Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 39 views

    2 Grade Inquiry-Based Lesson South Africa vs. Slaton, TX

    Uploaded by

    Samantha Melvin
    This document outlines an inquiry-based lesson plan comparing cultures in South Africa and Slaton, TX. Students posed questions, examined artifacts, and corresponded with a Peace Corps volunteer. They interpreted the volunteer's responses and created a Venn diagram comparing housing, water access, and other aspects. Finally, students shared what they learned by making assemblages about their town and writing reflections. The lesson incorporated student questions, primary sources, and hands-on activities to develop cultural understanding through inquiry.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    2 Grade Inquiry-Based Lesson South Africa vs. Slaton, TX

    Uploaded by

    Samantha Melvin
    39 views31 pages
    This document outlines an inquiry-based lesson plan comparing cultures in South Africa and Slaton, TX. Students posed questions, examined artifacts, and corresponded with a Peace Corps volunteer. They interpreted the volunteer's responses and created a Venn diagram comparing housing, water access, and other aspects. Finally, students shared what they learned by making assemblages about their town and writing reflections. The lesson incorporated student questions, primary sources, and hands-on activities to develop cultural understanding through inquiry.

    Original Title

    South African Lesson

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    This document outlines an inquiry-based lesson plan comparing cultures in South Africa and Slaton, TX. Students posed questions, examined artifacts, and corresponded with a Peace Corps volunteer. They interpreted the volunteer's responses and created a Venn diagram comparing housing, water access, and other aspects. Finally, students shared what they learned by making assemblages about their town and writing reflections. The lesson incorporated student questions, primary sources, and hands-on activities to develop cultural understanding through inquiry.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    39 views31 pages

    2 Grade Inquiry-Based Lesson South Africa vs. Slaton, TX

    Uploaded by

    Samantha Melvin
    This document outlines an inquiry-based lesson plan comparing cultures in South Africa and Slaton, TX. Students posed questions, examined artifacts, and corresponded with a Peace Corps volunteer. They interpreted the volunteer's responses and created a Venn diagram comparing housing, water access, and other aspects. Finally, students shared what they learned by making assemblages about their town and writing reflections. The lesson incorporated student questions, primary sources, and hands-on activities to develop cultural understanding through inquiry.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 31

    2nd Grade

    Inquiry-based Lesson
    South Africa vs. Slaton, TX
    Ronelle Howell, Cathelene Thomas Elementary, Slaton TX
    rhowell@slatonisd.net

    1. Posing real questions


    2. Finding relevant resources
    3. Interpreting data
    4. Sharing findings
    The steps above outline an inquiry-based lesson for any topic such as art elements, an
    particular artist or style. In this instance the process was applied to
    understanding, comparing and contrasting two cultures and environments. I
    devised this lesson to fit what my students, but feel free to adapt any part for
    your own needs. See notes below.
    Step 1: Posing Real Questions
    • What is a topic you are interested in?
    • What do you know already about this topic
    and how do I know it?
    • What do you want to learn about this topic?
    • What do you need to know?
    • What might a possible answer be?

    Even though the topic of inquiry was set, students were able to pose questions
    about those areas that interested them particularly.
    Examining Artifacts
    • Wire Car and bicycle
    • Soda Can animals, relief landscape
    • Wire and Bead decorations
    • Soap Stone Carvings
    • Wooden Spear and Broom
    • Potato Printing, Patterned Shirts and Batiks
    • Drums, Gourd Rattles, Carved Wood Containers
    • Books: “Galimoto” and “Siyolo se Trui”
    The photos following show the actual artifacts students were able to examine with their
    5 senses and extract questions based on their perceptions
    Step 2:
    Finding Relevant, Valid Resources
    • What kinds of sources might help?
    • Where do you find them?
    • How do you know the information is valid?
    • What other information is there?
    Even though I was born and raised in South Africa and could have told
    the students what I wanted them to know, it was more important for
    them to generate questions and find answers form a host of sources
    We used printed literature, but focused mainly on a Peace Corps volunteer
    in South Africa. Students wrote what they were interested in finding out
    And we emailed the questions to our Peace Crops volunteer. We also mailed
    Packages with stories, photos and drawings to South Africa about Slaton.
    Questions Posed to Peace Corps Volunteer

