I've been trying to think of this kind of project that I would have done earlier in my life and I'm not coming up with anything! There's been very few "papers" that I've needed to write in my life and I think my approach was simply to check the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature to begin finding information. I don't ever recall writing down my questions and starting at that point. I guess I jumped in at the "webbing" phase. I also don't remember options for the end product. More recently when I've wanted to know something, I have used the Internet doing a Google search.
This project felt "controlled" in that I felt like I had to go through the certain steps. It would've been interesting to start my inquiry without knowing anything about "models of inquiry" to see if indeed I followed that sequence. My guess is that overall, I and others, do follow that sequence. Using a model, however, I think is helpful in making sure "all the bases have been covered." And maybe it's most helpful for the teachers, to have a sequence to teach!
This project truly was enjoyable. I do enjoy being on a pursuit of resources and answers! I'm thinking that in the future, I'll be much more aware of how I'm working through questions I have to research. And now, I have a "model" to follow when I decide to find the answer to the question about what is the difference between spaghett, pizza and marina sauce!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
What are the Curriculum Connection Possibilities?
This project has several possibilities for connections to the curriculum depending upon the grade level. Since I'm teaching first grade, I looked for standards in that grade level:
Social Studies: 1.3.8 Give examples of natural resources, such as water, trees, plants, and soil, and describe how people in the school and community use these resources.
1.4.3 Compare and contrast different jobs people do to earn income. (This could be done after talking about all the people involved in the production of cotton. The information in a quote I had in an earlier post surprised me about how many people are involved in the cotton industry.)
Science: 1.1.1 Observe, describe, draw, and sort objects carefully to learn about them. (I would see the part about observing and describing being useful here.)
1.1.2 Investigate and make observations to seek answers to questions about the world, such as "In what ways do animals move?" (Translated in this project the question would be, "How does cotton grow?)
1.1.3 Recognize that and demonstrate how people can learn much about plants and animals by observing them closely for a period of time. Recognize also that care must be taken to know the needs of living things and how to provide for them.
1.2.6 Describe and compare objects in terms of number, shape, texture, size, weight, color and motion.
Language Arts: 1.7.5 Use descriptive words when speaking about people, places, things, and events.
1.7.9 Provide descriptions with careful attention to sensory detail.
Standards for grade 5 that could be met in learning about cotton:
Social Studies: 5.1.10 Examine the causes and consequences of the establishment of slavery, and describe how slavery became an issue that began to divide the Northern and Southern colonies.
5.3.8 Identify the major manufacturing and agricultural regions in colonial America, and cite ways that agriculture and manufacturing have changed in the past and continue to change.
5.4.5 Use economic reasoning to explain why certain careers are more common in one region than in another, and how specialization results in more interdependence.
5.4.6 Predict the effect of changes in supply and demand on price.
5.4.7 Analyze how the causes and effects of changes in price of certain goods and services had significant influence on events in United States history. Ex: price of cotton
5.5.3 Read fiction and non-fiction stories about conflicts among and between groups of people at different stages in the formation of the United States, and give examples of how these conflicts were resolved. (I think of the issues in the cotton mills.)
Science: 5.4.4 Explain that in any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals survive well, some do not survive as well, and some cannot survive at all.
The learnings in fifth grade are not so much about how cotton grows, but more about the industry.
Information Literacy Standards that can be met:
Formulates questions based on information needs.
Identifies a variety of potential sources of information.
Selects information appropriate to the problem or question at hand.
Integrates new information into one's own knowledge.
Indiana's Academic Standards for Social Studies, Science and Language Arts
Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning prepared by the American Association of School Librarians, 1998.
Social Studies: 1.3.8 Give examples of natural resources, such as water, trees, plants, and soil, and describe how people in the school and community use these resources.
1.4.3 Compare and contrast different jobs people do to earn income. (This could be done after talking about all the people involved in the production of cotton. The information in a quote I had in an earlier post surprised me about how many people are involved in the cotton industry.)
Science: 1.1.1 Observe, describe, draw, and sort objects carefully to learn about them. (I would see the part about observing and describing being useful here.)
