New Media Age Teaching: 2014

MediaLiteracy 6809-Final Project: Unit of Study

Central Focus:

· Environmental Issues-Students will explore environmental issues that occur in their daily lives. They will also study cooperatively in groups ways that they can decrease their negative effects on these environmental issues. The students will gain a thorough understanding of how their carbon footprint plays a significant role in the lives of all living organisms.

Pennsylvania Common Core Standards (I teach in Pennsylvania):

Reading:

· CC.3.5.6-8.A. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.

· CC.3.5.6-8.E. Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic.

· CC.3.5.6-8.G. Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).

Science:

· 4.5.8.C. Describe how humans can reduce pollution.

· 4.5.8.D. Compare and contrast waste generated from various sources of energy.

· 3.4.8.A2. Explain how controls are steps that people perform using information about the system that causes systems to change.

· 3.4.8.A3. Compare how a product, system, or environment developed for one setting may be applied to another setting.

· 3.4.8.B2. Compare and contrast decisions to develop and use technologies as related to environmental and economic concerns.

Writing

· E08.A-K.1.1 Demonstrate understanding of key ideas and details in literature.

· E08.A-K.1.1.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text

Cornerstone Text or Image

Montez, M. (2009). The new 50 simple things kids can do to save the Earth. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC.

This text allows children to see their carbon footprints that they are leaving on Earth while learning about environmental issues. This book also includes ideas and experiments that the students can perform to make Earth a better place to live. The book provides encouraging ideas on ways that the students, their families, and friends can help save the Earth.

Text Set

Carson, R. (2002). Silent Spring. New York: First Mariner Books.

Summary: This literary non-fiction resource helps to explain the process of using extreme pesticides within an ecosystem. In this book, Rachel Carson explains how the process of using the extreme pesticides creates cancer within a community and ecosystem. In this book, she helps individuals take responsibility for their actions as well as she tries to help students build an ethical understanding of how ending one problem created even a larger problem within a society and ecosystem.

Fox, C. C. (n.d.). Drinking Water: Bottled or From the Tap? National Geographic Kids. Retrieved from http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/spacescience/water-bottle-pollution/

Summary: This is a short article that I like to share with my students to help them understand the importance of putting water in a reusable container, rather than using a different water bottle every day. This article gives alarming facts to students about the importance of recycling water bottles. For instance, it explains how out of six water bottles, only one makes it to the recycling bin. Also, the U.S. is the #1 leader in buying bottled water which totals, 29 billion bottles per year. Thus, this article helps students understand how many water bottles are being put into the landfill daily as well as the importance of recycling these bottles to decrease the amount in our landfill and why we should find other methods of drinking water, besides bottled water.

Leopold, A., & Schwartz, C. W. (1987). In A Sand County Almanac. New York: Oxford University Press.

Summary: This book explains how plants and animals interact with one another effectively and efficiently to make a thriving ecosystem. The author of this book explains unique places that they have been at and how the land was used. This version of the book stresses that humans should use land effectively and not harm other parts of the ecosystem to increase their own wealth.

Raloff, J. (2013, February 18). Predators as Climate Helpers. Science News for Kids, 02, 10-11.

Summary: This article explains what could happen when the environment has an imbalance of organisms within one area of the environment. This article explains why plants and algae are important within an ecosystem and how the ecosystem is efficient and how the ecosystem becomes harmed when certain organisms are removed from the ecosystem. This article explains what happens when there is not a top predator within an ecosystem and explains why there is such an exuberant amount of carbon dioxide found within the water and the harm that this could do to living organisms. It also explains the importance of leaving our organisms in their ecosystems and why it is importance to keep hunting and fishing at a balance to maintain an efficient ecosystem.

Waste Management Guest Speaker

Summary: The waste management speaker would discuss the importance of reducing waste within our landfills as well as the importance of recycling. Currently, within our school, we are engaged in a recycling program with Waste Management. The individual would discuss how the materials that are recycled are reused. Also, the guest speaker would explain why items should be recycled rather than put directly in a landfill. Also, it is a part of the program that the students would have the opportunity to go and see the landfill as well as the recycling center and how the recycling center melts down recyclables and reuses them effectively.

Student Learning Objectives

· Students will be able to identify and explain environmental issues that they are facing today.

· Students will be able to explain at least five ways that their families help the environment.

· Students will be able to use technology correctly and appropriately to research issues on the environment.

· Students will be able to describe how pollution affects water sources as well as living organisms that live within the water sources.

· Students will be able to properly use technology to create a Glogster poster following all rubric requirements.

· Students will be able to explain how using pesticides affects and ecosystem.

· Students will be able to explain the importance of recycling water and how drinking water from a plastic bottle is harmful to an ecosystem.

· Students will be able to explain how to use land effectively without harming integral ecosystems.

· Students will be able to explain why each type of organism is important to the ecosystem and the role that each organism plays within an ecosystem.

· Students will be able to explain how materials are recycled as well as how the materials are used after they are recycled.

· Students will be able to develop strategies for analyzing and manipulating texts.

Analysis guide for your Cornerstone Text or Image

Content:

· Is the information up to date?

· Is the information accurate?

· Is the information relevant to the reader?

· Were authentic or primary sources used?

· What are the author’s qualifications?

Writing/Style:

· Is the text easily read and followed?

· Were stereotypes avoided?

· Were multiple points of view or perspectives used?

Organization:

· Were text features used effectively?

· Do the table of contents, headings, index, glossary, and sidebars help present the information?

· Does the structural layout and page composition support the content?

