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2. Become familiar with e-mail.
3. Become familiar with other cultures.
4. Develop cooperative learning skills.
5. Develop research skills.
6. Develop keyboarding skills.
7. Develop writing skills.
In this lesson, students should be able to achieve
all computer objectives mentioned above. First,
starting with e-mail. Students have already spent
the last eight weeks becoming familiar with
and using e-mail. The teacher should keep in mind
that this lesson will not be able to continue
unless e-mail skills and computers are available. Second,
students will learn how to develop an
effective Internet search. Students will be provided
with a handout from the Internet explaining
the steps of an effective search. Third, students will
develop keyboarding skills by using a word
processor. Students could spend time writing the
assignment by hand. However, its important to
address the idea that computers are a vital part of our
society. All students should be given the
opportunity to have access to a computer in school if
they are unable to at home. Also, for
students who decide to attend a post secondary institution
after graduation, computer skills are a
necessity.
The section on Culture is now completed by a Grade
9 Social Studies class. Students will now
engage in a final activity to bring closure to the unit.
Students have spent the last eight weeks e-
mailing students from schools in the United Kingdom.
Majority of the children have been
corresponding with students in Britain. Each student
was given a pen pal the same age as them.
Students were required to e-mail their pen pal three
times a week. Each week, students were
given time in the lab to write. However, students must
take the responsibility of writing two more
responses during their spare time. This could be done
at home, after school, during recess or
lunch period.
The problem the students will be required to overcome
in this lesson is to find an effective way
to learn as much as they can about pop cultures in other
areas of the world, specifically the
United Kingdom. Students will be required to use the
data they have collected to construct a
written report and to design a collage of their findings.
Students will be required to generate an enormous amount
of data on their own. This data will
be derived from their e-mail activity. Also, the teacher
can provide a number of web sites to the
students to help them achieve the objectives stated above.
Finally, students can be encouraged to
use other resources such as magazines or newspaper articles
if the teacher feels it is necessary.
Students will now be required to review the data they
have collected to decide what they can use
to begin the written portion of the activity. Students
can use the following think sheet to help
them achieve the requirements of the paper.
Think Sheet:
(a) Identify the major differences and similarities between
the UK culture and ours.
(b) Pick one topic you found to be of great interest.
(c) Pick one topic you found to be unique.
(d) Explain what you liked the most about this activity.
(e) Provide suggestions to improve the activity.
Also, students must review the material they have collected
to decide which pictures they would
like to add to their collage. Students must decide on
pictures that best relates UK pop culture to
their own.
The paper will contain the following criteria:
5-7
pages in length, double-spaced
compare
and contrast UK culture with their own
name
one thing they found to be the most interesting
provide
an example of something they found to be unique
dedicate
a small section ( 1-2 paragraphs ) expressing what they enjoyed the most
about
the pen pal exercise
grammar,
spelling, and sentence structure will be considered. Marks will be lost
if
grammatical corrections are not made
jot
notes from e-mail must be submitted
the
first and final copy of the paper must be submitted
final
draft must be typed on a word processor. Students will be given sufficient
time in
the computer lab to type the final
copy
references
must be listed in a bibliography at the end of the paper on a separate
page
title
page
pages
must be numbered
The collage will contain the following criteria:
bristol board
personal pictures ( family, friends, pets )
pictures from magazines, Internet
creativity
originality
personal drawings
labels
facts
grammar and spelling will be graded
title, date and name
Students will be required to look at a number of web
sites illustrating pop culture. The following
web sites will help students begin:
1. Teen Drama
(a) North America
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( this is the official web site for the teen drama “Dawson’s
Creek”. The site
provides information on the actors/actresses, music,
episodes and the history of the show).
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http://www.wpix.com/entertainment/wb/roswell
( this is the official site for the teen drama, “Roswell”.
The site provides
information on the actors/actresses, previous and current
episodes, and the history of the show).
(b) United Kingdom
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http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~rprice/byker.htm
( this is the official site for the UK teen drama, “Byker
Grove. The site
provides information on the actors/actresses, previous
and current episodes, and the history of the
show).
2. Music
(a) North America
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( this is a web site providing information about the pop
band “Destiny’s
Child”. The site contains information on their music,
their cd’s, and the history of the band).
(b) United Kingdom
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http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Festival/8503
( this is the official web site for the UK pop band SClub
7. The site provides
information on their songs, cd’s, t.v show and the history
of the group).
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( this is the official web site for the UK band A*Teen.
The site provides
information on their songs, cd’s and the history of the
band).
3. Soap operas
(a) North America
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http://www.nbc.com/daytime.htm
( this is the official site for the network NBC. The site
provides information on
all the prime time shows, actors/actresses, episodes
and history of the shows).
(b) United Kingdom > http://www.coronation-street-uk.net/
( this is the official site for the UK soap opera “Coronation Street”.
The site
provides information on the actors/actresses, history,
and episodes).
4. General web site
United Kingdom > http://englishculture.about.com/culture/englishculture/msub13.htm
Students must ask permission form the teacher to search
additional web sites if they are
unsatisfied with the sites provided. Three classes will
be designated to search the Internet to
collect information needed to complete the written portion
of the activity. However, after
students have collected enough information, they will
be given three classes to type their report
on the word processor.
(i) Written Report - Rubric (30%)
| Beginning 1 | Developing 2 | Accomplished 3 | Exemplary 4 | Score | |
| Topic | Totally unrelated | Remotely related | Somewhat relevant | Directly relevant | |
| Organization | Not organized, events make no sense | Some organization, event jumps around, start and end unclear | Organized events are somewhat jumpy | Good organization, events are logically ordered, sharp sense of beginning and end | |
| Quality of Information | Unable to find specific details | Details are somewhat sketchy | Some details are non-supporting to the subject | Supporting details specific to subject | |
| Grammer and Spelling | Very frequent, grammer and/or spelling errors | More than 2 errors | Only 1 or 2 errors | All grammer and spelling are correct | |
| Interest Level | Needs descriptive words | Vocabulary is constant, details lack "color" | Vocabulary is varied, supporting details need work | Vocabulary varied, supporting details are vivid | |
| Timeliness | Report handed in more than 1 week late | Up to 1 week late | Up to 2 days late | Report handed in on time |
Total: ___________________
(ii) Collage - Rubric (20%)
| Beginning 1 | Developing 2 | Accomplished 3 | Exemplary 4 | Score | |
| Collage Title | No title, name or date | Does not give any information about the type of pop culture | Gives very little information about the type of pop culture | Presents a concise lead-in-to the collage | |
| Pictures | No pictures, lacks details, confusing | Presents somewhat visually appealing pictures but it is not accurate | Presents visually appealing accurate use of pictures placement | Presents a visually appealing and accurate presentation of pictures | |
| Labels | No labels | Shows few labels or inaccurate labels | Shows all labels, few errors | Shows all labels accurately | |
| Content | Few or inaccurate facts | Some facts with limited detail | Numerous facts | Contains numerous facts with interesting details | |
| Writing | Very frequent grammer and/or spelling errors | 2 or more errors | Only 1 or 2 errors | All grammer and spelling errors correct |
Total: _______________________
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