LU Title: Library Media Center Research Learning Unit for 6^th, 7^th, & 8^th Grades

Grade Level: 6^th, 7^th, & 8^th

Subject Area: Language Arts Research and Writing, Integrating Social Studies Topic of Immigration

Time Frame: 6-8 (40 min) Library Media Center Instructional Classes (as needed) Individual Independent Work

The purposes of providing 6^th grade students with a Research Unit experience, in Library Media Center class, are as follows:

• To focus on the Research Process (not, the subject matter) as a learning experience of value, which calls for commitment, responsibility, independent effort and a variety of skills and prior knowledge.
• To provide a transitional experience with the Research Process in 6^th grade, to ensure readiness for similar requirements in Middle School.
• To use prior knowledge of note taking, collecting data, documentation, summarization, making generalizations and discovering relationships from oral, written and electronic resources.
• To provide an opportunity for each 6^th grade student to utilize available technology for research purposes and integrate the acquired information into written format.
• To provide an opportunity for students to use written language, in Part A, to transmit information and discover concepts, in Part B, to show understanding of diverse social and historical events from another person's point of view and, in Part C, to interpret and analyze information gathered during the research process.

The Research Learning Unit on Immigration supports Language Arts and Social Studies Learning Standards.

(This Unit can successfully be integrated with different topics, consequently, Learning Standards in other subject areas could be supported)

English Language Arts; Standard 1

Students will read, write and listen for information and understanding.

Students will gather and interpret information from a wide variety of print resources, audio-visual materials, oral interviews and electronic sources.

Students will select information relevant to their research and relate ideas from one source to another.

Students will select and use strategies for note-taking, documentation of sources, organizing and summarizing information.

Students will present information clearly in written form using the process of drafting, and basic writing conventions.

English Language Arts; Standard 2

Students will read and write for literary response and expression.

Students will use information gathered from diverse sources, to write a creative point-of-view account of an immigrant's voyage and experiences.

Students will develop a character in a specific historical setting, using the conventions of grammar and appropriate vocabulary to write their own story about a typical immigrant experience.

English Language Arts; Standard 3

Students will read, write and listen for critical analysis and evaluation.

Students will analyze ideas and information presented by many different resources in order to form an opinion on the impact of immigration on our country.

Students will present their opinions and ideas in writing as the final part of their research project.

Social Studies; Standard 1

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in the history of the Unites States and New York.

Students will discover and analyze how immigration impacted the development of our diverse and multicultural nation and state.

Social Studies; Standard 2

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

Students will obtain information from a variety of sources, which will indicate time periods and major events throughout the world, which caused waves of immigration to the United States.

Students will develop an awareness of how world events of the past, and present effect our nation.

Declarative: Language Arts

The learner knows or understand…..

• A research project is different from an essay on a subject
• The subject of a research project can change, but the same process is used each time
• A research project is done over an extended period of time
• The research process requires the use of many and varied sources, including print, audio-visual, primary sources, interviews and electronic resources
• The final draft of a research project is the result of note taking, synthesizing and organizing information and following specific guidelines for the assignment
• Documentation of sources is an important part of the research process
• Meeting deadlines is an essential part of the research process
• Independent work is a necessary part of research

Declarative: Social Studies

The learner knows or understands…..

• The definition of immigration
• Geographic areas of the world where immigrants have come from
• Time periods when immigration had greatest impact on the United States
• Factors which caused large numbers of people to immigrate to the United States
• What they typical immigrant experience would have been like for a young person during a specific wave of immigration (e.g. Irish girl coming to the United States with her family, because of the potato famine)
• How immigration has contributed to the development of our economically strong, diverse and multicultural nation of America

Procedural

The learner is able to…..