Quality of graphic elements:

· Were quality photographs, illustrations, diagrams, maps, figures, or graphs used to present content?

· Were the captions helpful and well organized?

· Were any primary source materials used?

Critical Analysis:

· Does the information presented here fit with other books on the subject?

· What are the qualifications of the author or illustrator to present this content?

· What are the tensions concerning concepts and evidence in this field of inquiry?

Example analysis of the Cornerstone Text or Image

Content:

· Is the information up to date?

Yes, the information is up to date. The book was created within the past five years. The book was created in 2009.

Is the information accurate?

Yes, the information is accurate. The facts provided by the book are accurate and valid. The project results are based upon their results so they could vary depending on how the individual performs the experiment.

· Is the information relevant to the reader?

Yes the information is relevant to the reader. The book bases the writing off of the appropriate age range as well as it gives the students ideas of how to participate is bettering the Earth. It gives the students sample projects to complete to leave less of a carbon footprint on Earth.

· Were authentic or primary sources used?

Primary resources were used during the experiments. For example, the author used his daughter and her class to perform the experiments to collect data.

· What are the author’s qualifications?

John Javna is an activist for making the Earth a better place. He believes that individual actions will improve the quality of Earth and life in general. He has written over 20 books that have been published. He relates his topics to issues that people are dealing with in everyday life.

Writing/Style:

· Is the text easily read and followed?

Yes, the text is easy to read and follow. It is broken up into small paragraphs that ask questions, which allows the reader to continue on.

· Were stereotypes avoided?

Yes, stereotypes are avoided.

· Were multiple points of view or perspectives used?

Yes, multiple points of view or perspectives are used. The author writes in third person, but then allows the student/individual to see how they can help their environment by writing it from their perspective. It also includes quotes from students of all ages throughout the text, which allows the student readers to see their peer’s perspective as well.

Organization:

· Were text features used effectively?

Yes, text features were used effectively. Some sections (the main ideas) are bolded to help students understand the main purpose of this section of the text. The text is also organized in small chunks to maintain student attention longer. Therefore, the students can do a self-check to see if they understand the important content material of that section.

· Do the table of contents, headings, index, glossary, and sidebars help present the information?

Yes, the table of content, headings, and index present the main topics and ideas that are being covered in that section.

· Does the structural layout and page composition support the content?

Yes, the structural layout and page composition support the content. The main idea is underlined at the top of the page. Then the sub headings are bolded so the reader knows exactly what that section will be about. It makes the book easy for the kids to access information from.

Quality of graphic elements:

· Were quality photographs, illustrations, diagrams, maps, figures, or graphs used to present content?

I feel that the illustrations used were mediocre. They are not very detailed and they do not have captions either. Graphs were not used either throughout this text.

· Were the captions helpful and well organized?

No, there were no captions on the graphic elements.

· Were any primary source materials used?

No, there were not any primary source materials used.

Critical Analysis:

· Does the information presented here fit with other books on the subject?

Yes the information presented here does fit with other books. However, it is written at a level in which a middle school student can understand. The topics covered in this book are difficult to understand.

· What are the qualifications of the author or illustrator to present this content?

Michele Monte and Lorraine Bodger are the illustrators of this book. They are both part of the Earthworks group. However, there is not a significant amount of information about their credentials on the internet.

· What are the tensions concerning concepts and evidence in this field of inquiry?

The tension in this field of inquiry is the idea of if global warming is actually true. This is a two-sided story that individuals need to develop their own thoughts and ideas on and formulate their own opinions.

Exampleof Student Multimodal Project

Website URL: http://keridale.edu.glogster.com/environmental-issues

Rubric for Glogster Poster Project

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Include 5 environmental problems we are facing today	5 Included 5 problems	3 Included 3 or 4 problems	2 Included 1 or 2 problems	1 Included 0 problems
Include 5 ways your family helps the environment	5 Included 5 ways	3 Included 3 or 4 ways	2 Included 1 or 2 ways	1 Included 0 ways
Include 3 imported pictures from the internet or a file	3 Three imported pictures.	2 Two pictures imported.	1 One imported picture.	0 No imported pictures.
Include 3 videos that represent the content material.	3 Has three graphics of which at least one is animated.	2 Only two graphics	1 Only one graphic	0 No graphics
Grammar And Spelling	3 All words spelled correctly and demonstrates proper use of grammar	2 Some misspelled words, good use of grammar.	1 Several spelling errors and some grammatical errors.	0 Spelling and grammatical errors are numerous
Appealing to the Eye	3 Well organized, information flows effectively, nice to look at, good use of space	2 Good choice of images but too busy, but background is distracting	1 Information is disorganized making it difficult to appreciate the messages	0 Nice looking but there is not enough on the poster
Works Cited	3 Websites used are cited in a separate text box.	2 Websites are cited with links.	1 Some but not all websites are cited.	0 No sites are noted.
FINAL SCORE				/25

Unit of Study Template:

Central Focus

Environmental issues are affecting the lives of our children daily. The way they treat the environment as well as how others treat the environment significantly affects every living organism on Earth. Students need to understand that they can take an active stance and participate in helping Earth becoming a better place to live for all living organisms.

Cornerstone Text or Visual Image

Montez, M. (2009). The new 50 simple things kids can do to save the Earth. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC.

This text allows children to see their carbon footprints that they are leaving on Earth while learning about environmental issues. This book also includes ideas and experiments that the students can perform to make Earth a better place to live. The book provides a significant number of supplemental readings including media texts to analyze in regards to different environmental issues. The book provides encouraging ideas on ways that the students, their families, and friends can help save the Earth as well.

Learning Objectives