Lesson+Plan

Community Workers Final Project Lesson Plan

//INTRODUCTION: This project will serve as an independent exploration and assessment for students at the end of a social studies unit on communities and community workers. Students will have studied what makes up a community and how communities operate. They will also have studied a few different types of community workers (as examples), but this project requires them to independently explore one specific type of community worker and then report back to the class. This report will be in the form of an interview with a community worker of their choice. The student will be required to video the interview (having come up with appropriate questions themselves) and post it on our class wikispace (community workers space). Then, each student will be required to watch 2 of their classmate's video interviews and write about what they learned from them. They will also have to leave comments (discussion) for the students' whose videos they watched. In the end, each student will turn in their own interview, and a short report on community workers which includes 3 specific workers (their own and two others). While students could conduct the interviews and record them with only a video camera, the internet (in this case, specifically, a wikispace) allows students to share their video and access others' videos whenever and from wherever they wish, thus making their reports doable in a matter of days as opposed to weeks (it would take weeks and multiple TVs for students to see others' videos).//

note: students should be somewhat familiar with wikispaces before doing this project. If not, you will need to explicitly teach them about wikispaces.

OBJECTIVE: Students learn all about one type of community worker and how he/she contributes to the community. Students will also learn how to post a video onto the class wikispace and to watch their classmates' posted videos.

MATERIALS: At least one digital video camera that students can check out. Computers on which students can upload their videos and watch others. A rubric by which to grade student videos and reports (my rubric is on my internet project page). Handout (I am just posting it on the wikispace) of instructions for students.

STEPS: 1. Make sure to complete the social studies community unit before beginning this project. 2. Explain project to students by going over the steps with them carefully. 3. Be prepared to help students find community workers to interview, and guide them in the process. 4. Organize a sign-up so all students may borrow the video camera if they need to. 5. Teach a lesson on how to upload videos **if** you think your students are capable (adapt according to your class). If not, you may need to upload them yourself. Do so through [|teachertube]. Once the videos are on teachertube, it is easy to upload them onto the wikispace. Copy the site of the video from teacher tube. When you are editing the wikispace page from which you want to link that video, click on the video icon, then click video, then teachertube. Further instructions pop up (you will simply paste the site address from above).