The Beginning

      One day during lunch the 3/4 MAP teacher and I were discussing plans for spring break.  Since I am completing my internship during spring break, I lamented that I will not get to go on vacation.  After further conversation we discovered that due to the economy and socioeconomics of the school many of the students were not going to travel during spring break.

     It made me think about how we could collaborate (KW1, P4) on a travel project while creating an authentic learning (KW2) experience for the students.  This teacher understands how the library media center and the library media specialist can help meet the academic needs of her students (P1) while integrating a variety of content and information literacy standards (KW3).  I wanted to approach her with the idea as soon as possible.

 Forging Ahead

      I found the teacher the next day and presented my idea of having the students begin a guided inquiry (KW4)  project with the students planning a trip to a national park (P8).  She really liked the idea and felt like it was the perfect opportunity and time to implement this project.  Callison states that during guided inquiry, "there are multiple answers or alternative responses to the questions so that the student must not only evaluate information sources, but also compare and contrast impressions from facts and data collected-the student considers the most plausible findings rather than one absolute solution, although one may seem to have more support than others (99).

     Guided inquiry was obvious during this project since students had to use a variety of resources; both print and non-print, to locate information and decide what format best suited their project needs (P9) and what information would answer their questions.

Meeting of our Minds

     The MAP teacher and I met after school one afternoon to develop a time-line and workable lesson plan (KW5) that we could use to begin the project.  Together we planned a national parks unit in which the students would choose a national park to research. Once the students found the necessary information they would be given the opportunity to plan a trip to the park.  They would have to develop an itinerary before their trip.  Since the class was also studying decimals in math, it was the perfect opportunity to to implement math standard:

4.2.10  Use a standard algorithm to add and subtract decimals (to hundredths).

Students would be given a budget and required to keep a running total based on their activities from the itinerary.

     Additionally I pulled a series of realistic fiction novels that were based on mysteries in national parks, for the students to use (P6).  We also used the ILL feature of the OPAC to borrow books, as well as making a stop at AAA for travel guides and brochures of national parks (P10).  The library media center had a few copies of the novels in CD format, which we decided to use since the classroom is multi-age.  This provided support for the less confident readers (P7). The use of novels would also tie in with the goals that the literacy coach had established.  To supplement the project, I also created a pathfinder of reputable web sites so that students could easily search without being blocked by the filtering system (P5). We agreed to work in the library media center and the classroom.  We have a wide variety of materials and space in the media center.  A larger number of students could access the OPAC and Internet while working in the media center (KW7).

     Although this class was very familiar with research and finding information, we decided to teach a couple of mini lessons about using pathfinders and a mini lesson showing how to use the travel guides.  I developed the mini lessons to show the students how to access, evaluate, and use the information from these sources.

   Student Information Scientists 

     This class was familiar with the research process and knew we would be following the Super 3 (KW6) as our research model.  The first thing we did was to create a KWL Chart (KW8) to see what the students already knew about national parks.  This was a very quick and informal activity to allow students to access prior knowledge and to begin formulating questions.  After students discussed what they knew about the national parks and decided what they wanted to know, we gave them a list of pre-selected List of National Parks to choose from.  The teacher and I both agreed that since this was a large project and less controlled inquiry, the students could work with a partner based on the national park he/she chose to research.  This would allow them to share their ideas, their concerns, and their resources (KW9). 

     Once students had chosen their parks and established questions they wanted answered they were paired up and given time to explore the travel guides and other print materials.  Based on the questions the students generated, the teacher and I developed a national parks note-taking sheet for the students to put in their research folder. 

     After our initial plan portion of the project, we moved to the next stage of the Super 3.  Do-is the step in which the students look for information, decide what's important, identify and use key words, skim & scan for information, and read, read, read. 

     Once each pair of students completed their research sheet, they were given the opportunity to reflect (KW10) on their progress so far.  The teacher and I took time at the end of our third day of research to allow students to complete and individual reflection sheet.

     We used these sheets as well as the research sheets to evaluate how the projects were progressing.  Once we knew they had the basic facts answered, we introduced them to the idea of creating an itinerary. The students folded a paper into at least five sections and used each section to plan activities for the day.  The teacher completed this portion in the classroom. We also gave them a supply spreadsheet that they were allowed to spend from.  In this corporation they have added a step in the Super 3 model.  During the Creation stage the students should have effective notes, an end product (itinerary and budget spreadsheet), and a bibliography. 

     At this point we decided to work with small groups that needed help with transportation, lodging, and car rentals.  We showed them how to look up flights, calculate car rental fees, and estimate gas mileage and pricing.  Many of the students figured out where they wanted to stay based on the information they found in the travel guides.  Since most places have websites they were able to explore these places even further.  The teacher allowed the students time in the classroom to use catalogs, fliers, and sales ads to purchase materials for their trip.  Most of the sites (such as LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, etc.) were blocked due to the "shopping" domain.  We managed to locate and use different resources as well as the students finding the information at home with help from their parents. 

     After most students had developed an itinerary and balanced their trip spreadsheet, we wanted to allow them to share their new information with others.  During this final step of Super 3, the students would be able to share information and evaluate the research process.  After talking with the teacher, we decided each pair of students would create a riddle about their national park.  Each day for the week prior to spring break, two sets of partners would read aloud their riddles on the morning news.  Each classroom that wanted to participate could try to answer  each riddle and submit the classroom's guess to me (P3).  We would announce the correct answer on the next day's news and also recognize the classrooms that submitted the correct answers.  The students were so excited about appearing on the news and sharing their information. 

Reflection

     This was a large project to undertake and complete in a little over 3 weeks.  We wanted the students to reflect on the process and let them have a voice.  The teacher and I met to discuss and evaluate how we thought the project went.  We came up with some ideas of how to change certain aspects of the assignment and talked through some of the things that seemed to work and things that didn't.  She felt that this was one of their best projects and had shared her feelings with both her third and fourth grade colleagues.

Standards Addressed

 English/Language Arts-Grade 3

3.4.4  Use various reference materials (such as a dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, encyclopedia, and online resources).

 Research Application 

 3.5.8  Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility, and reports findings)

 English/Language Arts-Grade 4

4.2.2  Use appropriate strategies when reading for different purposes.
Example: Read and take notes on an informational text that will be used for a report. Skim a text to locate specific information. Use graphic organizers to show the relationship of ideas in the text.

 Research Process and Technology

4.4.5  Quote or paraphrase information sources, citing them appropriately.

4.4.6  Locate information in reference texts by using organizational features, such as prefaces and appendixes.

4.4.7  Use multiple reference materials and online information (the Internet) as aids to writing.

4.4.8  Understand the organization of almanacs, newspapers, and periodicals and how to use those print materials.

4.5.6 Write for different purposes (information, persuasion, description) and to a specific audience or person.

4.5.3  Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility, reports findings)  

 4.7.9  Engage the audience with appropriate words, facial expressions, and gestures.

Math-Grade 4

4.2.10  Use a standard algorithm to add and subtract decimals (to hundredths).

 Information Literacy Standards For Student Learning

Standard 1 The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively.

Standard 2 The student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently.

Standard 4 The student who is an independent learner is information literate and pursues information related to personal interests.

Standard 6 The student who is an independent learner is information literate and strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation.

Standard 8 The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and practices ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology.

Standard 9 The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information.