revise to improve word choice, sentence structure, and content
• Produce writing that contains appropriate focus, support, organization, mechanics, and integration
• Demonstrate poise when speaking to a group
• Use visual aids when speaking to a group
• Use physical movements and non-verbal cues when speaking to a group
• Speak with clarity and conciseness
• Use appropriate audience/listener responses
• Cite and credit all sources of information

Library and Reference Skills Standards Addressed

• Distinguish unique characteristics of various reference sources
• Begin to identify and apply specific criteria for evaluating reference sources

Technology Standards Addressed

• Use correct keyboarding skills
• Use technology to produce personal projects
• Practice problem solving strategies and critical thinking skills
• Use the computer as a research writing tool

Process (Meeting once a day in a library media computer lab for 40 minutes, this project will last about three weeks.)

Before letting the students break off into their assigned groups, explain the concept of the webquest, how to access the information, your role as a facilitator, and the project deadlines.

1. Meet with your team members (3 other people in your class) and select your team roles. (Divide the class into groups of four, preferably heterogeneous groups)

Editor: You will make sure the spelling, grammar, and organization are perfect in the final product.

Writer: You will make sure the necessary research is completed by your team and the final product is well written and organized.

Resource manager: You will maintain the files of information from the teacher and your team members' research notes.

Artist/ Graphic designer: You will make sure the final presentation is visually appealing.

Fact finder: Everyone will conduct the necessary research to complete the final project.

2. Brainstorm a list of the possible options (at least 15). Consider some of the "Focus Questions" to kick-start your process. (If students have difficulty coming up with some ideas, brainstorm five ideas as a whole class activity.)

Use these questions as a guide for your research. You do not need to find the answers to all of them and maybe you will add a few more to the list.

• How may students does District 39 currently have in its six schools?
• How many students can each building have and remain under capacity levels?
• When will the buildings reach capacity?
• What has the district done in the past when the population was too large for the schools?
• Has District 39 ever closed a school building before because the population numbers were too low?
• What have other districts on the North Shore done recently to solve similar problems?
• What is a neighborhood school?
• Why do the elementary buildings only have K-4?
• Could the fifth grade classes be reassigned to the four elementary buildings?
• Could Highcrest, currently 5-6, and the Junior High, currently 7-8, change to two 6-8 buildings?
• What is middle school philosophy?
• What is the recommended size of an elementary building for effective learning to occur?
• What is the recommended size of a middle school building for effective learning to occur?
• What is the recommended size of a junior high building for effective learning to occur?
• How much does a new school cost?
• How much does a mobile classroom cost?
• How long does it take to build a new school?
• Where would the new school be in the village?
• Is there room to build an additional middle school in the field between Highcrest and Wilmette Junior High?
• Would new construction impact the bus routes?
• Would student attendance areas need to be rezoned?
• How would the community feel about rezoning?
• Has the community supported new construction in the past?

3. Select the best four possible solutions to research.

4. Look over the Resources listed below. Students must use a minimum of five sources, including one print and four nonprint resources. Interviewing the District Superintendent, Director of Facilities, and Director of Transportation might also be helpful.

Use these resources for your research. Additional information may be found in the library media center via School Board Reports, CRC Reports, and other print materials. Interviews with department administrators and community members might also appropriate for the research.

Cite your sources using the Wilmette Junior High Communication Reference Handbook. (Our district uses a modified version of the MLA format. Direct your students to the appropriate format for your building or classroom.)

Wilmette Public Schools

• Find out the who, what, and when of Wilmette Schools. A brief history of Wilmette Schools is included in addition to the names of department heads and key contacts.

District 39 School Attendance Areas

• View the boundaries for the elementary schools in Wilmette. Which school in Wilmette has the largest attendance area? Where would a logical location for a new school? Are the attendance areas balanced?

The Village of Wilmette

• What does Wilmette have to offer the people who live and work there? Who would you contact if you wanted to build a new school in Wilmette? What are the zoning regulations?

School Size, School Climate, and Student Performance

• How does the size of a school effect students' grades and test scores? Do students do better in smaller or larger schools? Read Kathleen Cotton's research results to find out.