    • What materials are used to build houses


    where [you are living]?
    • Do kids really make their own toys? Have you
    seen toys made from wire, like cars and
    trucks?
    • Do kids go to school like we do? What are the
    schools like? Do the students really wear
    uniforms?
    • What kinds of art do you see?
    See notes in notes section for this slide. Also: the slides following show en example of
    Pages describing lessons and contacts through the Peace Corps volunteers site.
    Sources of Information
    • Artifacts and Observation
    • Books: “Galimoto”, “My Painted House”[by Maya
    Angelou] and “Siyolo se Trui” even though this book is in Afrikaans, the
    students readily understood the story through the illustrations
    • PowerPoint of Townships
    • PowerPoint of Slaton
    • Peace Corp Volunteer in the village of Mmametlhake,
    in South Africa
    • Web Sources:
    https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-f
    actbook/geos/sf.html
    • http://www.proteacher.com/090062.shtml
    Lessons on Africa
    Step 3: Interpreting Data
    • How is this information relevant?
    • How does it relate to what else we know?
    • What parts support the hypothesis and what
    parts do not?
    • What new questions does it raise?

    At this point, had received information from our Peace Corps volunteer in
    South Africa. She answered all the questions and with great sensitivity related
    her experiences and circumstances to concepts in West Texas. The following
    slides show some of the answers that were sent back to my students.
    Answers from South Africa
    • It is a very sandy area. All roads except for the main tar road that goes
    through the middle of the village is sand.

    • A regular household chore is raking the sand - as soon as you get it


    complete someone walks through it or the wind blows it around. (As
    autumn sets in, we have had many West Texas type windy days.)

    • Only wealthy people have grass lawns - upkeep is very expensive and
    time consuming.

    • My house/most of the houses in the village are made of brick covered


    with plaster. The bricks are handmade and appear to be a mixture of
    cement and sand.

    These answers, for example, gave students the opportunity to begin their
    Compare and Contrast exercise. Students were able to frame the answers
    In a way that they could understand.
    Answers from South Africa
    • Some people have slated roofs, but most are roofs of corrugated tin --
    it gets rather loud during a thunderstorm. The tin roofs also trap heat
    on hot days creating an oven effect. There are many houses in our area
    that are made entirely of corrugated tin. They are ridiculously hot
    during summer and ridiculously cold during winter.

    • Some people set these shanties up as temporary housing until they can
    build a brick house--that may mean saving for years and depending on
    the contractor waiting for many months or years for the completion of
    the house. But many more people use the houses as permanent
    structures and will live in them majority of their lives due to poverty.

    The majority of my students are in situations of poverty and were completely in


    Tuned with the circumstances that students in South Africa faced.
    Answers from South Africa
    • We use an outdoor tap for water. My host-family had installed an
    electric pump to bring up water from the well. Prior to that, they were
    using a hand pump. We are still waiting for the men to come and install
    the Jo-Jo. A jo-jo is a large plastic tank that stores water. When we have
    the tank installed, the pump will pump water into the Jo-Jo and the tap
    will deliver water from the Jo-Jo.
    • I have a plastic barrel that I store water in for use in the house. It
    probably holds about 15 - 20 gallons of water. I have to refill it every 3 -
    4 days, which is a process of filling up a 5 gallon bucket at the tap and
    carrying it into the house. Right now the water is very sandy. Safe to
    drink, but it needs to be filtered to get the sand out. I use a Britae filter
    for this. Every night I filter about 12 liters of water for use the next day. I
    have other buckets that I use to store the filtered water. When the Jo-Jo
    is completed, I will hopefully only have to filter water for drinking
    purposes.

    We decided to use a Venn Diagram to graph the information. Each 2nd grade class
    Completed a similar graph [6 2nd grade classes]. See the following 2 slides.
    Step 4: Sharing Findings
    1. What was your experience in this inquiry?
    2. What were some of your key learnings?
    3. What challenges did you face?
    4. What questions do you still have?
    This step is a crucial part of the inquiry. In the spirit of the art they saw
    And handled from South Africa, students made cardboard and soda
    can assemblages about their own town. The 2 day project revealed
    insightful expressions of vibrant color and deep connections to the
    community. They also wrote about their experience and learning while
    in the art room. All of these steps were shared with the school by posting
    Displays in the hallway. This was later expanded to other writing endeavors
    In their homerooms.
    Creating an Inquiry Based Lesson
    • Choose a set of TEKS and design an inquiry-
    based lesson that will expand students’
    perceptual skills in [fine arts].
    • Prepare the lesson using:
    – The TEKS
    – Specific skill
    – Assessment approach
    – Lesson design
    Closing Quote
    It is in fact nothing short of a miracle that the
    modern methods of instruction have not yet
    entirely strangled the holy curious of inquiry. It
    is a very grave mistake to think that the
    enjoyment of seeing and searching can be
    promoted by means of coercion and a sense
    of duty.

    Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

    You might also like