Recommended time
Minimum 60 minutes, maximum 90 minutes

Goals for the session

• Build vocabulary
• Think critically
• Work cooperatively
• Practice writing words and sentences
• Practice asking questions, listening and responding to questions
• Practice taking photos that express a perspective

Outcomes

• List-Group-Label cards
• Photos of people
• Interview writing
• Newsletter
• Slides or Web pages

Materials and equipment

• A computer with Internet access
• Microsoft Word or similar software
• KidPix, HyperStudio or similar software
• A copy of the book Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold
• Composition books (one for each child and facilitator)
• Loose-leaf paper
• Index cards
• Pencils
• Regular pens and/or colored gel pens
• Colored markers
• A digital camera(s)
• Copies of newsletter template sheet

Part 1: Journals

What is it?
Have the group do a journal exercise relating to their favorites places at home or in the neighborhood.

Sample exercises

• In words and pictures, show your favorite places on the block or in the neighborhood where you live.
• In words and pictures, show what would happen in your neighborhood if you had a magic power. What would you be able to do? How would you use your power to help other people?

Part 2: Read-Aloud

What is it?
The suggested reading material is Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold. In this book, 8-year-old Cassie Louise Lightfoot talks about her family and about her New York City neighborhood. Cassie imagines how life would be easier for her family if she possessed magical powers like flying. Click here for other recommended books.

Sample questions

• What is the "tar beach" where Cassie's family goes at night?
• Why do you think she calls it tar beach?
• Cassie says that the George Washington Bridge is her "most prized possession." Why do you think the bridge is important to her?

Part 3: Web Review of Children's Writing and Drawing Sites

What is it?
Participants will look at Web sites containing original writing and artwork by children to get ideas for their own writing and drawing.

Suggested sites
Kids' Space
A site dedicated to fostering literacy, artistic expression and cross-cultural understanding among children. Children can post and review artwork, writing and music made by children.

Ralph Bunche School
Students at the Ralph Bunche elementary school in Harlem design and maintain this site, which changes periodically as new projects are posted. Go to the Student Technology Page to view the Harlem Art project, African Heritage Celebration and more.

Spaghetti Book Club
Children post book reviews and drawings. Searches can be done by title, author or book reviewer.

Part 4: List-Group-Label

What is it?
List-Group-Label is a group brainstorming technique. Participants generate questions or ideas that are written on index cards. The purpose of this List-Group-Label exercise is to prepare for a partner interview exercise (the next activity) by brainstorming interview questions.

How to
Tell the group that everyone will be pairing up to do an interview with a partner. Ask the group to suggest ideas for questions. Have one person (or two people, taking turns) write the questions on the cards as they are called out, one at a time. With younger children, it is most efficient for an adult to write out the cards. Then ask two or three children to sort the cards for the group by creating categories and placing the cards in the categories. The cards can then be posted or given to participants to keep.

Part 5: Partner Interviews

What is it?
Interviewing is a great way for children to practice speaking and writing skills. The purpose of this interview is for the participants to learn more about each other. Partners will ask each other a series of questions, record the answers and take a photo of each other.

How to
Have the children pair up. An adult facilitator should model the interview process by asking a volunteer to come up in front of the group and participate in a short interview. The facilitator should ask two or three questions; the volunteer answers each question, and the facilitator takes his or her picture with a digital camera. Facilitators should be sure to model writing down the answers to the questions in a journal. Next, ask two volunteers to model a short interview for the group and take a photo. Then have the entire group conduct the interviews and take photos.

Afterwards, each pair can type its answers into complete sentences using a word processor. If the group has little or no previous experience with word processors, an adult facilitator should demonstrate basic techniques such as opening a file, saving, using the menu, placing the cursor, scrolling, and changing font type and size. Partners should help each other with spelling and punctuation.

Partners can also download their photos and make changes to them. If the group has used photo editing software before, this is a good opportunity for them to practice changing a photo to make it more interesting. If they haven't used photo editing software before, the adult facilitator can gather the group back together to demonstrate how to use the software and explain a few of the tools and effects. The partners can then work together to change their photos.

Facilitators can complete this exercise by having the group create a slide presentation of the interview writing and photographs, create Web pages containing the writing and photographs, or print out the writing and photographs to display.

Slides
Create a slide presentation about the group with the writing and photos from the interview exercise with KidPix, HyperStudio or PowerPoint software. Have each team of partners create two slides: one slide for each partner. As the slides are completed, have two or three participants work together to decide how to organize the slides and edit them, if necessary.

Note: If the group has never seen a slide presentation, show them a completed one before beginning work on the slides.

Web pages
Have the participants decide how to lay out the pages, choosing the background color, the placement of photos, and the placement and color of text and links. The layout can be sketched out on paper using pens and markers. The facilitator can then work with each pair to help them place their content into a page using Netscape Composer or another Web publishing program. If possible, pages should eventually be posted on an active Web site.

If Web publishing software is not available, create a wall display of the interview photos and writing.

Part 6: Daily Newsletter

What is it?
Instructions for creating a daily newsletter are in Session 1, Part 6.