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Virtual Field Trip
Spring 2004 EDU 6232

[Evaluation Form]

Spring 2004 EDU 6232 Virtual Field Trip

Content Area - Social Studies: The Underground Railroad
Grade Level – 4th grade.

Proposed Time Requirement – Six 45 minute periods, on six different days.

Preparation, Virtual Field Trip, and Word Draft	Two 45 minute periods
Poster Concept Map	One 45 minute period
Poster Creation	Two 45 minute periods
Poster Presentation	One 45 minute period

Introduction to the Virtual Field Trip (VFT) - Students will take a guided tour of teacher-selected Web Sites based on the history of The Underground Railroad. Students will use materials found from these Web Sites to create a poster of images and facts about important people, places, and things from The Underground Railroad. Included on the poster will be connections that students make to virtues represented by the important people they select.

Background Information and Preparatory Lesson – Students will have an introduction to The Underground Railroad in their classrooms as they read the book Come Morning, by Leslie Davis Guccione. The book is about a boy who finds the courage to continue his father’s work on The Underground Railroad. By reading the book, students learn that The Underground Railroad was a network of people, places, and things that served to help African-Americans escape from slavery.

To further prepare students for this activity, a preliminary lesson about virtues will be undertaken. This 45 minute lesson will start with a discussion of what the word virtue means. Students will take AlphaSmart word processors and dictionaries outside to Haverford School’s “Walk of Virtues” to record as many virtues and definitions as they can in 15 minutes. Students will then upload and save their virtues for future reference.

Photo credit: With permission from The Haverford School, Haverford, PA
The Haverford School Web Site: http://www.haverford.org

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Measurable Objectives of the VFT – One of the main objectives of this unit is for students to learn about character, equality, fairness, and standing up for what is right. Equally important is for students to understand that The Underground Railroad was a network of people who embodied virtues that are to be respected and admired. In creating their posters, students will be required to make connections between important people on The Underground Railroad, and what virtues these people displayed through their actions. Teachers will be able to measure results based on student connections made to people on The Underground Railroad and the virtues represented.

Materials – Computer lab, Internet access, printer, WORD, poster board, scissors, tape, markers, pencils, Inspiration, dictionary, and the book Come Morning, by Leslie Davis Guccione.

Process – The process will have five parts: Preparation, VFT, WORD draft, Poster Concept, Poster Creation, and Presentation. Students will work in groups of two throughout the process.

I. Preparation - Students will prepare for the VFT by creating a WORD document with a proper header (Name, Date, Title). Students will insert a table in WORD with two columns. One column will be labeled Person, Place or Thing, the other column will be labeled Fact/Virtue (Example below).

Example of VFT WORD draft:

Student Name: _________________________
Date: ____________________
The Underground Railroad VFT

Person, Place, or Thing	Fact/Virtue
1. Person’s name & image	Fact and virtue
2. Person’s name & image	Fact and virtue
3. Person’s name & image	Fact and virtue
4. Place & image	Fact
5. Thing & image	Fact

Teacher-selected links for the VFT must be pasted below the table on the WORD draft:

National Park Service (2002). Boston African-American Historic Site: Timeline.
http://www.nps.gov/boaf/timeline.htm. (Available: June 2004).

National Geographic Society (1996). The Underground Railroad.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/j1.html (Available: June 2004).

Chester County Historical Society (2002). Just Over the Line.
http://www.chestercohistorical.org/ugrr/wwyoudo.htm. (Available: June 2004)

Appleseed Recordings (1999). Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railroad.
http://www.appleseedrec.com/underground/sounds.html. (Available: June 2004).

Shirley, W. (2004). The Virtues ~ A Creative Project for Goodness
http://www.thevirtues.org/. (Available: June 2004).

Students will access my Web Site to copy and paste the teacher-selected links for the VFT. Students will save this document to their home directories on the school network.

II. VFT – Students will work in groups of two and will use the teacher-selected links to find the following:
A. Images of three important people on The Underground Railroad with facts and virtues.
B. Image of one important place on The Underground Railroad with a facts.
C. Image of one important thing on The Underground Railroad with a facts.
All students MUST complete a WORD Draft, and work through VFT together with a partner to fill in the information in the tables. This is important in the event that one student is absent for the next class.

During the VFT, students will be advised to visit the link to Shirley, W. (2004). The Virtues ~ A Creative Project for Goodness. http://www.thevirtues.org/. (Available: June 2004). Students will also be reminded about their actual field trip through Haverford’s “Walk of Virtues.” When students complete the VFT and WORD draft, they must do the following:

1. Earn 5 bonus point by selecting and playing one song from:
Appleseed Recordings (1999). Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railroad.
http://www.appleseedrec.com/underground/sounds.html. (Available: June 2004).

2. Print two WORD drafts. Turn one in for credit, and use the other draft for their poster concept map.

II. Poster Concept Map – Students will use Inspiration to create a concept map for their posters. Students will print two copies of their concept maps and turn one in for credit, and use the other map for a guide to create their poster.

III. Poster Creation – Students will use scissors, tape, rulers, markers, images, and text to create their posters. Students may add appropriate drawings, and color to their posters. Posters MUST include 3 important people, 1 important place, and 1 important thing from The Underground Railroad, with corresponding facts and virtues.

IV. Poster Presentation – Students will earn final credit for their VFT Poster by making a brief presentation to the class. Students are expected to make connections between important people on The Underground Railroad, and the virtues represented in their actions.

Supplemental Exercises – Students may use the teacher-selected Web Site below to research slavery in other societies throughout the world. Write a one page report about a different society where slavery has taken place, and what efforts and virtues were at work to prevent it.

Discovery.com (2003). Understanding Slavery.
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/slavery/world.html. (Available: June 2004).

Assessment – Students will be assessed on each phase of the process.

PROCESS	PRODUCT	POINTS
VFT & WORD draft	Meets expectations	20
VFT Poster concept map	Meets expectations	20
VFT Poster creation	Meets expectations	20
VFT Poster Presentation	Meets expectations	20
EXTRA EFFORT	Exceeds expectations	20
Total	All processes plus extra effort	100 points

Students can earn an extra effort score by working cooperatively, including additional facts and supporting detail, and by creating an exceptionally colorful, neat, and accurate poster.

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References
Davis Guccione, L. (1995). Come Morning. Minneapolis, MN.: Author.

Appendix

Electronic Resources

Appleseed Recordings (1999). Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railroad.
http://www.appleseedrec.com/underground/sounds.html. (Available: June 2004).

Chester County Historical Society (2002). Just Over the Line.
http://www.chestercohistorical.org/ugrr/wwyoudo.htm. (Available: June 2004)

Discovery.com (2003). Understanding Slavery.
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/slavery/world.html. (Available: June 2004).

National Park Service (2002). Boston African-American Historic Site: Timeline.
http://www.nps.gov/boaf/timeline.htm. (Available: June 2004).

National Geographic Society (1996). The Underground Railroad.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/j1.html (Available: June 2004).

Shirley, W. (2004). The Virtues ~ A Creative Project for Goodness
http://www.thevirtues.org/. (Available: June 2004).

Last updated: June 2004
Mr. Jay Brown - Computer Teacher at The Haverford School, Haverford, PA

Email questions or comments to: jbrown@haverford.org
Visit my school page at: http://www.geocities.com/jaybrownhuman/JayBrown.htm

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