1.1.2 Investigate and make observations to seek answers to questions about the world, such as "In what ways do animals move?" (Translated in this project the question would be, "How does cotton grow?)
1.1.3 Recognize that and demonstrate how people can learn much about plants and animals by observing them closely for a period of time. Recognize also that care must be taken to know the needs of living things and how to provide for them.
1.2.6 Describe and compare objects in terms of number, shape, texture, size, weight, color and motion.
Language Arts: 1.7.5 Use descriptive words when speaking about people, places, things, and events.
1.7.9 Provide descriptions with careful attention to sensory detail.
Standards for grade 5 that could be met in learning about cotton:
Social Studies: 5.1.10 Examine the causes and consequences of the establishment of slavery, and describe how slavery became an issue that began to divide the Northern and Southern colonies.
5.3.8 Identify the major manufacturing and agricultural regions in colonial America, and cite ways that agriculture and manufacturing have changed in the past and continue to change.
5.4.5 Use economic reasoning to explain why certain careers are more common in one region than in another, and how specialization results in more interdependence.
5.4.6 Predict the effect of changes in supply and demand on price.
5.4.7 Analyze how the causes and effects of changes in price of certain goods and services had significant influence on events in United States history. Ex: price of cotton
5.5.3 Read fiction and non-fiction stories about conflicts among and between groups of people at different stages in the formation of the United States, and give examples of how these conflicts were resolved. (I think of the issues in the cotton mills.)
Science: 5.4.4 Explain that in any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals survive well, some do not survive as well, and some cannot survive at all.
The learnings in fifth grade are not so much about how cotton grows, but more about the industry.
Information Literacy Standards that can be met:
Formulates questions based on information needs.
Identifies a variety of potential sources of information.
Selects information appropriate to the problem or question at hand.
Integrates new information into one's own knowledge.
Indiana's Academic Standards for Social Studies, Science and Language Arts
Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning prepared by the American Association of School Librarians, 1998.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Wishing.....
This process had its times of feeling messy. When I was in the middle of my research (and my head would leap to the "wrapping" part--I kept wondering "what am I going to do with all this?") I remember thinking and feeling like this was a big mess! I didn't quite know if I should be moving forward in my inquiry steps or staying where I was and doing more research. Knowing what my final product (the wrap) was going to be did effect my thinking at this point. When I was thinking about the webquest option, I wasn't sure how to bring closure to that inquiry--should it just be about growing cotton or should it be about what cotton is used for? It might have been about that time that I realized I was looking for two things--answers to my questions and also resources for teaching children. When I clarified that in my head, I was better able to realize when my research was "done." It was at that point that the pathfinder idea seemed like the "right" way to package this information.
A hard part about this research was when I realized from reading the book Up at Daybreak how the research options were truly vast--if this topic would be pursued with older students who have an understanding of US history, slavery, etc. I saw connects I hadn't thought about before. I included that book on my pathfinder for anyone wanting information for older students. There probably would've been more resources to include for the older students, but I didn't pursue that avenue--the project would've become very big at that point. Those were not questions I had initially listed as things I wanted to know as well. I also did not include resources about Eli Whitney (other than listing his name as a search term) who was instrumental in moving cotton production forward in this country. Again, I felt that was an area that was more suited for older students.
I felt I did find some good resources for this topic. It seems libraries have about two books on the topic, but not more. That made it difficult to evaluate those resources because they weren't readily available.
Callison says "Assessment is ongoing. It is done continuously, not just at the end of a project....Students assess to see what they are doing well and where they might improve in a specific phase of their work." I felt that I was assessing what kinds of resources I was finding as well as whether I was finding the resources that were giving me the answers to my questions.
I think my process of inquiry would be similar to younger students' processes. I think they would be very curious about the wrapping phase way back at the first or second step. I know I had started thinking about that phase early on--maybe in the wiggling step. I was trying to trust the inquiry process that the final product would become apparent with what I was learning--and it did. I don't know if younger students would be able to do that or not, unless they could become so involved in the pursuit of answers (something they were quite curious about). This response may be related to how much research they have done before and how it was conducted. If it was teacher assigned, their way of approaching this process may be different than if they have experience with an inquiry process. I think they also would have feelings like the whole process is a mess at points as well. That may be a point where the instructor needs to step in and help the student sort out the next step.
