Gloria+S's+final+project


 * Completed!

Objective: students will describe the growth of railroads from 1865 to 1920 by studying the industry's growth on a national, state and local level.**


 * 10th grade United States History**

My wikipage: Tunkhannock Viaduct

I have created a wiki page that incorporates my primary source documents I have collected throughout this course. The wiki also includes another website to supplement the documents. The purpose of the wiki will be to use this technology in conjunction with lecture, discussion and question/answer aspects pertaining to the unit I teach regarding the railroad industry. I consider the wiki to be supplemental to the other materials I use such as notes, tests, video etc. While the focus is on the Tunkhannock Viaduct, the local history project, I have also incorporated activities pertaining to state and national history.
 * Introduction:**

The ideal teaching situation for using the wiki would be for all students to have a laptop while I conduct my lecture. With the technology I have, I can use the Lcd projector while students use the laptops. The wiki page is divided into 5 phases. The phases were designed to address multiple learning styles. Students will be divided into 4-5 cooperative learning groups. Each group will be responsible for maintaining a portfolio based on the assignments within the wikipage.


 * Phase 1 -** Used to introduce the unit on the railroad industry. Initial focus will be on the Tunkhannock Viaduct. The primary source documents within the phase pertains to the opening ceremony of the viaduct and statistics on the bridge.
 * Phase 2** - incorporates information on the railroad industries impact on the state and national level. An additional website is used to provide further historical information The political cartoons cover an array of situations involving the railroad industry,
 * Phase 3** -this involves the geography aspect of the railroad industry most especially dealing on a local historical level with Wyoming, Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. Primary source documents used are railroad maps covering Northeastern Pa.
 * Phase 4** - the visual imagery of the project. I chose not to go with an assignment for this phase. As a class I wanted to analyze the photos together, creating discussion and dialogue. I thought the kids could use a break when it came to another assignment. The 2 websites pertain specifically to the construction of the Tunkhannock Viaduct and the photos are phenomenal! I believe these pictures will generate interest and inquiry. The third website used is interactive, showing students historical, locomotive milestones throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
 * Phase 5** - for the music listener! Two audio recordings of Casey Jones, one by the Grateful Dead! In addition to the assignment, a discussion would take place regarding the life of railroad employees.

Overall, there are a number of purposes for this project. In addition to supplementing the material I already use for this unit, I want students to be active learners. The activities within the phases address kinesthetic, musical, linguistic, auditory and visual learners. My students will also be learning about primary source documents and the various methods used to analyze them. The project is designed to be fact based but also to incorporate inquiry based learning and higher level learning skills. Finally, they will know how a wikipage works.
 * Conclusion**:

Gloria, Creating a wiki for your final project makes sense see we spent a lot of time learning about how wikis can be used for educational purposes. I like how you broke your project into different phases, to address multiple learning styles. And I also think that having your students keep electronic portfolios of their work is a great use of technology and perfect for a wiki. Based on your conclusion, I can tell you had a clear idea of what you wanted to accomplishment in this unit, and from the looks of it, your students would be able to meet your expectations. Nice work! (Joe)
 * Comments**

Gloria, I love how many different aspects and primary resources you included in your project. You really seem to incorporate an aspect for all types of learners. I think it is great when we can uncover history in our own backyard and I am sure your students will love this project! Janine

Gloria, I love the idea of the electronic portfolio! Jeanine