School Size

• Is there a optimal school size? How many students should a school have in it? Why do districts build large schools?

National Middle School Association

• Currently, Highcrest School houses all of the 5th and 6th graders in the district. Does research support fifth graders being included in middle schools? The National Middle School Association is certainly considered an expert on the subject.

Comparison of Middle School vs. Junior High Philosophies

• In District 39, you attend a middle school and a junior high and you could probably list some of the differences between the schools. Here another district laid out its philosophies side by side for a comparison. Do they match Highcrest Middle and Wilmette Junior High?

5. Decide on your "plan of attack." Delegate the research assignments and create deadlines to complete your research

6. As you research, write your facts on note cards. Keep track of every source you use! You will need the information for the bibliography at the end.

7. Meet back as a group to create an outline of the major points of the four possibilities. Put all of the group members' note cards in the order of the outline.

8. Compare the four building solutions using your research results. Which one is the best solution?

9. Select one proposal to present to the School Board.

10. Prepare a presentation of your proposal for the School Board with a one page outline for your audience. The outline should just list your main proposal points.

11. Your 7-10 minute presentation should include facts and other data to support your proposal. Your visual aid should supplement the oral presentation. Everyone must share the speaking responsibilities.

12. Turn in a complete bibliography, copy of your presentation, and proposal outline at the end of the project.

Resources Needed

What do will your class need to complete this project:

• Internet access
• Word-processing software
• Access to District 39 administrators, School Board minutes, and CRC reports is helpful.

Although students have the project guidelines available online, the teacher still plays a critical role. S/he must be available to facilitate the small groups, set daily or weekly guidelines ("By the end of today, you will want to have your list of 15 possibilities completed.")

Evaluation

 

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Use of Class Time	Required repeated prompting from teacher to get on-task; relied heavily on teacher for help.	Utilized class time effectively at times but group members found to be off task of dependent on teacher for direction.	Utilized class time well but needed prompting from teacher to refocus or requested repeated assistance from teacher.	Utilized all class time well without prompting of teacher.
Project Information  (score x 4)	Very sketchy information presented; difficult to differentiate between the material that answers focus questions and unnecessary information.	Some of the questions answered but often not completely; some unnecessary information included.	Most of the focus questions answered completely or all questions answered completely with some unnecessary information included.	All of the focus questions completely and accurately answered, omitting unnecessary information or redundant information.
Project Layout	Difficult to follow, very little thought placed on visual appeal or organization.	Some organization evident but difficult to follow; graphics not appealing or present.	Well organized but lacking in visual appeal for some topics or more organization needed.	Well organized and visually appealing to reader/ viewer.
Grammar and Spelling	Excessive errors, making it difficult to follow topic.	Numerous errors found that distract reader from topic.	A few minor errors in project.	No spelling, punctuation, capitalization, or grammar errors.
Research Quality	1-2 quality resources used.	3-4 quality resources used.	5 quality resources used including one print and four nonprint	6+ quality resources including at least one print and four nonprint
Documentation	Citations not complete; numerous errors noted in addresses submitted; incorrect format used	Citations not complete but errors present in addresses submitted.	Most of the pertinent information submitted, although some errors or missing information noted.	All pertinent information cited for each resource in the correct format.
Presentation to Class	Large portions of the necessary information omitted; information is presented in a way that is not interesting to class; presentation hard to follow.	Some necessary information is missing; presentation communicates some of the main ideas but fails to capture the interest f the class. Presentation not well organized.	Presentation information is accurate but not interesting due to mode of presentation (i.e. lack of creativity or reading off notes)	Presentation was informative, creative, interesting, persuasive, and met time limits. Group was able to answer audience questions
Total Grade					/ 40

Conclusion

The objectives of this lesson are to stimulate students' concerns about their community while developing effective writing, speaking, and researching skills. Finding a solution to a problem their school district is facing will be challenging, thought-provoking, and require higher-order thinking skills.

Credits & References

Dodge, Bernie. "The WebQuest Page." [Online] Available http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/ , 21 July 2001

Grade Seven: Curriculum Highlights. Wilmette Public Schools District 39, Wilmette, IL, 2000.