The Blue Book of Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy by Daniel Callison and Leslie Preddy, Libraries Unlimited, 2006.
A hard part about this research was when I realized from reading the book Up at Daybreak how the research options were truly vast--if this topic would be pursued with older students who have an understanding of US history, slavery, etc. I saw connects I hadn't thought about before. I included that book on my pathfinder for anyone wanting information for older students. There probably would've been more resources to include for the older students, but I didn't pursue that avenue--the project would've become very big at that point. Those were not questions I had initially listed as things I wanted to know as well. I also did not include resources about Eli Whitney (other than listing his name as a search term) who was instrumental in moving cotton production forward in this country. Again, I felt that was an area that was more suited for older students.
I felt I did find some good resources for this topic. It seems libraries have about two books on the topic, but not more. That made it difficult to evaluate those resources because they weren't readily available.
Callison says "Assessment is ongoing. It is done continuously, not just at the end of a project....Students assess to see what they are doing well and where they might improve in a specific phase of their work." I felt that I was assessing what kinds of resources I was finding as well as whether I was finding the resources that were giving me the answers to my questions.
I think my process of inquiry would be similar to younger students' processes. I think they would be very curious about the wrapping phase way back at the first or second step. I know I had started thinking about that phase early on--maybe in the wiggling step. I was trying to trust the inquiry process that the final product would become apparent with what I was learning--and it did. I don't know if younger students would be able to do that or not, unless they could become so involved in the pursuit of answers (something they were quite curious about). This response may be related to how much research they have done before and how it was conducted. If it was teacher assigned, their way of approaching this process may be different than if they have experience with an inquiry process. I think they also would have feelings like the whole process is a mess at points as well. That may be a point where the instructor needs to step in and help the student sort out the next step.
The Blue Book of Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy by Daniel Callison and Leslie Preddy, Libraries Unlimited, 2006.
The Alberta Inquiry Model calls this part of information inquiry "sharing." Dr. Lamb has labeled it "waving." A moving hand is meant to communicate something. An important part of communicating is knowing who is being communicated to--who will have interest in this information. Both models discuss the importance of this communication step as well as thinking about the audience and how that will determine the presentation.
This part of the inquiry process is the place to communicate the learnings from this process of research. As I stated in my last entry, I decided to create a pathfinder so that the information I found would be usable for teachers wishing to teach children about how cotton is grown as well as what it is used for. For someone just wishing to learn about the same things, the resources would provide answers to those questions.
This pathfinder is available on the web and I'm aware of a few teachers that may have interest in these resources, so I will let them know where they can find this information.
This part of the inquiry process is the place to communicate the learnings from this process of research. As I stated in my last entry, I decided to create a pathfinder so that the information I found would be usable for teachers wishing to teach children about how cotton is grown as well as what it is used for. For someone just wishing to learn about the same things, the resources would provide answers to those questions.
This pathfinder is available on the web and I'm aware of a few teachers that may have interest in these resources, so I will let them know where they can find this information.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Wrapping it up...
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have this theory that if I think long enough about something, I'll get it figured out. Well, I also operate in a similar way with searching, particularly on the web--if I search long enough and enough times, I'll find even more! As I was doing some searching (I think I had actually gone back to a site for a second look), I realized some terms I needed to use for my search that may be more effective: "ag in the classroom" + cotton. That did yield better results than my searches with the county extension sites.
I've been working at the wrapping phase of this project. Earlier I had discussed the possibility of doing a webquest to share my findings. As I thought more about it and realized part of my inquiry was not only finding the answers to my questions, but finding resources for teaching this information to children, I decided a pathfinder would be the best option. That format would also allow for a variety of grade level pursuits. A webquest would have been more limited for a specific grade level.
This information could be used by classroom teachers, but also in other settings as well where learning and curiosity are encouraged, such as an after-school program. A cotton plant could be grown in a library and books about cotton and questions posted around/near the plant may arouse some curiousity as well.
