6th Grade Travel Agents with High School Mentors
Study Canada Through the Library and Internet
Linda Wilkins
lswilki@ilstu.edu
6th Grade
Metcalf Laboratory School
Illinois State University
Normal, Illinois 61790-7000
(309) 438-2400
SUBJECT
Social Studies and Library/Research Skills
GRADE
Sixth Grade with High School Student Mentors
ABSTRACT
Students became travel agents who worked in teams to persuade others to visit their Canadian province or territory. They first conducted research through the Internet and the school library with the assistance of high school students. They then made oral presentations to their classmates and completed a visual presentation about their province or territory. Surveys completed at the beginning and end of the unit indicate students gained in their knowledge about conducting research through the Internet. It also indicated students enjoyed working with the high school students.
PROCEDURE
Introduction of Unit
After an overview of the Western Hemisphere, we began our study of Canada with an introductory unit which included information about the geography, climate, resources, vegetation, early people, and European settlement. Students then began their in-depth study of Canada.
Creation of Travel Agencies
To do that, students were divided into Canadian travel agencies with five students in a group. The task of each agency was to research two individual provinces or one province and one territory. With the information they learned the agencies then tried to sell their classmates on going to their provinces/territory through a group presentation.
The students decided within their own agency who would do what kind of research (i.e., history of the area, native people and their cultures, tourist attractions, economy, etc.) They also had to decide who would have which responsibility within the group:
Discussion leader - to lead their group meetings
Research
Students had two weeks to complete their research. They first decided on which area they would study. Then they began their research at the Metcalf library, using the Readers' Guide for information in periodicals. During their first session in the library they were assisted by high school students. Each agency had two high students from Peggy Scott's U.S. History classes at University High School who volunteered to be mentors for this research. Their second session in the library was on their own.
They continued their research through the Internet. In preparation for this the high school students were instructed on the use of a Web page Travel Canada! by Dr. Patricia H. Klass, ISU Professor in the Department of Educational Administration, who created the Web page. (Click on the link to visit the Canada Web page.) The sixth graders worked with the high school students for two sessions in the ISU College of Education computer lab.
Here are some of the sixth grade students conducting their research through the Internet in the computer lab with the assistance of the high school mentors. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger version of each picture.
During the second week of research the students used travel information in the classroom which was sent in response to requests I made from provincial departments of tourism.
Home Project
In addition to the group presentation for demonstrating what they learned, students completed a project at home. Again, they had their choice as to what format they wanted to use. Some students made dioramas:
Other students made posters with maps, time lines, or other information; and others made collages:
These were used during their presentations and were displayed in the classroom:
Click on the thumbnail pictures to see a larger version of the pictures of some of the student projects.
Presentation
Following the two weeks of research the students were given more information about their presentations. They had their choice of how they wanted to share information about their province/territory to convince their classmates to visit it. For example, some students chose to put on a skit, acting out people coming into their travel agency. Other groups put on radio shows, while others used the format of a TV game show, complete with an applause sign.
For scoring the presentations, I used a rubric for both a group and individual assessment. The students in the audience had a similar rubric to comment on others' presentations. This also served to keep the students focused on all of the presentations.
Following the presentations, I conducted a conference with each group to critique their presentation, sharing information about their actual presentation such as the depth of their research, their creativity, how well coordinated their presentations were, etc. The students' response to the group conferences was that they seemed to perceive the comments as being fair.
Journal
Each day both the 6th grade students and the high school students kept a journal, recording what they learned that day and any particular problems they encountered. That enabled Peggy Scott and me to monitor how it was going in each group.
OBSERVATIONS
In the journals, there were very few problems noted, and most of them related to feelings of not being able to find all the information the students wanted to find that day.
During the actual presentations the students demonstrated considerable bonding within their group. They stepped in to help each other readily, such as when someone needed assistance holding up a poster. They also paid close attention while the rest of their group was talking. The students were used to working in groups through cooperative learning in previous years at Metcalf, and this enabled them to work together well.
The students responded very favorably and enjoyed working with the high school students. In response to a question on a survey following the unit which asked "How much fun was it to work with the high school students on the research project?" 38 of 50 students rated it 7 to 10 on a scale of 1=a little to 10=a lot. Typical comments when asked why the student gave that rating were: "Because they showed us how to use the computers" and "I think it was a lot of fun to have a high school student because they were fun and funny and taught me a lot of stuff."
The students also gained in their understanding of how to research a topic on the Internet. When asked on the survey "How would you find your report topic on the Internet? List steps to locate information." For the pretest 25 students had some idea whereas 25 had no idea at all; on the posttest all 50 had at least some idea as to how to use the home page or conduct an Internet search.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Computer Lab
A computer lab with Internet access is needed for this unit. Because there is no lab with Internet access for students at Metcalf School, the students went as a class to use the computer lab at the ISU College of Education.
Computer Knowledge
The teacher needs to be familiar with the use of the Internet, including Web pages and Search Engines. If the teacher does not have the computer knowledge, access to someone with that knowledge is necessary.
High School Mentor Training
The high school students who mentored the sixth graders received one class period of training to familiarize themselves with the Canada unit and skills needed by the sixth grade students. They used the Web page Travel Canada! Treasure Hunt for this training.
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