• Use the electronic catalog in the library media center
• Access and use reserve sources independently
• Search electronic databases available in the library media center
• Access and use effectively, immigration Websites designated by bookmarks, sites available on WebQuest pages, or sites selected by instructor using Web Whacker
• Use table of contents, indexes, charts, graphs and maps
• Use appropriate strategies for note taking, summarization, prioritization and interpretation
• Create a character, using research facts, to construct a point of view essay, describing an immigration experience
• Write final draft following outline directives, using basic writing conventions
• Document sources and prepare works cited page, according to MLA format, or instructor's modified instructions

• Why is prior knowledge of note taking, writing summaries, skimming print materials, collecting data and drawing conclusions, essential to producing a successful research project?
• How is the research process an important component of life-long learning skills?
• In what way does the completion of a research project on a subject such as immigration, lead to the increased understanding of the world around us?

Sixth grade students were informed early in the year, that they would be doing a "major" research project later in the year. This project was presented in a manner designed to appeal to their growing pride of accomplishment at the end of their elementary experience. The idea that they had reached a maturity level to attempt this was promoted. Also mentioned, was the fact that similar assignments were ahead of them in Middle School.

As an effective way to provide background, and create interest and enthusiasm for the topic, a movie, video, dramatic presentation or a speaker, should be used as the initiating activity. Since some students may not bring much knowledge to the topic, this provides a starting point and should help as research begins.

This research project was designed to be implemented with 6^th grade students during their scheduled, 40-min. classes, in the Library Media Center. Three 6^th grade classes attend on a 6-day rotation schedule. (Class size of about 25, special needs students included)

During the library class following the initiating activity, students are given manila folders to label with name, class, and title of project. A sense of ownership and responsibility is encouraged by indicating that students may "decorate" the folders in keeping with the topic. The folder becomes the repository for all handouts, notes and drafts of the research, for the duration of the project. These folders and their contents are collected twice. (First, with the rough draft and next, with the final draft)

At this time, students were given three handout sheets.

1. General overview of project and specific details about format and deadlines for rough draft and final draft.
2. Eight questions of broad scope, designed to initiate basic research on immigration causes, time periods, conditions of journey, etc.
3. Customized form to use for all note taking. (This form included designated space to enter bibliographic information from the source used and an example of the correct format for documentation)

All handouts are gone over in class, to provide the opportunity for clarification. If through consultation with classroom teachers, there is determined to be a necessity for review, or additional instruction, on one of the language arts skills, this can be done by the Library Media Specialist, before actually starting the project. (Reserving from 6-8 weekly classes for this project allows for this flexibility)

1. What is the definition of immigration?
2. List the names of some of the countries where large numbers of immigrants have come from?
3. Find statistics showing where the greatest numbers of immigrants have come from. Include the time period they came to the U.S.
4. Find out what causes there were that made people want to come to this country. (Why did they come?)
5. Look in the almanac or encyclopedia to find out the pattern of immigration throughout the history of our country. (Times that show large or small numbers coming to our country)
6. Find descriptions of the immigrant journey across the ocean, or from countries like Mexico. Note details such as: What kind of food would they have? What kind of place did they have for sleeping? What happened if they were sick? What did they do on the long trip? Did the children play games? What were they? How did they spend their time? Did the trip cost money? How could they keep clean?
7. List the ports of entry (places where immigrants entered the U.S.)
8. Now that you know more about the immigrant journey. List 8 things that you think the immigrants might have brought with them.

IMMIGRATION PAPER OUTLINE

• Background and history of

American Immigration

• Your first sentence should capture the interest of your readers.
• Include information in this section from your notes on time periods when the greatest numbers of immigrants arrived…what countries they came from?…when?…why?
• Give some examples of how immigration has made our country unique (look up the meaning of this word, if you do not understand it).

1. Describe what the immigration

experience of a young person your age

might have been.

• Your "person" will be fictional and be an immigrant from the country you selected. All descriptions and information used in this "point of view" essay, must be to be based on your research and contain accurate information.
• Include the reasons for immigration, conditions on the trip, port of entry, feelings upon arrival, place family settled, what jobs they found in America and problems they faced.

1. Conclude with a short discussion of

two ways in which immigration has

made America a stronger nation.

• Make sure to provide examples to support your conclusions about the contributions of immigration to our nation.