Truly this pursuit has just been a matter of curiousity--life would go on whether I know how cotton grows and what all it's used for. But when I read that "The cotton industry as a whole creates more than 340,000 jobs and generates over $60 billion of business in the United States--the greatest of any crop," it seems important information to know about! (taken from Cotton Journey website).
I've been working at the wrapping phase of this project. Earlier I had discussed the possibility of doing a webquest to share my findings. As I thought more about it and realized part of my inquiry was not only finding the answers to my questions, but finding resources for teaching this information to children, I decided a pathfinder would be the best option. That format would also allow for a variety of grade level pursuits. A webquest would have been more limited for a specific grade level.
This information could be used by classroom teachers, but also in other settings as well where learning and curiosity are encouraged, such as an after-school program. A cotton plant could be grown in a library and books about cotton and questions posted around/near the plant may arouse some curiousity as well.
Truly this pursuit has just been a matter of curiousity--life would go on whether I know how cotton grows and what all it's used for. But when I read that "The cotton industry as a whole creates more than 340,000 jobs and generates over $60 billion of business in the United States--the greatest of any crop," it seems important information to know about! (taken from Cotton Journey website).
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
What I've Learned
I used www.bubbl.us to make a web of the information I learned from my reading and searching. I'm still thinking about if this is the best way for me to compile this information.....haven't decided the answer to that. Stripling and Hughes-Hassel say: "...graphic organizers are spatial arrays that require learners to show how they construct their new knowledge." This process (making the web) has helped me process and retain the information, so maybe it is the appropriate organizer.
Curriculum Connections Through the Library by Barbara K. Stripling and Sandra Hughes-Hassel, Libraries Unlimited, 2003.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
I'm Still Wiggling and Weaving and Even Webbing
I've read my books and done the searching that I can think of to do. As I was rereading my own blog, I remembered the local county extension agent had told me to do a Google search with the state name + county extension office. I had forgotten about that, but had needed to find out which states grew cotton before I could do that research! I started on that path and discovered a webpage with all the state county extension webpages which made things easier: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/netlinks/ces.html. Surprisingly, there was very little information at any of the states' county extension webpages that was of value for me. Most was quite technical and useful for a cotton farmer. Alabama had a coloring page or two that I thought would be useful for the classroom.
I was judging my sources as I read, ready to trust whatever I found at the county extension sites, but found very little! Most of the websites I checked, I found believable because several of them were national organizations such as the National Cotton Council. One specific site called Cottons Journey had lots of information for helping children learn about how cotton grows. I didn't see a specific tie to a national organization, but addresses and phone numbers were given for contact and ordering information. One website, written by a cotton grower (grows it for spinning on a small scale), indicates that a cotton plant will last several years if not frostbitten. That little tidbit I'm wondering about. I have my own cotton plant to test it out.....and I have it indoors where it will not get frostbitten (which is what this woman says she does). Time will tell.
The books I read had copyrights of 1977, 1982 and 1994. I really wanted an up-to-date title with information about how to grow cotton. What has changed over the years? One book I read with a copyright of 2006 was not about how to grow cotton, but about the history of the cotton industry in America from colonial times to the present. It was this book that had me thinking about bigger issues about cotton growing for older children to pursue.
I was judging my sources as I read, ready to trust whatever I found at the county extension sites, but found very little! Most of the websites I checked, I found believable because several of them were national organizations such as the National Cotton Council. One specific site called Cottons Journey had lots of information for helping children learn about how cotton grows. I didn't see a specific tie to a national organization, but addresses and phone numbers were given for contact and ordering information. One website, written by a cotton grower (grows it for spinning on a small scale), indicates that a cotton plant will last several years if not frostbitten. That little tidbit I'm wondering about. I have my own cotton plant to test it out.....and I have it indoors where it will not get frostbitten (which is what this woman says she does). Time will tell.
The books I read had copyrights of 1977, 1982 and 1994. I really wanted an up-to-date title with information about how to grow cotton. What has changed over the years? One book I read with a copyright of 2006 was not about how to grow cotton, but about the history of the cotton industry in America from colonial times to the present. It was this book that had me thinking about bigger issues about cotton growing for older children to pursue.
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