Students enter the classroom before the bell. The day’s assignment to write a journal entry answering, “What is a museum?” is written on the board. Students understand the assignment and even though Sarah is not in the room all students begin work. The room is quiet and orderly and everyone is writing. Sarah enters and students continue their journal writing without interruption
Sarah turns on the overhead and asks for a volunteer to share his or her answer. A number of students respond and Sarah writes the student’s responses on the overhead.
She leads a discussion about museums and encourages students to talk about their experience with museums.
Sarah points out that the reason she has chosen to focus this lesson on museums is because the students will be creating a museum on the Internet as their project for the rest of the year. The discussion of museums continues and students list the type of things that might be found in a museum. Sarah tells the students that the topic for their museum will be Kalskag. She says, “Now, looking at all the things you said about museums in your journal, what will be the purpose of your museum?” The students brainstorm and decide that they will display old pictures and preserve old stories and family histories. Sarah says she likes the word preserve and writes the work on the overhead: students decide that they will preserve wisdom of elders, traditions and Native food recipes.
She impresses on the students that they will be learning to gather and research information.
Sarah informs the students that she is recording how we do this project as part of her college course project.
She tells students that in order to set up the stage they must:
1. Write a needs assessment
2. Determine individual topics
3. Research and investigate
4. Gather information
5. Organize into web page exhibits.
Sarah discusses ownership of the web pages and the possible need to copy write the work, and how they might assign usage to the local Tribal Council and School District.
The final assignment is for the students is to produce a letter to community members explaining their assignment and soliciting their help in furnishing pictures, stories and history, etc. The students are asked to get into groups and design a form letter that can be sent out later that week. Students are self-motivating, they interact with enthusiasm and the remainder of the class is student driven.
William Gilliland
Principal
Evaluation of Sarah Dzieweczynski 02-08-2006 @ 11:00
