Collaboration

"Our Neighborhood" Project

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The "Our Neighborhood" project introduces kids to structured ways of thinking and expressing ideas about the people, places and things that matter most to them. The lessons build on the information and experiences that the children and the instructors already have about the culture around them. Click below to see the lesson plan for each of the eight sessions.

Goals: 

Children doing this project will achieve the following goals:

    • Increased vocabulary as they describe and come to understand some of the people, places, events and things in their family, peer group and community
    • Increased ability to perform such social skills as sharing, listening, taking turns and helping others
    • New factual and qualitative information about the people and places in their neighborhood that are important to children
    • Increased ability to present concrete and abstract information in multimedia formats
    • Increased skill in using multimedia authoring software and the Internet

Community Mapping: Collecting and Organizing Data from Surveys

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In this project, learners do a survey and create a spreadsheet using the data. Keep in mind that you could also do a survey project just with pen and paper, or you could have the group take photos to illustrate their findings and build a Web page with the results.

Recommended Time: 

If your learners are already familiar with the spreadsheet software, you can probably complete a simple, warm-up version of this project in two 30-minute sessions. If you are still introducing the software, however, plan on working on the various elements of this project for 15 to 30 minutes a day over a week or more. A more extended version of the project with a broader survey base might take longer.

Goals: 
  • Learn about surveys
  • Learn more about the people and other attributes of their community
  • Gather, analyze, and present data
  • Introduce or practice using spreadsheet software
  • Research an inquiry-based project 

More Than Just the Facts, Ma'am: An Interviewing Project Using Multimedia

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There's no better way to learn than by talking to people. Even if you're not a reporter, everyone needs good interviewing skills, whether it's to find the answer to a question or to get a job. Interviewing isn't something you can just rush into, however. Kids need preparation, practice and coaching.

Recommended Time: 

Plan on working on the various elements of this project for 15 to 30 minutes each day over several weeks, especially if you are introducing new software while you are doing it. You want to spend most of your time working on the basics of interviewing, rather than on technology.

Goals: 
    • To teach good interviewing, questioning and communication skills
    • To practice writing longer pieces
    • To help kids meet people in their community
    • To introduce or practice photography, photo-editing, or Web-authoring skills
    • To help kids research an inquiry-based project
    • To build teamwork skills

Teamwork and Teamplay

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Description: A comprehensive book (512 pages) about cooperative games and team-building activities for all ages.

1st Edition, 1998
ISBN: 0787245321

Link: 
Kendall Hunt

Enhancing Student Thinking Through Collaborative Learning

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Description: This 1998 ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication Digest (#130) describes the critical attributes of group learning and how they come about during instruction.

Link: 
Educator's Reference Desk
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