• NOTES

  *Take all notes on these sheets…Use separate sheets for

  each new source…use front and back…This is your place to

  gather information for later use, in whatever way is best for you.

  DO NOT FORGET

  DOCUMENT EACH RESOURCE YOU USE.

  Source Used:     Title or Website:     Author: Pages used (for quotes):

  The following steps were taken to insure that all Students felt confident that they could access the Help and resources needed for this lengthy project

  Students were informed that all resource room teachers and homeroom teachers had complete information about this project, including due dates, rubrics and extra copies of hand out sheets.

  An extensive collection of print materials were put on reserve and located on a special reserve table in the Library Media Center, which was available at all times.

  Scheduled library classes for 6^th graders were used exclusively for this project throughout the month of January. Usual book exchange was handled independently.

  Students are reminded of the "Open-Library" Media Center policy which allows access to resources at all times throughout the school day. This includes access to electronic resources also.

  Students are reminded of the "Open-Library" Media Center policy which allows access to resources at all times throughout the school day. This includes access to electronic resources also.

  Students are made aware of the availability of local public libraries, museums and community resources. Handouts with hours and phone numbers are readily available.

  Students are encouraged to use electronic sources, interviews with relatives or neighbors, or other useful resources outside of school.

  Assessment

  To provide added importance to this Research Project, prior arrangements were made with the 6^th grade Language Arts teacher, to work cooperatively with the Library Media Specialist designed the rubric, bother instructors would have input on the final grade.

  Students were informed prior to starting the project, that they would receive a grade in Language Arts for their final product. (Students do not ordinarily receive grades in our school for assignments initiated in the Library Media Center)

  The rubric (see following page) is to serve as a checklist and guide as students are making final revisions to their research project. It is designed to give recognition to the student's ability to demonstrate mastery of procedural knowledge as well as the declarative knowledge on the topic.

  Rubric for Immigration Research Paper

  The final draft of your Immigration Research paper will be graded according to the ten criteria listed below.

  10 points (1) Rough draft turned in on time

  10 points (2) Final draft completed and turned in on time

  10 points (3) A minimum of 5 resources were used; One source must be from the Internet

  10 points (4) Final draft follows the Research Project Outline

  10 points (5) "Section A" must contain accurate information, written in clear sentences, which follow outline directives

  10 points (6) "Section B" will provide a picture of what the immigrant experience was like, from a young person's point of views; All guided questions about the immigrant experience should be addressed

  10 points (7) "Section C" must show a good understanding of immigrant contributions; Use several examples

  10 points (8) Final draft is neatly hand written or word processed

  10 points (9) Final draft has very few, if any spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors

  10 points (10) Footnotes and Works Cited page in format requested by instructor

  Student Reflection Questionnaire

  PLEASE ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS BELOW

  DO NOT SIGN YOUR NAME

  About how much time did you spend outside of library class working on your project?

  Had you ever done a project like this before?

  Did you have any help from an adult? (Circle One: None Some Quite a lot)

  What was the hardest part of there search project?

  Did you find the topic interesting?

  Do you feel that you know more about doing a research project, than you did before this assignment? Explain.

  Additional comments:

  Reflections of Unit Designer

  This Research project Learning Unit requires a good working relationship between the library Media Specialist and the classroom teacher whose subject area is involved. Assessment is a shared responsibility and requires a commitment of time and energy. However, the Research Unit is adaptable to many subjects, and could easily be used to serve classroom teacher's objectives, as well as to teach the research process.

  Adequate information for all staff concerned (Resource Room, Special Ed., Library Aide, Homeroom Teachers, etc.) is essential to the success of this unit. Although independent work is emphasized and encouraged, modifications can be put in place to enable all students to achieve a measure of success.

  Early "surveys" of the student's real knowledge of note taking, documentation, etc. should be cone to gain insight into what skills need to be reviewed or taught, before the unit is started.

  Since so much of this unit is done independently outside of the classroom, students must be made aware that adult help should be minimal. At the sixth grade level, this is part of the learning for bother students and parents.